Standard Group Board appoints Chaacha Mwita Acting CEO

Standard Group Executive Editor Chaacha Mwita has been appointed Acting CEO. [Kanyiri Wahito, Standard]

The Standard Group has appointed Chaacha Mwita as Acting Group Chief Executive Officer effective July 1, 2025, following the exit of Ms Marion Gathoga-Mwangi.

Mr Mwita has also been appointed as an Executive Director to the Board.

In a notice from the Board, Company Secretary Millicent Ngetich said the appointment of Mr Mwita comes as a result of Ms Gathoga-Mwangi's resignation on June 30.

Ms Gathoga-Mwangi has been the Group CEO since July 15, 2024.

"Ms Gathoga exits to pursue other career interests. The Board takes this opportunity to thank Ms Gathoga for her invaluable service and leadership, and wishes her all the best in her future pursuits," the notice said.

Mr Mwita has over 20 years of extensive local and international experience in leadership, communication and policy engagement, with a strong foundation in journalism.

The Board said Mr Mwita's solid achievements as a distinguished journalist and media leader will add value to the organisation as it seeks to reinvigorate its journalism to uphold its tenets of boldness and independence.

Mr Mwita joined the company in April 2025 as the Group Chief Executive Editor and has been pivotal in supporting the company to start to actualise its 2025-2027 strategy, re-orienting its content strategy on all its platforms and refining the business model.

Some of his professional accolades include conducting comprehensive media assessments in several African countries among them Kenya, Botswana, Zambia and Uganda; and leadership roles at the Standard Group (previously as Editorial Director and recently in the Board), Nation Media Group, Aga Khan Foundation, African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC) and Thompson Foundation (London, UK).

Academically, Mr Mwita holds a Bachelor of Education (Arts) degree from the University of Nairobi, and a postgraduate diploma in Mass Communication from the University of Nairobi's School of Journalism. He also has an MBA from the University of St Gallen, Switzerland.

Mr Mwita has also participated in executive development programmes at the Haas School of Business (University of California at Berkeley, USA) and the University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg.

"We believe Chaacha's solid achievements as a distinguished journalist and media leader will add value to the organisation as it seeks to reinvigorate its journalism to uphold its tenets of boldness and independence," the Board said.