Kenneth Mbae is the Managing Director of Centum Real Estate, a real estate growth company that develops mixed use urban nodes in strategic locations where families, individuals, and businesses are positioned to thrive. Over the years, Kenneth who begun his career in 2010 as an intern at Centum has obtained hands on experience on every aspect of real estate development, investment, and business value chain through the various leadership roles that he has held at Centum Re.
Board of Directors
Corporate Governance
Centum Real Estate adheres to high standards of corporate governance. The Board of Directors of Centum RE includes non-executive directors who are sector experts in their various fields. The Centum Real Estate management team has over 30+ years of combined experience in real estate development and project finance in East Africa, with a long track record of successfully identifying, de-risking, developing and attracting third party equity on projects at significant equity upsides.
Chairman1
Mr Paul Wanjohi Kangangi
Board Chairman
Mr. Wanjohi Kangangi was appointed Independent Executive Director of Centum Real Estate and Chairman of the Board on July 2026. He is the Sales and Marketing Director at Isuzu East Africa, where he leads the company’s sales, marketing and customer engagement strategy across the region.
Mr. Kangangi has over two decades of experience in the automotive industry, having joined Isuzu East Africa in 1996. He has served in various leadership roles across logistics, marketing, customer relations, aftersales and sales. In 2012, he joined Toyota Kenya as General Manager, where he led the establishment of the Hino brand. He subsequently served as the Managing Director of CMC before rejoining General Motors East Africa in early 2017, where he continued to provide strategic leadership within the automotive sector.
Mr. Kangangi holds both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Engineering, Economics and Management from the University of Oxford, United Kingdom.
Executive Directors1
MR Kenneth Mbae
Managing Director
In his role as Managing Director, Kenneth provides astute leadership to Centum Real Estate in its quest for growth and through its evolution journey to become the “homes developer brand of choice” in Sub-Saharan Africa. He is responsible for the company’s overall vision and strategy, investment priorities, ESG agenda, financial objectives as well as operations. Under Kenneth’s leadership, Centum Re has become one of the largest real estate developers in East Africa. The Company has delivered record sales and profitable growth by expanding into new diaspora markets in the US, Europe, Australia, Middle East and the Rest of Africa.
Kenneth is a trailblazer and result oriented leader with a proven track record in the real estate industry. He has been at the helm of providing oversight to multiple operations, marketing and strategic roles covering multiple large-scale projects in East Africa.
Centum Re under his leadership successfully completed and handed over 1,200 homes with a further 2,100 homes under construction. Most recently, Kenneth retired a KES 3B Centum RE listed Real Estate bond from internally generated funds, monetised the existing land bank and pioneered the installation of the largest sea water desalination plant in Sub-Saharan Africa with a daily capacity of 3 million litres of water. Under his leadership, Centum RE established a Scholarship scheme that provides full high school educational support to brilliant students from underprivileged background and so far, 400 student students have been beneficiaries.
Prior to assuming the Managing Director role, Kenneth held positions of significant responsibility within Centum RE such as the Chief Operating Officer and founding Managing Director of Vipingo Development PLC.
He holds a BSC. Biochemistry from Kenyatta University and an Advanced Management Certificate in Business Management from the Kenya Institute of Management. He is a Harvard GSD Alumni (AMDP XVIII), University of Cambridge Judge Business School SMP 8 Alumni, and a member of the Project Management Institute as well as the Institute of Directors (Kenya). Kenneth is also a Certified RBA Trustee.
Non-Executive Directors3
Dr Laila Macharia
Non-Executive Director
Dr. Macharia is a Serial Entrepreneur and Angel Investor, supporting ventures in media, education, data analytics, and financial technology. She is the Chair of the Board at Absa Life Assurance Kenya and previously served as a Non-Executive Director at Barclays Bank of Kenya (now ABSA Bank Kenya).
Her career includes roles as CEO of Scion Real, a consultancy firm specializing in project finance, and practicing law at Kaplan & Stratton, where she managed transactions across Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda. She also worked as a Corporate Finance Associate at Clifford Chance US LLP and served as a Senior Regional Advisor at USAID-East Africa. Additionally, Dr. Macharia led the Africa Initiative at the Global Fund for Women in San Francisco.
She holds a B.A. in Planning & Public Policy from the University of Oregon, a Juris Doctor and LL.M from Cornell University, and a doctorate from Stanford University.
Mrs. Catherine Igathe
Non-Executive Director
Catherine Igathe is the Managing Director and Founder of Ortus Solutions Group Ltd, a consultancy firm specializing in leadership development, executive mentorship, personal growth, and business strategy.
Mrs. Igathe currently serves as Non–Executive Director on the board of GenAfrica Asset Managers Limited. She formerly served as the Managing Director of AIG Kenya Insurance Company Limited, bringing over 18 years of managerial experience to the role. She subsequently served as the Chief Executive Officer of Jubilee General Insurance Company Ltd.
Mrs. Igathe holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from United States International University. She is also a graduate of the Advanced Management Program from Strathmore Business School and IESE Business School.
Norah Ratemo
Non-Executive Director, representing the Kenya Development Corporation Limited
Ms. Norah Buyaki Ratemo is the Director General and Board Member of Kenya Development Corporation (KDC) following her appointment on 4th July 2023.
Ms. Ratemo’s previous role at KDC was Director, Investments. She has over 15 years’ experience in Credit Risk Management having worked at Ecobank Kenya as a Credit Analyst, and before then, was engaged as Assistant Manager, Securities and Documentation with Sidian Bank Limited. She currently serves on the board of Kenya Wines Agencies.
Ms. Ratemo holds a master’s degree in business administration finance option from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology and a Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) Accounting option. She is a Certified Public Accountant, CPA (K) and a member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants (ICPAK) and Association of Women Accountants in Kenya.