I worked
for an international organization with a presence in over sixty countries. For
ease of management by the international headquarters, the beneficiary countries
(known as Program Countries) were grouped into four regions. These were Asia,
South America, West Africa, and of course East and South Africa in which Kenya
fell. Each country was in the charge of a country director who in turn reported
to the respective regional director. The four regional directors reported to
the chief executive officer. The donor countries did not fall into any of the
regions. Instead, each was an autonomous unit referred to as a National organisation,
and headed by its respective director. The National organizations were
responsible for raising funds to assist the Program Countries, and the
directors reported to the CEO.
Being one of the lead drivers at the Kenya Country Office, I was usually tasked with ferrying any of the directors and the CEO whenever they were in the country. The CEO was never alone. He would always have the Country Director, and often also be accompanied by the Regional Director. This, I think, was because that is what the pecking order was like (Each one had to protect their turf).
The three
senior positions of CEO, Regional Director, and Country Director, were not
permanent. They would be filled every four years for some, and six years for
others (I guess this depended on how much one’s face was likable).
Consequently, there were always new faces to these powerful positions and we
had to re-acquaint ourselves every so often.
At one time, the big guys at Headquarters decided that the organization needed to reinvent itself in order to fit in better with the modern world. One way of doing this, they decided, would be to hire someone who was from outside NGO world to head the organization. This was in fact the first time the title CEO was used. The previous title used to be International Executive Director (IED in short).
The first CEO of our organization was American (and a personal friend of George W. Bush, no less!). He had been an ambassador in several countries before he joined us. He was a real technocrat with a character remarkably similar to that of Bush. The first thing he had to do was visit as many countries as possible in all the regions. It was during these visits that he would get to meet staff and community members. He of course would come to Kenya. Every new senior staff always visited Kenya, although I suspect our picturesque scenery and wildlife had more to do with it than our effective development programs.
So anyhow, the new CEO came to Kenya accompanied by the Regional Director, whom he had picked up from the regional office in South Africa. Our Country Director was the humble chaperone of this “High Power Delegation”. This is how I ended up having the CEO, Regional Director, and Country Director in my car at the same time.
We had a tight itinerary since we had only two days to visit as many communities as possible in the vast areas of Meru, Embu, and Ukambani. Owing to intense planning and careful execution, we were able to visit all the areas that had been selected. On the night we had to be out, we stayed at the serene Izaac Walton Inn in Embu. The CEO slept in the presidential suite while the rest of us ‘mortals’ had to ‘make do’ with the executive rooms.
I would not have known that our CEO was extremely bored by the visit had he not made it so obvious. He dozed off at every opportunity, including during the traditional jigs that the community members had prepared in his honour. It was worse during the drives in between, when our Country Director was trying to update him on the programs. At one time he answered her (yes it was a lady) with a snore. I really felt sorry for her especially considering how hard she was trying to be nice.
On our way
back to Nairobi on the second day of the visit, there was no place good enough
for the boss to eat. We therefore carried packed lunch from Izaak Walton. This
comprised sandwiches, chicken, apples, and juice. We parked on the roadside
against the backdrop of lovely hills in the area between Kithyoko and Matuu,
and had our lunch, cocktail style (I did not allow eating in my car). The CEO
was once more radiant, but this was because he had come up with an idea on how he
could actually enjoy the trip. He wanted to drive!
I had never been in such a situation before, and neither had the Regional and Country directors. It was against organization policy for anyone other than a driver to drive the vehicles. I explained to him as gently as I could that I couldn't let him. Nobody could help me since this guy was the overall boss and they could be accused of insubordination. I however stood my ground. When the CEO finally relented and got into the passenger seat, I heard the Country Director sigh audibly with relief. She had apparently been holding it in. We drove off towards Nairobi but not before stopping the CEO at our Matuu office, ostensibly for him to download his email, but in reality it was to check his stocks at New York stock exchange. The man sulked the rest of the way, much like a little boy who had been denied a toy.
