Britam has appointed Gwen Kinisu as Chief Executive Officer and Principal Officer of Britam Life Assurance Kenya, effective 1 November 2026. She joins from Prudential Life Assurance Kenya, where she served as CEO and Managing Director.
Britam said she arrives as the life business works to grow. Its statement described the task as “deepening customer trust” and expanding access to insurance, alongside building a business ready for the next phase of its ASCEND strategy.
Britam sets out the mandate
Britam advertised the role in 2026. The job listing says the CEO leads the development and execution of the ASCEND 2026 to 2030 strategy, builds a culture around the company’s values of accountability, trust, agility and customer focus, and works within the Britam Group leadership team.
The company holds a large share of the market. Britam held 25.1 percent of the life insurance market as at June 2024, and won Life Insurance Company of the Year at the Association of Kenya Insurers awards for the 18th consecutive year. Ambrose Dabani was named as Britam Life Assurance CEO when the company launched its whole life plan in April 2026. Britam has not said what happens to his role.
Kinisu’s career in life insurance and banking
Kinisu has worked in financial services for more than 20 years. Her career began in 2004 with an internship at PricewaterhouseCoopers and a projects coordinator role at Old Mutual Life Assurance.
She then spent six years at Pan Africa Life Assurance, from 2007 to 2013. Kinisu started as Regional Administration Manager and later became Head of Bancassurance and Brokers, then Head of Alternative Channels and Bancassurance. She moved to National Bank of Kenya as General Manager for Bancassurance in December 2013, and to UAP Old Mutual Group as General Manager for Direct Business in May 2016.
Her education includes a Global Executive MBA in International Business from United States International University Africa, a bachelor’s degree from the same university, and a postgraduate diploma in marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing. She has sat on the board of the International Centre for Research on Women Africa since September 2023.
Eight years at Prudential Kenya
Kinisu joined Prudential as Chief Commercial Officer in September 2018. Prudential named her CEO of Prudential Life Assurance Kenya in October 2021, succeeding Raxit Soni, and reported that she had grown the business and built relationships with banks and brokers as commercial chief.
Her term included several market moves:
- Bancassurance: Prudential and Standard Chartered Bank Kenya launched LivLife, a life cover for wealthy clients with payouts of up to Sh500 million. Kinisu said the initial focus was the affluent segment, but “our broader ambition is inclusive.”
- Agency growth: In April 2025 Prudential announced plans to recruit and train more than 5,000 agents over five years, up from about 1,000.
- Insurtech: Prudential backed an Insurance Regulatory Authority innovation hub that gave three startups Ksh 1.25 million each. Kinisu said such programmes let Prudential learn and partner as it becomes a digitally enabled insurer.
- Consolidation: She told Business Daily that several insurers had asked Prudential to consider merging with or acquiring them.
Her farewell message to Prudential
Kinisu announced her exit in a LinkedIn post on her final day at Prudential Kenya. She wrote that she spent eight years at the company, five and a half of them as CEO.
“The people are what stay,” she said, adding that titles, decks and spreadsheets fade. She described her view of the job this way: “leadership is stewardship.”
She thanked the Prudential Kenya teams and agency network, the Prudential Africa Hub led by Emmanuel Mokobi, and the company’s customers and partners.
“That trust was the job,” she said. She also thanked the board led by Richard Kiplagat, along with her husband Jonathan Kinisu, her father in law Philip Kinisu and her family.
She closed the post with a line about what comes next: “Every ending is preparation for a new beginning.”
What readers should watch
Britam Life will face two tests under new leadership: how it delivers ASCEND 2026 to 2030, and how it holds its market position against rivals that are building bancassurance and agency channels.
Follow Khusoko for further coverage of insurance appointments and life market results.
