Suntra CEO Kinoti exits broker after two-year contract

Stockbroker Suntra Investment Bank will have to scout for a new chief executive after Luke Kinoti exited when his contract expired end of April.

Mr Kinoti, an investment operative and entrepreneur, said he was on a two-year contract starting April 2017 and did not wish to renew it.

“It is true my contract ended in April (2019) and I was not keen to renew.

“I retired to pursue other interests in finance and investment space,” said Mr Kinoti, who has been replaced by Patrick Gatuba in an acting capacity.

Mr Kinoti, also the chairman of Key Microfinance, however retains his shareholding at Suntra admitted to Nairobi Securities Exchange in July 1994.

His exit closely follows that of long-serving chairman Wachira Nguru, who left the stockbroker in January, ending nearly three-decade stint as a director at the company.

Co-founding director David Kinyua Waweru replaced Mr Wachira.

Mr Kinoti has business interest in private equity, real estate, microfinance, insurance and fund management in East Africa.

Before joining Suntra, he was the co-founder and group managing director and chief executive of Fusion Group. He exited the Fusion Group in 2017.

He is also the founder CEO of ECLOF Kenya, a medium-sized microfinance institution.