Profile of newly appointed CBK Governor, Patrick Njoroge

CBK Governor Patrick Njoroge

Position: Governor, Central Bank of Kenya

Incumbent: Patrick Njoroge

Date of Birth: 1961

Term: Appointed June 19, 2015 for four-year, renewable term

Njoroge, a U.S.-educated economist and an adviser to a deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund before becoming governor, has said he believes the central bank can do more to control inflation and lower commercial lending rates.

He has pledged a rigorous approach to policy-making, saying he will rely on data for decisions and will avoid "knee-jerk ideology".

Njoroge, who holds a doctorate in economics from Yale, wants to work closely with commercial lenders to cut their rates, which have been seen as an obstacle to businesses and entrepreneurs.

He joined the Washington-based IMF in 1995 as an economist before rising through the ranks to adviser. Prior to that, he worked briefly in the mid-1980s at Kenya's Planning Ministry and was a Finance Ministry economist for a short stint in the mid-1990s.