Dr Naim Bilal Yaseen. PHOTO/UGC.
By SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Standard Group Plc has appointed Dr Naim Bilal Yaseen as its substantive Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective Sunday, November 1, 2026, ending weeks of uncertainty over the leadership of the media company following the departure of his predecessor, Chaacha Mwita.
The appointment, announced by the company on Thursday, October 29, follows a competitive recruitment process and formalises Dr Naim’s position.
“Following the conclusion of a competitive recruitment process, the Board of Directors of The Standard Group PLC (TSG) has appointed Dr Naim Bilal Yaseen, PhD, to the position, effective 1st November 2026,” the company said in a statement.
His appointment comes after Mwita’s resignation earlier in October, barely seven months after taking up the substantive CEO position. The company did not disclose the reasons behind his departure.
Following Mwita’s exit, Standard Group’s Acting Group Editorial Director, John Bundotich, was appointed Acting CEO pending the recruitment of a substantive chief executive.
Dr Naim now takes charge of a media organisation facing significant financial and operational challenges, including prolonged salary payment delays, reported difficulties in remitting employees’ statutory deductions and mounting pressure to meet other financial obligations.
His immediate priority will be to restore financial stability, strengthen operational efficiency and rebuild confidence among employees, creditors, advertisers and other business partners.
The leadership transition also comes against the backdrop of a prolonged period of financial difficulties at Standard Group, which has struggled to maintain stability following the departure of former chief executive Sam Shollei.
The new CEO will therefore be expected to develop a credible recovery strategy capable of addressing the company’s financial pressures while positioning its diverse media assets for sustainable growth.
A critical consideration will be whether Standard Group can attract a strategic investor or secure additional capital to support its turnaround programme. The board’s willingness to provide the necessary financial and operational backing will also be important as the new management team seeks to restore the company’s competitiveness.
Standard Group operates across print, television, radio and digital platforms, giving it a substantial presence in Kenya’s media industry.
Its newspaper portfolio includes the Daily ‘s competitor, The Standard, alongside the Saturday Standard, Sunday Standard and The Nairobian. Its broadcast assets include KTN News, KTN Farmers and KTN Burudani, as well as Radio Maisha, Spice FM and Vybes Radio.
However, maintaining such a broad media portfolio comes with considerable operational costs at a time when traditional media businesses are grappling with declining print revenues, changing audience consumption habits, competition from digital platforms and the migration of advertising expenditure to online channels.
These industry-wide pressures have intensified the need for media companies to diversify revenue streams, invest in digital products and adopt more efficient business models.
Standard Group headquarters along Mombasa Road. PHOTO/UGC.
For Standard Group, the challenge will be to translate its established brands, audience reach and broadcasting infrastructure into sustainable revenue growth without compromising its journalistic operations.
Dr Naim brings more than 30 years of experience spanning media management, public administration, corporate governance, communication and law.
He is the immediate former Managing Director of the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC), where he oversaw an organisation with more than 1,000 employees and an asset portfolio valued at over KSh15 billion.
His experience in the public sector also includes serving as Acting Director of Information in Kenya. In the Judiciary, he served as Director of Public Affairs and Communication and participated in implementing the first phase of the Judiciary Transformation Framework.
In Parliament, he worked as Project Director of the Parliamentary Strengthening Project under the State University of New York (SUNY Kenya).
Before moving into public service, Dr Naim built his career in the private media sector at Nation Media Group, where he rose through the ranks to become Managing Editor in both the print and broadcasting divisions.
His professional background therefore combines newsroom leadership, broadcasting management and experience in the administration of large public institutions.
Academically, Dr Naim holds a PhD in Communication Studies from Moi University, a dual Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Lleida in Spain and a Master’s degree in Communications Policy from City University in the United Kingdom.
He also holds a Bachelor of Police Science and a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of South Africa, as well as a Postgraduate Diploma in Law from the Kenya School of Law.
He is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya and has undertaken additional multidisciplinary professional training.
His appointment brings together experience in journalism, corporate management and public administration at a time when Standard Group faces the difficult task of stabilising its finances and repositioning itself in an increasingly competitive media market.
Ultimately, the success of his tenure will be measured not only by the company’s ability to restore profitability but also by its capacity to meet employee obligations, rebuild stakeholder confidence and establish a sustainable business model for its media operations.
