Philip Taylor—Chief Executive Officer—British
Philip is the founder of Hybrid Business Services Limited and also serves as its Managing Director. He provides overall leadership for the management and consultant teams involved in Hybrid projects and client assignments.
Philip has over 30 years’ experience in the development and roll out of in-country, continental and global ‘bringing to market’ strategies for start-ups, corporates and multinationals. This experience is drawn from his entrepreneu-rial ventures and varied senior management/executive corporate roles throughout his 40 year career. Philip has worked extensively in ICT specifically in managing enterprises involved in equipment supply, distributed applicati-on development, solution services, roll-out and BPO for UK, European and global-based businesses.
Over his illustrious career Philip developed a strong management and marketing ethic, complemented by on and off the job training that resulted in several corporate recognitions. Further, he applied this ethic to building motiva-ted and successful teams that realised increased business and profitability, especially in under-performing and new markets. This ethic was greatly enhanced by his ability to develop and nurture strategic partnerships and collaborations as a key driver of business strategies and profitability. In 2007, Philip relocated to Nairobi, Kenya where he has been successfully engaging in varied consulting assignments within East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula (Yemen) in areas such as: a) off-grid power solutions; b) civil engineering (roads and buildings); c) secur-ity systems; d) gas development; e) national identity card, student identity and financial card systems; f) drone systems to help eradicate poaching; g) new change management strategies; h) the development of telemetry-based solutions; and, i) ICT Business Process Outsourcing/call centres.
Tracy Scott—Director & Shareholder—British
As a Director of Hybrid, primarily responsible for, contract negotiations and tender submissions, Tracy brings a wealth of experience to the role through her extensive and successful business activities in the region over the last 24 years. Having spent the last 40 years of her life living in Kenya, Tracy also brings a significant level of love and respect for the region that is valuable to any business wishing to succeed in working with and developing the people of the region.
Tracy is a graduate of Leicester University, UK, in European Business Administration and Commercial French and
has been successfully running businesses in Kenya for the last 24 years; some also in a major shareholder capac-ity. Apart from Senior Management roles her skills also include sales, marketing, expansion, diversification, contract negotiations and business strategies, which collectively will be of significant value to the activities of Hybrid.
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Michael J. Allen—Director Business Development (Hybrid & CFS)—American
Michael has spent most of his professional career overseas working in conflict and post-conflict zones in Central Asia, Southeast Asia, East Africa, Europe and the Middle East. Since 1986, after graduating from the American University in Cairo, Egypt, Michael has been working with international and non-governmental organizations and the United Nations. After starting at the grassroots level as a project officer in rural Egypt, Michael progressed up to such senior positions as District Administrator in East Timor with the UN and most recently as Country Director with UNOPS in Somalia. Along the way, he served as a Foreign Service Officer with the United States government and established two consulting firms specializing in communications and advocacy services to the humanitarian sector. He has worked with and for USAID, UNHCR, WHO, UNDP, OCHA, UNICEF, EU and the World Bank.
Michael’s strongest skills lie in programme design & implementation and advocacy —all underpinned by a keen sense of how to develop and maintain relationships with the various actors critical to community development. Michael has postgraduate degrees in Arabic Studies, Corporate Law and Journalism. He now calls Kenya his home.
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CPA Charles Gitahi Mwangi—Finance Director (Hybrid & CFS)—Kenyan
Charles is a part of the shared management team between Hybrid and CFS and serves as Finance Director. He has an MBA (Strategic Management) from Kenyatta University and is a Bachelor of Commerce graduate (B.Com- Accounts option) and is a certified public accountant (CPA-K). He has extensive experience spanning over 20 years and has previously worked as a senior accountant in the motor and manufacturing industries in Kenya and Angola respectively. He has been with the oil and gas sector for the last decade. Charles’s last posting was as Chief Finan-ce Officer at Murban Movers Limited, a petroleum transport and logistics firm. Charles is a member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK).
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Joseph Waruingi—Director & Shareholder—Kenyan
Joseph is a management consultant with proven advisory expertise in business analysis and modelling as well as ICT strategy development. Joseph holds an MBA in Strategic Management and Finance and is a senior business executive with demonstrable ability and experience of working on strategic change projects with boards and senior management. He has consulted for Blue Chip organizations in East Africa and development partner projects in Sub-Saharan Africa. In his role as Managing Director he drives strategy and business development. Under his leadership, the project footprint of the business has grown to 23 countries as of February 2016.
Of particular importance to this program, he is conversant with the ICT based agricultural solutions provision space in Africa and has an in-depth understanding of business models. As noted above, he possesses vast experi-ence in over 10 African countries. Additionally, he has gained extensive experience in ICT strategy development, Enterprise resource planning (ERP) consultancy and implementation for private and public sector organizations in Africa. He has worked in a number of other African countries including Uganda, Ethiopia, Malawi, Eritrea, Rwanda, Zimbabwe and South Africa. He has over 10 years’ experience in business model assessment and has directed and managed multi-country and multi-disciplinary IT transformation projects across Sub-Saharan Africa. He is extensively travelled and well-networked internationally. Joseph is a doctoral candidate with the University of Liverpool.
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Alasdair Sinton—Director Human Resources (Hybrid & CFS)—British/Kenyan
Alasdair was born and schooled in Kenya which he loves, country and people. He is currently Managing Director of Aviazure, a company that produces herbal medicines on the outskirts of Nairobi. He is also Chairman of a borehole operating company on the estate where he lives.
Alasdair attended the Herriot-Watt College of Edinburgh University earning a Diploma in Economics, Banking and Finance. He returned to Kenya with the Mitchel-Cotts company as Sales Manager for Domestic and Agricultural Seeds and Fertilizers. He later joined Africa Pharmaceutical Developments Limited as Factory Manager. Alasdair worked in Uganda with the African Medical Research Foundation on a Tsetse fly monitoring project for one year. He stayed on in Uganda working on an EU Forestry project and then started his own safari and car hire business.
Alasdair returned to Kenya to work as the manager at Wilson Airport. In 2001 he formed a company for the produ-ction of a natural immune booster from the African potato. Alasdair continues to manage the company, Aviazure as it expands its markets in East Africa.
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Sharon De Souza—Strategic Development—Kenyan
Sharon has been working in Sudan and South Sudan for the last 13 years, as a lead humanitarian worker during the second civil war, the intermediate ceasefire and Comprehensive Peace Agreement as well as through the war times in Southern Kordofan, Abyei Region and South Sudan.
Most recently, Sharon served as the Executive Director of the Bishop Gassis Relief and Rescue Foundation — an organisation she was instrumental in establishing. During her tenure as executive director, Sharon led emergency relief appeals in the Caritas Network for Southern Kordofan as well as sustainable development projects in health, education, women’s empowerment, water & sanitation and communications in both Sudan and South Sudan.
Sharon is a professional accountant, geologist and hydraulic engineer, a combination which allows her a unique outlook towards problem solving in complex and evolving situations.
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John Fox—Training Programmes Consultant—British
John, with over 30 years of experience, is a Chartered Environmentalist and Chartered Engineer specialising in Agricultural Engineering. He brings to the Hybrid consultant team invaluable experience in developing curricula and training programs for agribusiness throughout Africa.
Most recently, John was involved in the drafting of the agribusiness curriculum for the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology in South Sudan. This curriculum is currently being taught in Yei State for the award of a national certificate.
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Peter Schuurs—Technical/Agricultural Operations Consultant—Australian
Peter brings to Hybrid 30 years specialist experience in agricultural operations and in particular conservation cropping in sub-tropical and tropical environments with specific expertise in large scale commercial agribusiness projects in Africa. Most recently Peter served 4.5 years as the CEO of Concord Agriculture, a 105,000ha agribusiness enterprise in Unity State, South Sudan.