Patricia Ithau Appointed Chief Executive Officer of WPP Scangroup

WPP ScanGroup has appointed Patricia Ithau as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Ms. Ithau is currently the regional director at Seed, the Stanford Institute for Innovation in Developing Economies.

“Patricia is passionate about creating opportunities that improve people’s lives,” WPP Scangroup chairman Mr. Richard Omwela said.

She joins the Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firm after the board closed an investigation against its former boss without finding incriminating evidence, raising questions about the reliability of the information is used to push out the company’s founder.

Patricia is a highly accomplished business and marketing leader who brings more than 25 years of experience in senior leadership roles overseeing the expansion of major consumer brands in Eastern Africa at companies including Unilever, Diageo/East African Breweries Ltd, and L’Oréal.

She also holds a number of board positions at organizations such as ABSA Bank Kenya PLC, TradeMark East Africa Ltd, Jambojet Ltd, and British Chamber of Commerce and Industry is a Trustee on the boards of Vodafone Foundation UK and M-Pesa Foundation and was previously a non-executive director on the board of WPP Scangroup from 2017 to 2020.

Patricia is passionate about creating opportunities that improve people’s lives and is currently Regional Director at the Stanford Institute for Innovation in Development Economies – Seed, a Stanford Graduate School of Business initiative that builds a network of globally-engaged leaders from Silicon Valley to sub-Saharan Africa. Stanford Seed aims to tackle global poverty by supporting the scale-up of small and medium-sized businesses in developing economies and has led to revenue growth, regional expansion, and job creation for more than 200 companies.

In 2020, Ms. Ithau was awarded a Kenyan Head of State Commendation (HSC) – Civilian Division for her work in supporting enterprise development in the country. She holds an MBA in Strategic Management from the United States International University – Africa, and a B Com from the University of Nairobi. She also completed an Advanced Management Program at Strathmore Business School/IESE Business School, Barcelona, a General Management Program at INSEAD – CEDEP, and a Certificate Program in Scenario Planning at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. Patricia is an accredited executive coach and a certified emotional intelligence practitioner, working with business leaders to encourage a holistic approach to leadership and organizational change.

Patricia Ithau said: “WPP Scangroup is Kenya’s foremost marketing and communications network. I’m so excited by the opportunity to lead a company that prides itself on delivering outstanding work and creative innovation for clients. The company provides brands not only with unparalleled access to regional expertise, consumer insight, and talent but also the global reach they need to grow via the wider WPP network.”

Richard Omwela, Chairman of WPP Scangroup, said: “Patricia is an inspirational business leader in Kenya and beyond, and I’m delighted to welcome her to WPP Scangroup. She has extensive experience of transformational change that delivers sustainable business growth, and an inclusive leadership approach that will support our people as they create extraordinary work for our clients.”