Over a period of nearly 25 years, Joyce-Ann Muthoni Wainaina climbed steadily up the corporate ladder from the position of an intern to that of Chief Executive Officer. In July 2014, she was appointed CEO of Citibank Kenya and East Africa, and became the first Kenyan to hold that position since the company’s entry into the country in the 1970s.

The American multinational company operates a corporate and investment bank focused on global institutions, local corporations, public sector entities and financial institutions, emphasising sectors such as manufacturing, telecommunications, services, agriculture, energy and infrastructure financing. Wainaina’s extensive career has been marked by many milestones. She joined Citibank as an executive trainee and became a relationship manager when she was absorbed into the company as a full-time employee. At the time, only one other woman held such a position in the company.

In 2002, she accepted an offer to work at the regional headquarters for Citibank in South Africa. Nine years later she became the first woman in the company to be appointed Citi Country Officer (CCO) when she was sent to head Citibank Zambia. She also served for several years as the CCO for Citibank South Africa. Wainaina has accumulated a wealth of experience in corporate banking, product management, operations and controls. She also served as vice chairperson of the Bankers Association of Zambia (BAZ).

After completing her high school education she proceeded to the US where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Finance in 1989. She received a Master of Science in Financial Economics from the University of London. As the CCO and CEO of Citibank Kenya and East Africa, her responsibilities include heading the management committees and serving as an executive member of the Board of Directors.

In addition to the duties that come with her job, Wainaina serves on several other boards, including the Junior Achievement and the America Chamber of Commerce Association, and as a director at UAP Life Assurance Limited. She is also a co-founder of the J.B. Wanjui Foundation Trust. In recognition of her work, she was named Manager of the Year by the Kenya Institute of Management at the Company of the Year Awards in 2006.

During her journey, Wainaina has acknowledged that it is not easy to be a woman in the finance industry, and that when she was appointed regional head of Citibank East Africa she felt the burden of a pioneer on her shoulders. This only propelled her to work harder as she was determined to succeed.

In 2015, she observed that there were only three African women in managing director roles across the Citi network in sub-Saharan Africa.