Career Biography

Bonnie Okumu is the Group General Counsel at KCB Group. Appointed to the role in January 2021, she serves on the Group Executive Committee and leads the institution’s legal, governance, and regulatory strategy. She joined KCB in 2014 as Head of Legal Services, rose to Director of Legal Services in 2018, and now oversees corporate governance compliance, legal and commercial advisory, regulatory affairs, contract negotiations, securities perfection, legal risk management, and dispute resolution. She is known for delivering strategic, innovative, and commercially sound legal solutions. 

With more than 20 years of experience across private practice and multinational corporate environments, Bonnie has developed deep expertise in corporate governance, regulatory compliance, commercial law, and dispute resolution. Her leadership has earned her recognition in the Business Daily Top 40 Under 40 as well as inclusion in the GC Powerlist by The Legal 500, highlighting her as one of East Africa’s leading general counsel. She also brings extensive transactional experience from at least 20 African countries, managing acquisitions, entity formation, reorganizations, significant dispute resolutions, and cross-border legal and tax advisory. Her work, for over 15 years, as a certified secretary to various boards has further strengthened her governance acumen. 

Prior to joining KCB, Bonnie held senior regional and multinational roles, including Chief Legal and Regulatory Affairs Officer and Company Secretary at Telkom Kenya; General Counsel and Company Secretary at Unilever Kenya, supporting nine companies across seven African countries; and Regional Legal Manager for Nestlé’s Equatorial Africa Region, guiding company secretarial, legal and tax matters for 14 companies in 20 countries. Her earlier career in dispute resolution was at Dentons HHM. 

Bonnie is an Advocate of the High Court and a Certified Secretary. She also holds a senior executive programme for Africa (SEPA) certificate from the Harvard Business School. She has previously served as a director at the Busara Centre for Behavioural Economics, a research and advisory firm with five locations in Asia and Africa that helps public and private sectors with their work by advancing and applying behavioural science.