Uganda’s 100 Leading and Most Admired CEOs 2024

Hardly two years after arriving in Uganda to take up her very first CEO role at Uganda’s largest telco, MTN Uganda, Sylvia Mulinge has emerged as Uganda’s most admired CEO, in the CEO East Africa Magazine’s inaugural 100 Leading & Most Admired CEOs In Uganda Survey.

The 2-in-1 CEO East Africa Magazine’s Most Trusted and Respected Companies & The Most Admired CEOs in Uganda Survey 2024 is part of the magazine’s thought leadership agenda that seeks to create a body of knowledge on what exactly great companies and great leaders are made of, as well as recognise them.

“This, we believe will both guide and inspire the next generation of great companies and leaders,” explains the magazine’s Executive Editor, Muhereza Kyamutetera.

The first set of survey results, which covers the 100 Most Trusted and Respected Companies in Uganda was published this week, on Tuesday, 20th August 2024- (see full list here: https://www.ceo.co.ug/ceo-east-africa-magazine-ranking-ugandas-100-most-trusted-and-respected-companies-2024/). 

Altogether the survey, which was carried out in two rounds,  involved 1,071 respondents online. 

57.24% of the respondents were male and 42.76% female. 43.45% of the respondents reported that they were between the ages of 31 and 40, while 27.59% were above 40. 

The majority of respondents were at the senior management/exco level (37.24%), while 33.79% were either at the CEO/Managing Director/General Manager/Executive Director or Founder/Shareholder and Board Director levels.

In both rounds of the survey, respondents were asked first of all to define what an admired CEO is made of, by ranking a set of leadership traits and then based on that ranking of traits, respondents were asked to mention at least 3 CEOs across various sectors that they thought were the leading CEOs and the ones they admired most.  

According to the survey, respondents ranked integrity, honesty, trustworthiness and reliability as the most important set of traits of a leading and most admired CEO.  This set of traits was ranked at a weight of 96.67%. 

The second most important set of traits trait was A clear, strong and well-articulated vision and being big-picture oriented with a weight of 96%. In the third position with a weight of 93.33%, a leading and admirable CEO must be able to put the well-being of their people first by creating a company that is a good place to work. 

The fourth most important trait was being foresighted, adaptable, decisive and able to lead from the front with a weighted score of 92.67%. The fifth most important trait was identified as being results-driven with a strong all-round performance record ⏤ weighted at 92.33%. 

See the full list of key CEO traits and how they were weighted by respondents, below.

Based on respondents’ list of their leading/most admired CEOs, a shortlist of CEOs was developed for each sector category. This list was then subjected to a second round of a weighted-ranking survey to be able to determine the list of the 100 Leading and Most Admired CEOs In Uganda 2024.

Accordingly, Sylvia Mulinge, whose MTN Uganda emerged as the third most trusted and respected company in Uganda in the same survey, was ranked as Uganda’s Leading and Most Admired CEO for 2024 with a weighted score of 87.14%.

In the second position is Amos Wekesa, the Founder & CEO of Great Lakes Safaris as well as Uganda Lodges with a weighted score of 80.67%. Great Lakes Safaris was voted No.13 in our 100 Most Trusted and Respected Companies 2024 survey. 

With a weighted score of 79.7%, Richard Yego, the Managing Director of MTN Mobile Money Uganda Limited (MTN MoMo), the fintech subsidiary of MTN Uganda emerged as the third Leading and Most Admired CEO in Uganda. MTN MoMo was voted the 4th most trusted and respected company.

Judy Rugasira Kyanda, the Managing Director of property management firm, Knight Frank Uganda, emerged in the fourth position with a weighted score of 77%.

In the fifth position is Susan Nsibirwa with 74.71%, the Managing Director of Nation Media Group Uganda which runs the Daily Monitor newspaper and NTV Uganda amongst other brands. 

Thomas Pelletier, the Managing Director of CFAO Mobility (formerly Toyota Uganda), was ranked as the 6th Leading and Most Admired CEO, while Ponsiano Ngabirano the Founder and CEO of the Capital Shoppers chain of supermarkets was ranked in the 7th position.

Media entrepreneur and founder of the Next Media Group, Kin Kariisa, emerged in the 8th position, while Fabian Kasi, the CEO of Centenary Bank, who has played a leading role in shaping the bank into Uganda’s second-largest bank came in the 9th position with a weighted score of 72.8%. 

In the 10th position is Geoffrey Mulwana, the Managing Director of Jesa Farm Dairy which he has built into Uganda’s leading dairy company was ranked in the 10th position with a weighted score of 71.57%.

Jesa Farm Dairy was voted No.15 in our most trusted and respected companies survey. 

See below, the full list of the 100 Leading and Most Admired CEOs 2024. 

Several studies have confirmed that the reputation of an organisation’s top leadership, especially its CEO, is crucial to that organisation’s reputation.

There is also abundant research to show a strong link between a highly regarded CEO and financial performance, attractiveness to talent and market value, amongst many other benefits.

To gain an understanding of what goes into the making of a highly regarded CEO in Uganda, the CEO East Africa Magazine conducted a survey that measured how various sets of leadership traits influenced public perceptions of CEO reputation. 

Based on these perceptions, respondents then ranked various CEOs across a number of sector categories. The weighted ranks were derived to generate our inaugural CEO East Africa Magazine’s 100 Leading and Most Admired CEOs In Uganda ranking.

Below is the full list.