Safaricom hires US telco AT&T director Cynthia Karuri as new enterprise manager

By Isaac Oganga

Safaricom Wednesday appointed AT&T director of IoT technologies Cynthia Karuri-Kropac as the new Chief Enterprise Business Officer effective September 1, to replace Joseph Wanjohi who has been acting since May. Karuri has worked at US telco AT&T Inc. for 19 years, serving in various management and leadership roles.

The position fell vacant in May following the exit of Kris Senanu barely a year into the job.

“With over 20 years of experience in the telecommunications sector, Cynthia has a wealth of knowledge in various crafts, including business strategy, industrial IoT, enterprise technology solutions, executive advisory and decision support, operational excellence and process reengineering,” noted Safaricom.

Cynthia Karuri-Kropac is the Director for Healthcare Mobility and IoT solutions, and leads the design, creation, and implementations of complex, connected solutions and networks that are focused on enabling mobile transformation and modernization of enterprise business capabilities.

Cynthia’s passion and focus is in bringing to life solutions that focus customer experiences and not just products, and in helping businesses navigate their digital transformation journey and in the realization of their objectives and desired outcomes through connected, secure, solutions.

Cynthia has worked in several leadership positions in the telecommunications industry and prior to that as a management consultant at Andersen Consulting where she began her professional career. Cynthia has worked at diverse group of multiple Fortune 500 clients, through their transformational efforts in digitization, automation, process reengineering as well as business restructuring through mergers and divestitures.

Cynthia is the recipient of several company and industry awards in various capacities, including recognition by Women of Color Magazine as a Rising Star in STEM, and as top Supplier of the Year award for the largest Healthcare OEM in the world. Cynthia has a passion for teaching and the pursuit of learning, has taught Finance at a local community college level and is a budding blogger for teaching financial literacy and planning.

Cynthia holds an MBA in Finance from Kent State University and a BSc in Finance from University of Toledo.