David Ssegawa holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work & Social Administration from Makerere University in Kampala/Uganda, as well as a Master’s Degree in Employment Relations from the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom. He also holds a certificate from the Global Business Leadership Programme at Harvard Business School in Boston/USA and is a certified Coach of the International Coaching Federation.
Since graduating, he has served as HR Director at several leading global multinational companies, providing significant strategic impulses. These companies include Unilever (East and Southern Africa), based in Kenya, The Coca-Cola Company (Central, East, West and Southern Africa), based in Kenya and South Africa, Stanbic Africa/Standard Bank Group of South Africa (Central, East, West and Southern Africa), based in South Africa, Bharti Airtel International (19 African subsidiaries plus Sri Lanka and Bangladesh), based in Kenya, as well as the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), based in Côte d’Ivoire. He also served as Group HR Director at Equity Group Holdings, Global Chief People & Culture Officer at Living Goods, as well as Group HR Director at Equity Group Holdings, all based in Kenya.
During this time, he led successful company-wide transformations at national, regional and international levels. He also ensured the successful implementation of solutions, particularly for long-term strategies, M&A integrations, start-ups, the redesign of organisational structures, restructuring, corporate cultures, governance, employee development and employee value propositions (EVP).
David Ssegawa has been responsible for operations in more than 90 countries across various continents and is therefore well-versed in leading diverse, globally distributed multicultural teams to success.
In 2023, he was awarded the prize for outstanding achievements in human resources by the Human Resources Managers Association of Uganda, and in 2024 he was honoured at the Global Conference on Human Resources in Africa for his exceptional achievements influencing human resources development across Africa. He has a particular interest in cooperation strategies between the private and development/non-profit sectors to promote economic, financial and personal empowerment.
He is a committee Member of the Institute of Human Resources Management of Kenya (IHRMK) as well as the founder and first President of the Human Resources Managers Association of Uganda (HRMAU). He is also a non-executive director at Centum Investment Company Plc., East Africa’s largest listed investment company, based in Kenya.
David Ssegawa is your top Expert in the fields of executive search, HR consulting & development, board & management consulting, change management, as well as executive & business coaching, particularly in the consumer goods, telecoms & IT, as well as financial services sectors.
- Master’s Degree in Employment Relations, University of Leicester, UK
- Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work & Social Administration, Makerere University, Kampala/Uganda
- Certified ‘Mastery to Artistry’ Coach, Continuing Coaching Education
- Certificate of Global Business Leadership Programme, Harvard Business School, Boston/USA
- Currently working on a PhD in ‘Global Leadership’
- Executive Search
- HR Consulting & Development
- Board & Management Consulting
- Change Management
- Executive & Business Coaching
- Group HR Director at Equity Group Holdings in Kenya, with particular responsibility for leading the human resources function of the diversified pan-African group (operating in the banking, insurance, technology, FinTech, Investment & Equity Group Foundation), operational excellence & sustainability, HR governance, employee value proposition, total compensation management, competency audits, talent management, Member of the business transformation & digitalisation task force, as well as post-merger integration of the EBC & BCDC banks.
- Global Chief People & Culture Officer at Living Goods in Kenya, with particular responsibility for the global ‘People & Culture’ function, leading global teams (in East & West Africa, Europe & the USA), talent management, organisational restructuring, as well as the design & implementation of hybrid office solutions, diversity, equity & inclusion.
- Global People Director at Oxfam International, responsible for leading global human resources, organisational & cultural transformation, integration of 19 member organisations into the Oxfam confederation, governance, etc.
- Group HR Director & Vice President of HR & Corporate Services at the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) in Abidjan/Ivory Coast, responsible for managing 370 employees (in the areas of HR, information technology, procurement, general services, as well as medical & occupational health services), transformation processes, change management initiatives, HR policies & systems, leadership development, etc.
- Chief HR Officer at Bharti Airtel International in Nairobi, responsible for leading the Airtel Africa Group’s human resources function, managing 17 country HR Directors and over 230 HR professionals, contributing to company-wide strategic decisions and organisational restructuring, as well as Member of the Africa Executive Committee.
- HR Director at Coca-Cola (Central, East, West & Southern Africa) in Johannesburg, responsible for leading HR across 35 countries, including organisational restructuring measures to drive revenue growth.
- HR Director at Unilever (East & Southern Africa) in Nairobi, with particular responsibility for HR strategy, managing the HR department, etc.
- Division HR & Total Rewards Manager at Coca-Cola (East & Central Africa) in Nairobi, with particular responsibility for the HR business partners at the divisional headquarters as well as strategic compensation management across 28 countries in line with the Coca-Cola Africa Group framework.
- Senior HR Manager/Regional Head of HR at Stanbic Africa (Standard Bank Group of South Africa) in Johannesburg, with particular responsibility for managing a team of six HR employees (covering East, South, Central, West & Portuguese-speaking Africa), as well as providing support for M&A transactions, including integrations & change management.
- Country HR Manager as well as Regional Training & Development Manager at Unilever (East Africa) in Kampala & Nairobi, with particular responsibility for supporting the establishment of the first factory in Uganda, as well as talent management, etc., for the Home & Personal Care divisions in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania & Ethiopia, as well as for the tea plantations in Kenya & Tanzania.
Travelling the world (discovering new cultures, music, food & people), hockey, basketball and swimming.
