Joyce Gathigi : Teacher Conquers The Boardroom

By Gardy Chacha

Before meeting Joyce Gathigi in person, the mental image I had of the woman in charge of procurement at one of East Africa’s giant companies — East African Breweries — was magnanimous.

I had pictured a woman with feministic and granite-like façade; a medley of American no-nonsense ‘twang’, and sparrow velvety on the Queen’s language.

Down to Earth

But no! Talking to her, I was hit by the pleasant disappointment that she is indeed Kenyan and at sea level with herself. A simple ‘hi’ and a warm firm handshake was all it took to make us comfortable. “I am Joyce Gathigi,” she said. “Welcome to EABL Kenya.”

Joyce’s daily routine is to ensure the company deals with suppliers and vendors worth the description. Being an amalgam of several brand entities, Joyce has her job well cut out for her.

She says: “To deliver in this job, you have to plan meticulously. Everything from supplier selection and contract management with vendors has to go as planned. When all is accomplished at all stages, the sense of satisfaction is worth it.”

Even though she smiles and chuckles often, she has an element of fearlessness and focus. Her bouncy oratory on question as she explains herself tells of a woman who understands where she is from, her position at this juncture, and where she wants to be in future. At 43, hers is not meteoritic rise to greatness, but a stepwise and firm rise towards the pinnacle of her dreams.

Meritocracy

Like most womenfolk with a cap of achievement to their name, Joyce too, has a history; a chronology based on meritocracy. Picturing the progress her fairly adult self has made from 20 years ago is quaint.

Though she has a degree in Bachelor of Education in Mathematics and Chemistry from Egerton University, at the back of mind though, she had her eyes set on the corporate world: Meeting great thinkers and making decisions in the boardroom; decisions that would then spur growth in an organisation.

“I looked at it as a foundation degree,” she says of her university education, “I knew what I wanted and it wasn’t teaching. After graduation, I was posted to a school but I opted to go for a less paying opening at a relatively young company called Molecular Maintenance. That’s how I began my journey through the corporate world.”

Joyce grew up as a first born in a Christian family. Her parents raised her without the barriers culture had imposed on many girls’ lives at a time Kenya was still grappling with gender issues. She attended Musa Gitau Primary School and passed well to earn an invitation from the prestigious and revered Alliance Girls High School where she accomplished both her O-level and A-level exams. It was afterwards that she was enrolled at the university.

Loves God

Always yearning for wholesome success, Joyce accepted roles in school including being a class prefect and hockey captain for four years oblivious of the leadership foundation she was laying for her future. She would spend her pastime reading novels, books and different journals that appealed to her quest for success.

Conversing through the interview, I notice a unique affinity to God as she quite often refers to ‘Grace of God’ in mundane subtlety.

“I was raised by Christian parents who inculcated in me virtues of Christian life,” she quips. “I have worked hard and smart to reach where I am, but I have to say it’s because God was with me every step of the way; taking me up the ladder to where I wanted to be while He guided me through a harmless path: It’s His Grace.”

Grace of God it could be since not much time passed before she was recruited as a management graduate trainee by Unilever East Africa from Molecular Maintenance.

At the company, her career grew in stepwise ascension. For close to 20 years at Unilever, she eventually rose to the rank of procurement officer, a position she held until she moved to EABL to take up the office of group procurement director.

As a professional who wants to excel further, Joyce plans a year ahead as she monitors market fluctuations and farming seasons for ingredients like barley that the company uses to manufacture finished products. The job is demanding and yanks a big share of her 24 hours in a single day. The earliest she goes home on a good day is 6pm. At times, meetings and basic procurement demands holds her in the office almost to 10pm.

Balance

Her personal life as a wife and a mother does her the good of shifting her focus at times away from the busy and macho style office environment.

 “It is exciting to work for EABL. The job comes with challenges, but it is at the point each one is surmounted that I feel happy. After that I am at home with my family for the happiest moments of my life,” she says.

It has been seven months since Joyce began working with the East African beverage power house, and she — as expected — spews zest for the position she holds now.

But how does she reconcile the fact that she works in a senior position for a company, which makes drinks that her faith preaches against?

Her answer: “EABL is an equal opportunity employer. I am a professional and I know my roles. Working for this company does not compromise my morals and God let me be where I am today. My being here will definitely influence others positively…that’s something I am happy to take home.”

Joyce is one among a small species of women with a story of growth that womenfolk, in generations to come, will be jolly to learn from.