The Standard Group PLC has appointed Dr Naim Bilal Yaseen as Group Chief Executive Officer from 1 November 2026, six days after the board named an acting chief executive to succeed Chaacha Mwita.
The board made the appointment after a recruitment process, according to a notice dated 29 October 2026 and issued by the Company Secretary. The notice states that the appointment supersedes the earlier acting appointment and places Yaseen in office with full effect from 1 November.
Appointment replaces the acting arrangement
On 23 October, the board announced that John Bundotich, the Acting Editor in Chief, would serve as acting Group CEO from 1 November. The Yaseen notice does not name the acting appointee. It also does not state the length of his contract or his pay.
Khusoko has covered similar board notices from listed companies, including Britam’s appointment of Celestine Munda as interim chairperson. The Standard Group notice follows the same disclosure route.
Career from the NTV newsroom to the Judiciary and KBC
The notice credits Yaseen with more than three decades of experience in media, public institutions and corporate governance. His career began in broadcast news. According to his LinkedIn profile, he worked at Nation Media Group from September 1999 to February 2007 as News Manager at NTV, and he also lists the title of Managing Editor at the group.
In 2009 he served as Director of House Live Broadcasting at the State University of New York in Kenya (SUNY Kenya). The role covered the implementation of live broadcasting in the Kenya National Assembly.
He moved into government communications in November 2009 as Deputy Director and Head of Public Communications in the Government of Kenya. Yaseen stayed until June 2012, when he joined the Judiciary as Director of Public Affairs and Communication. He served there until 2017.
The Cabinet Secretary for ICT appointed him Managing Director of the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) in March 2019. His LinkedIn profile lists the tenure as ending in April 2022. Press reports state that his term expired on 19 March 2022, when the KBC board named Samuel Maina acting Managing Director.
Since May 2025, Yaseen has been Managing Partner at NB Yaseen Advocates in Nairobi, a firm that handles transactional and litigation work. The notice describes him as an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya.
Academic and legal qualifications
Yaseen holds a PhD in Communication Studies from Moi University, which he pursued from 2010 to 2015. He completed a Master of Arts in Communications Policy at City St George’s, University of London, in 2008, and a dual MBA in strategic management and international trade negotiation at Universitat de Lleida in 2007.
He earned a Bachelor of Laws from the University of South Africa (UNISA) in 2019 and a Bachelor of Arts in Police Science from the same university in 2008. In 2010 he completed the Strategic Leadership Development Programme at the Kenya School of Government.
How the chief executive seat opened
Chaacha Mwita took over as acting Group CEO on 1 July 2025, after Marion Gathoga-Mwangi left on 30 June 2025. The board confirmed him in the post on 1 April 2026. On 16 October, the company announced that he would step down as CEO and Executive Director from 1 November. The notice gave no reason.
The departure followed changes to the board. Edward Mwasi and Dr James McFie left as non executive directors, effective 31 August 2026. Anthony Ambaka Kegode, Tom Odongo and Elishah Njeru joined as independent non executive directors on 15 October. Nairobi Law Monthly reported that Mwita is the fifth chief executive to leave the group in under three years.
Mandate on digital, commercial performance and editorial independence
The board said it expects Yaseen to strengthen the group’s digital and commercial performance and to “uphold the editorial independence on which public trust in its journalism depends.”
He takes charge of a group that publishes The Standard and The Nairobian and runs KTN, Radio Maisha, Spice FM and Berur FM. BusinessToday reported that the group lost Sh1.1 billion in 2024. Pulse reported that the company is pursuing a Sh1.5 billion rights issue to fund its digital strategy.
The move also follows other leadership changes in Kenya’s media sector, including Eric Kinaga’s takeover from Maurice Otieno at Baraza Media Lab.
Disclosure under capital markets rules
The company issued the notice under the Code of Corporate Governance Practices for Issuers of Securities to the Public, 2015, and the Capital Markets (Securities) (Public Offers, Listing and Disclosures) Regulations, 2023. Both require timely disclosure of material information to the market and the public. The notice states that the Capital Markets Authority approved its issue and takes no responsibility for the correctness of its statements.
Yaseen takes office on 1 November. Shareholders and staff will look for the plan that turns the board’s expectations on digital and commercial performance into targets.
