How Njeri's faith and family anchor her success as CEO

But knowing what is coming in the exam does not necessarily mean you are going to pass it. She is worried whether she has done enough, whether she is doing enough. This is why she leans heavily on what she learned from her own mother—love extravagantly, but understand choices have consequences—using that as a blueprint to design a life for her daughters. “This is my one rule as a parent: to bring them up in the ways of the Lord and when they grow up, they will not depart from it,” she says.

Why is that important? Because she doesn’t want to bring up entitled children, or children with no life skills...or as my mother would say because I said so.

Ms Njeri, would you say you’ve had a good life? Yes. Someone said recently that those who are privileged don’t know they have it. I am grateful for what I have, and the life I have had.

What does that life look like? I have a simple life. Out of work, I am a wife and a mother of three amazing daughters and those centre me. Family and faith are my pillars. Faith is my perspective on life and things, and what I consider my source because life can take you to many places but faith and family are my anchor.

What’s it like raising daughters in this era? Challenging. You imagine when they are children that’s the hard part. This is an entirely different human being with a mind of their own, personality, ambitions, and dreams. You can only guide them but they cannot be you. It is fascinating how God gives you a different human being who looks like you just to give you some attachment but they are not you, or yours. Seeing them flourish, they speak their minds—we brought them up in an environment where they can challenge and ask questions and we continue to guide them. But children today have a different set of challenges and I wonder if we have done enough all the time. Parenting is the only exam you get to know how you did long after.

What’s your motherhood philosophy? I am bringing up individuals who are with me but are not me. I strive to provide the toolkit that will enable them to withstand whatever life throws at them. My role is to bring them up in the ways of the Lord, and perhaps because I had the opportunity to have that kind of upbringing, over time that became anchoring in my life choices. I empower them to be wholesome individuals and know where their source is and where they are anchored—family and faith, and family is there for you, your constant. My role is to guide them through life but it will not always feel acceptable to them, they just have to rely on the fact that I have their best interests at heart. We have tough conversations, they are tough- little girls—they remind me of me a lot.

What does love look like from a mother? I worry that I am a very permissive parent. I don’t believe in withholding for the sake of it. “I suffered so you must suffer.” To the best of my ability to provide, I will. But I am always challenging them they must choose the kind of individual they want to be. I am extravagant in my love towards my children, so they can recognise they have the safety of knowing that is a constant whatever life throws at them. My love does not change with seasons, but again, because I am human, my love is limited, which is why I send them back to where their source is.

Is your mother alive? Yes.

What does she say about how you are raising your daughters? She has become more permissive with them than she was with me [chuckles]. My mom was tough. She had an extremely loving, expressive side but she was also clear on what consequences look like and managing that. With my children, I don’t see that side—she has gentle conversations with them, I have not seen consequences yet haha! I wonder what changed, I’ll ask her [chuckles].

What would you teach your mother about motherhood? A lot of what I do stems from what she did or said. It is the most subtle things—teachable moments and conversations that I find today are very applicable to me and my parenting. I am not sure I can teach her anything, I lean heavily on what I learned from her.

When I strip away the CEO, the wife, the mother—what remains? Njeri the person. I am an adventurous person. Gratitude is a word that comes to mind, I come from a challenging background. I look at where I am, and I appreciate the smallest of things. I don’t take anything for granted. I am not a free spirit come to think of it ha ha! But I am ambitious, and I am struggling to describe myself. I am simply the girl next door, I am grateful for everything and my source, and I am a believer that everything I have is a deliberate assignment. I have gratitude and I always see possibilities.

What does the girl next door do just for herself? Ha ha! I always believed I was an extrovert. I spent a lot of time around family, and more recently I find the quiet moments that I can think through—I like practising mindfulness, how am I feeling at this point? Where am I right now? I spend a lot of time reflecting or with family—whether it is with my husband where we have common things we enjoy or things we do with the children; but I value a lot of quietness and stillness in my alone time.

Why is reflection so important to you? Because I am particular about impact. We are here for a reason so what impact am I having in all my different roles? It allows me to have a conversation with myself: how do I feel about this? Is this how I preferred this was going? I am responsible for families and people—what happened and how do I feel about the direction we are taking and can we do better? Reflection for me is about assessing the impact of my actions or otherwise. As long as it is within my circle of concern and circle of control, I want to be able to do something about it.

What do you hope people feel when they think about you? It should be less about me but the impact of what I have driven. I am passionate about courses that relate to human dignity. There is a feeling when you watch the news/social media, there is a helplessness that comes with feeling like there is nothing you can do with all the things that go on. 

The Germans call it Weltschmerz. Yes. I am big on impact and transformation: is it achieving the right impact, driving the right outcomes and transformation? I tell my team, that I am not just about achieving KPIs, but I want to discuss whether you grew, made progress, or achieved certain milestones. I am pushy about who you are, where you are going and what do you want from all of this and how does it fit into your bigger picture? 

Has work always been this central in your life? Yes. I find my work meaningful and I am drawn to such. When I work with people, you as a leader have an opportunity to use your voice to make people’s lives better. I am pushy about my team’s growth. And the ability to say what we mean and we do it—work has to make sense to me. Titles are just that, power is transient—the real impact we have is what we do with those roles we have. I am not any more brilliant than a lot of other people, so why should I be the one sitting there making those decisions? It is a responsibility for that period—you can have a positive impact on the offices you hold. Whoever is faithful with more? Promotions come from the Lord—it come with responsibilities but it also have rights and privileges; there is a fulfilment that comes from knowing you’ve been responsible for the path that you have taken.

This is a gendered question, but most men get fulfilment from their careers, while most women get fulfilment from their families. In your case, work gives you meaning…Ha ha! Let me say that people are centered differently. There are those when the career is working, everything else works; and others when the family is working everything else works. I am centered around family, if it is working then work is meaningful. It is not quite a gender thing, people are different, but some women prefer not to have children and we must be okay with that. Regardless of where you are, there is where you are centered. Family is where I am centered and therefore work thrives as a result of that. Again, choices have consequences: you choose whatever side, and you must be willing to live up to what you have chosen.

Do you have a special family ritual? As the children were growing up, we set aside Saturday nights for movie nights.

Who is choosing the movies? We have to find a balance. I have two teens, one of them is heading to adulthood and I have a nine-year-old. In most cases, they choose. Over time, the teenagers have their plans. Sundays are now when we only have family around—who’s cooking? Be it dad throwing something in the oven or whatnot. Toward the holiday season, we ensure we have no help, everyone has to chip in but they don’t like it that much…[chuckles]. It is foundational, they must have some basic life skills.

But you just said, “I suffered so you don’t have to…” It is not suffering; it is life skills ha ha! There is value in knowing how to be useful with your hands. They have to be individuals who can navigate whatever life throws at them.

What would you consider failure as a mother, if at all failure exists in motherhood? I would love my children to know God themselves, not through their mother, that they have a personal relationship with Him. It is my one rule as a parent: to bring them up in the ways of the Lord and when they grow up, they will not depart from it. If I bring up entitled children, that would hurt. I have grown up in an environment where I am grateful for everything I have—I want them to retain that ability to recognise that they do have privilege but they should not take it for granted.

Is it working so far? I hope it is. This is the only exam I will know how well I did much later in life. Back to the source and where does my help come from? If you are clear about those things then it is much easier to navigate through life.

What’s your insecurity now? Bringing up responsible young ladies. Being a good parent. You want them when they are presented with choices, they make the right one. Whether we’ve done enough.

Having been a CEO, is it easier to let go of control as a parent? I struggle with the parenting side. In the office, you can have the right people, you can change them—you are stuck with your children. You are imprinting from day 1, so you better like what you see. It’s a lot harder because I have heartstrings tied in there, like I said, I love them extravagantly…

What are your weaknesses? That’s why you are told it takes two. My husband tends to be the disciplinarian, he is consistent, this is the route…

What matters more than you thought it would? My impact on the people that I lead. It matters that they make progress, and when I was younger, I thought it is titles and success that mattered. I get concerned that I have over 200 staff—do I know them? I don’t want them to be just a number on my Excel sheet—and I did not expect it to matter half as much as it does, but it does.

And what matters less? Hanging out, partying…

You are only saying that…Ha ha! I find it’s maybe about seasons and in this season, I value my peace and quiet [chuckles]. I am content in that space. I had imagined by now, that I’d want to be everywhere, but once I am done with work, I just want to be in that space. You have to prioritise, we don’t speak about that a lot, when it really comes down to choosing, I end up with family.

Is your husband also a chilled-out guy? He is a quiet guy. It is challenging because he is also very ambitious and would remind me of my giant goals, causing me to reflect on what I am choosing. He is very peaceful and stable.

Do you have it all? [chuckles] Success is relative. Today it is defined as being married, with children, and having a career. Do I consider myself successful? I am grateful for what I have. There are things I may have done right, but there are also things I have not done that worked out in a certain way for one reason or the other. I think in all fairness, we are just fortunate, or at the right place at the right time.

Are you a lucky person? Do you believe in luck? I think I am very fortunate. I think the more prepared you are, the luckier you are.

Are you happy? Yes.

When was the moment you realised you were happy? Ha ha! In my reflections, I realised I like where I am, and I like this season.

What is the one question you wish more people asked you? You’ve already asked me the hard questions! Perhaps my experience can help them make their own life choices. We are caught up in who we are, and our journeys are different, but you can only borrow from my experiences and find what works for you and make the best scenarios for yourself, which is why I do lots of mentorship. We have to pay it forward.

What is a misconception people have about Njeri? Ha ha! There are many. One is that I am from a wealthy background, my surname does me no favours there [chuckles]. In some instances, some people assume I am happy-go-lucky. I am very intentional and perhaps intense.

What is the soundtrack of your life now? “Ahsante” by Mercy Masika. And, “Asante” by Kambua. There has been a lot of God’s grace in my life—I am full of gratitude.

When you think of the weekend what comes to mind? Rest. My phone will stop ringing and I can do other things. There will be silence. My job takes a lot, and health insurance is demanding, so the weekend is two days for me to do everything else. My phone just stops ringing [chuckles].

What do you know that I should know? I find this fascinating: how different our intelligences are. You asking these questions is a different type of intelligence to the one Monica has to bring an event as we have just had to live to the one your photographer decides on the right angle…it is fascinating how diverse and different our intelligence is, and I think we get caught up in trying to be like the other person. Sometimes you are taking a fish out of the water and asking it to climb a tree [chuckles].

What’s more important—intelligence or common sense? Ha ha! Common sense because intelligence already exists [chuckles]

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