Blogs & Vlogs

Last Friday, on 9th October 2026, I had the privilege of being a judge at the Women in STEM Awards 2026 organized by Be The Engineer at the Nairobi Club. Of course, we had done the evaluations earlier, and this was just the awarding ceremony. I was called to give comments and share insights about the judging process and how decisions were made. Here is what I think every future nominee should know: the strongest careers don’t always make the strongest nominations. Here is what I would tell anyone hoping to win.

I had a wonderful time at the Spicy Circle Summit on Saturday (the 12th of Sept. 2026) — meeting great people, sharing ideas, and making meaningful connections. One question that stayed with me was:

In today’s economic climate, business owners and professionals face unprecedented market shifts, inflation pressures, and changing customer demands. Operating with a traditional or static business model is no longer enough—sustainability requires a complete mindset transformation.

In the corporate and business world, your technical expertise can only take you so far. The true ceiling of your leadership is determined by a completely different skill: your ability to communicate, influence, and move people to action. Having great ideas isn't good enough. One must be able to communicate the ideas and influence action on them.

NAIVASHA, KENYA — If John Ngumi provided the architectural blueprint for transformational leadership at the Rotary District 9212 District Conference Assembly (DCA) in Naivasha on Friday, May 22nd, 2026, it was Paul Russo who gave it a pulse. In a spectacular moment of corporate humility, Ngumi had earlier pointed to the KCB Bank Group CEO as the ultimate embodiment of his first axiom: how you start does not determine how you finish. When Russo took the stage, he did not project the detached aura of an elite financier overseeing a regional banking empire. Instead, he stepped forward as a self-described "miracle"—a living testament to the transformative power of community intervention, unvarnished luck, and an unrelenting escape from poverty.

NAIVASHA, KENYA — When John Ngumi steps to the podium, the room falls into a captive silence. He does not speak from a generic corporate script; he speaks from the scars and triumphs of a 35-year legacy that shaped East Africa’s financial architecture. As the guest speaker at the Rotary District 9212 District Conference Assembly (DCA) in Naivasha on Friday, May 22nd, 2026, the retired veteran investment banker stripped away the glossy veneer of modern management theory to deliver a masterclass on true Transformational Leadership.