Peter Ngugi, regional head of ICT at Mayfair Insurance, thrives on unpredictability. His leadership is rooted in a passion for delivering impactful solutions. In an industry that evolves at the speed of light, Peter is embracing change and making it work.
Peter Ngugi says that his favourite thing about his role is that you can’t ever predict what’s going to happen in a day. “You wake up thinking about what you are going to do, and THEN… everything goes West. It’s interesting because it’s not monotonous.”
While Peter enjoys the wild ride that is IT leadership, he says that he also relishes finding solutions, and watching the baby steps of a new idea growing into something big and relevant in the organisation.
A journey into IT
Peter's journey into IT was influenced by his aunt, who he came to stay with after school. Although his original intention was to study finance, he says she saw something in him that made her suggest technology instead. This was clearly the right course, because two years later, he won a scholarship to study at the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil.
After completing his studies, he began consulting, and his career took a turn when he was asked to address system changes at one of his clients.
Peter was clearly the man for the job, and his career in IT took off from there. Now, he oversees IT for Mayfair in six countries, with a seventh on the way, managing IT for both the insurance and asset management sectors.
Efficiencies in insurance
Peter observes that the insurance industry has generally lagged in technology adoption owing to various factors, including the fact that insurance companies have traditionally been profitable without significant technological advancements.
At Mayfair, one of his priorities has been to oversee the digital transformation journey.
For Peter, the other key IT priority for his organisation now is security, as well as adapting AI to streamline processes and cut costs. He also notes that to innovate and advance, the insurance industry needs a different type of technology talent. He says there can be a disconnect between management and technology teams.
Peter also points out the challenges of balancing the business’s desire to use technology with budget constraints, as any investment in IT is a costly endeavour. Peter says that prioritisation is essential when considering what projects to roll-out next. However, he notes that Mayfair is celebrating its twentieth anniversary and is the fastest growing Company in terms of revenue.
“This growth presents the challenge of continuously increasing staff; therefore, technology enhances human resource efficiency and cost management.”
To unwind, Peter enjoys playing golf, reading, and driving through the Kenyan landscape, where he says there’s so much to discover – yet another instance of his enjoyment of situations that change, every day.
