Wed, 11 Apr 2012

International executive search firm Pedersen & Partners has opened its 50th office in Nairobi, Kenya, headed-up by newly-hired country manager Sheila Mwihia.

Mwihia has over 15 years’ HR and executive search experience, most recently as head of the executive search unit at professional services firm PwC Kenya. She started her career with hotel chain Sarova Hotels.

Mwihia tells Recruiter that with the office only one week old, it is “still building our local business pipeline”, but pinpoints a number industries in the country as having high potential, saying: “There are various previously government-owned commercial entities that are being privatised and great immense investor opportunities especially in rail, telecom (both data and mobile) and energy and alternative sectors.

“This move creates opportunities for us to provide talent especially within these sectors which are highly specialised and require professional search approaches due to the talent limitation in some areas, and seeing as these are emerging sectors, talent may not be locally available.”

“One of the bigger challenges in the past,” Mwihia tells Recruiter, “has been brain drain with a lot of these experts out in the diaspora, but with increased growth, stability and opportunity many are returning back to serve at home and contribute to nation building.”