Nicholas Nesbitt

Nicholas Nesbitt is the immediate former General Manager of IBM Eastern Africa.  He leads all of IBM’s operations in 10 countries in the region, including the teams that manage the IT networks for Airtel and the IBM Research Africa Lab.  Mr Nesbitt’s team has led successful IBM engagements in the private sector with large and mid size clients in financial services, telecommunications and manufacturing and has delivered on extensive and transformational change within several government ministries and agencies. Previously, Mr Nesbitt was the Chief Executive of KenCall, the leading international BPO/call center outsourcing company in East Africa.  The company has been recognized as the Top Non-European Call Center globally, the fastest growing Top 100 company in Kenya and one of the best mid size businesses in East Africa. 

Harvard Business School and MIT Sloan School of Business have both written case studies on KenCall, which are taught to MBA students across the world. Prior to moving back to Kenya, Mr Nesbitt held senior executive positions in the United States at Qwest Communications, Schneider Electric and The Boston Consulting Group. Mr Nesbitt is the Chairman of the Board of KEPSA (Kenya Private Sector Alliance), the apex body of the private sector in Kenya. He is/has been a board member of the Central Bank of Kenya, Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA), American Chamber of Commerce, AMREF Flying Doctors, Kenya School of Monetary Studies, Multimedia University and Gateway insurance.

Mr Nesbitt is an active member of the Young President’s Organization (YPO), a global organization supporting leading CEO’s. Mr Nesbitt has been profiled frequently in global and regional media as a thought leader and visionary and has been a frequent speaker and panelist on entrepreneurship, innovation and leadership at conferences in Kenya and around the world. The President of Kenya awarded Nicholas a presidential honor, the Order of the Grand Warrior (OGW), in recognition of his pioneering spirit and accomplishments in creating the Kenyan BPO industry.

Mr Nesbitt received his MBA from Stanford University and both his Masters and Bachelors of Engineering degrees from Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, USA. He is a keen golfer and mountain biker and enjoys safaris.