Previously an associate of Kaplan & Stratton Advocates, one of Kenya’s most prestigious law firms, Fred Waithaka embarked upon an in-house legal trajectory relatively soon into his career.

After earning his legal stripes, Waithaka took on a role with Safaricom, a leading Kenyan telecoms company, and over the course of the six-and-a-half years he excelled, eventually progressing to the position of principal in-house counsel. In April 2012, he moved on to IT services and network provider SEACOM, a Pan-African company that counts as its mission the noble goal of building the internet of Africa.

Again taking the lead on a number of important projects at the company, Waithaka was made head of legal, and stayed in this role until May of 2017, when he returned to Safaricom. Now, he has added company secretarial duties to his legal ones, and looks set to continue his record of legal success for the company while having greater strategic input on the overall direction of the business.