A new partner at Deloitte and a fresh board appointment at an investment bank rarely land in the same week by coincidence.
Both moves this month point to where Kenyan companies are placing their bets: deeper risk expertise and sharper artificial intelligence capability at the very top of the organisation.
Beth Kithinji Joins Deloitte’s Partnership
Deloitte admitted Beth Kithinji to its East Africa partnership effective September 1, 2026, placing her inside the firm’s Strategy, Risk and Transactions business. She arrives with more than twenty years of experience in risk management, audit, internal controls, regulatory compliance, fraud management and business continuity.
Her career has moved between the private and public sectors, including stints at Equity Group Holdings, the Central Bank of Kenya and KPMG, with additional exposure across East Africa and the United Kingdom. That mix gives her a regulator’s eye and a practitioner’s instincts in the same person.
Kithinji holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Finance from the University of Nairobi and a Master of Commerce in Development Finance from the University of Cape Town, and she is a Certified Public Accountant. Deloitte says her leadership will strengthen how the firm helps clients manage risk, unlock value and pursue sustainable growth, while she describes her own focus as developing talent and using technology to sharpen risk management practice.
Grace Murugi Maina Brings AI Expertise To Capital A Investment Bank’s Board
The Board of Capital A Investment Bank Limited appointed Grace Murugi Maina as a Non Executive Director, effective immediately. Maina currently serves as Chief AI and Digital Strategist at This is Digital, where she leads AI strategy and workflow automation for organisations across Africa.
Her resume includes eighteen years in digital strategy, among them a stint as Global Head of Digital Strategy at Oxfam International and Head of Digital Media at Safaricom PLC. Business Daily named her to its Top 40 Under 40 Women list in 2023, and she was counted among the 50 Most Influential Women in Kenya in 2024.
She holds a Bachelor of Science in Applied Computer Science from Daystar University, a Master of Arts in Project Planning and Management from the University of Nairobi, and executive education in artificial intelligence from Oxford. Capital A Investment Bank says her appointment strengthens the board’s grip on governance, technology, digital transformation and AI as the bank expands its investment banking business.
Maina describes her new venture, This is Digital, as an attempt to close Africa’s AI literacy gap through consultancy and both in person and online bootcamps. The company also works with organisations directly, helping them build AI strategy, train staff and adopt the technology responsibly. Its next bootcamp begins in October 2025, with details available at thisisdigital.ai or by email at ai@thisisdigital.ai. Before this chapter, Maina worked with WPP Scangroup on the Unilever and Kimberly Clark accounts, at Safaricom, and at Oxfam International, and she also built, scaled and sold her own business along the way.
Why These Two Moves Matter Together
Kithinji’s appointment tells you Deloitte is betting on deeper regulatory and risk expertise as East African markets face more complex compliance demands. Maina’s appointment tells you investment banks now see artificial intelligence as a board level concern, not just an operational tool. Read side by side, the two moves capture where Kenyan corporate leadership is heading: risk discipline on one hand, technology fluency on the other, both increasingly led by women with decades of hard won expertise behind them.
