The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has appointed Kenyan Nancy Asiko Onyango as the new director of its Office of Internal Audit and Inspection (OIA).
The OIA is tasked with conducting independent audits of the IMF’s internal control and governance processes.
Onyango’s appointment is effective February 2018, replacing the current Director, Clare Brady, who led the office for almost four years.
IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde made the announcement on Monday, expressing confidence in the Kenyan national’s ability to steer the key entity.
“Ms. Onyango brings more than 25 years of internal audit, strategic risk management, corporate governance and IT risk management experience to the fund,” Ms. Lagarde said in a statement.
Nancy Asiko Onyango Biography
Nancy Asiko Onyango has worked in multiple sectors, including financial services, and with multiple governments, development agencies, and non-governmental organizations. Prior to her appointment, she was Chief Executive Officer at Reliance Risk Advisory Solutions, Kenya.
She was also a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers (Kenya) and also served as EY’s governance, risk and compliance leader for Africa. She currently serves on the boards of directors of KCB Bank Group and Cytonn Investments.
Woman. Onyango is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and holds a PhD in Business Administration from United States International University – Africa in collaboration with Columbia Business School, specializing in Gender Leadership and Organizational Change Management. She also holds several international certifications from global institutions such as the Information Systems Audit and Control Association and the Institute of Internal Auditors.
Nancy speaks Kiswahili and of course English. She was born in Kenya where she received her earliest formal education. If you want to learn more about the Kenyan who will soon lead the operations of the IMF’s Office of Internal Audit and Inspection, read on for a detailed account of her education and career.
training
Onyango is passionate about learning. This is evident when you take a look at the history of their training. Because of the little knowledge she gained from attending local schools as a child, Nancy couldn’t stop wanting more. Notwithstanding the fact that higher education was seriously considered something of little value and importance for a girl at the time, she was in no way discouraged from doing what she wanted.
During elementary school, her teachers would often make remarks like “You’ll learn more in the next grade”. This left Nancy anxious to know what comes next. Soon she was to acquire higher knowledge at the University of Nairobi. First, she earned a Bachelor of Commerce, Accounting and Finance. That was in 1987. Two years later (1989) Nancy earned a Masters in Business Administration.
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Although most people would choose to call it Onyango has stopped training at this point and continued her education at INSEAD, a business academy. She also attended GIBBS Business School in Johannesburg, South Africa to participate in the Executive Management Development Program.
In addition, Nancy was a student of the United StatesStates International University from 2013 to 2016. It was with this institution that she received her DBA – Doctorate in Business Administration, Organizational Leadership and Change Management. As if that weren’t enough, the Kenyan also attended Columbia University’s business school in 2014.
career
Nancy Asiko Onyango’s career is as bold and adventurous as her education. Let’s start with the services it offers voluntarily. Since September 2012 she has been a voluntary board member of the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA) in Kenya. She has also been a panel judge for Pillar Wards for Africa since December 2013.
Woman. Nancy started her career in 1989 as an AIESEC intern at C&L in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. This only lasted a few months. From that year until January 1999 she gained experience with Coopers & Lybrand Associates as an Assistant Manager.
From 1995 to 2002, Onyango was involved in the management of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) in the UK. She initially worked for over three years as a manager in the firm’s Global Risk Management Solutions department based in Uxbridge, London. Then as senior manager for more than three and a half years. Based on the experience gained in these positions, Nancy later served as Head of PWC’s Risk Assurance Services in East Africa from 2011-2014. She also managed another PwC project in the region for 7 years.
In addition, Nancy Asiko Onyango was a partner of EY for almost two years (January 2015 – August 2016) for the project “Governance, Risk & Compliance Leader for Africa”.
She has been working with Fairtrade International since 2016 and have also served as Board Advisor for Financial Sector Deepening Africa (FSD Africa). Nancy has served on the board of directors of Cytonn Investments since June 2017. However, she is best known as a member of the Board of Directors of KCB Bank Group.
Brief facts about Nancy Asiko Onyango
1. Her appointment as Director of the IMF’s Office of Internal Audit and Inspection becomes effective in February 2018.
2. Onyango is a certified risk management insurance company and a certified accountant.
3. She is a graduate of the University of Nairobi, where she also obtained a master’s degree.
4. Nancy received her PhD from United States International University.
5. She has held various managerial positions in many famous companies around the world.
6. She was once the CEO of a consulting firm – Reliance Risk Advisory and a specialist in organizational change management.