We are proud to have created over 100 jobs, including over 60% women.

Management Team

Hudson Chitala
General Manager

Hudson oversees all our daily operations across all departments. He brings over 20 years of experience in mechanical engineering and manufacturing business management. Previously, he served 12 years as the General Manager at East Africa Spectre (gas cylinder manufacturer). He was also a plant maintenance engineer at East African Cables, Eveready East Africa (batteries), and Pan Paper Mills. He holds a B.Tech in Production Engineering from Moi University.

Ayub Otieno
Head Of Finance

Ayub is a CPA and a member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya. He has over eight years of accounting and financial management experience. Most recently, he was a Senior Accountant at SGS East Africa, and he has also held accounting positions with CARE International, Nakumatt, Printech Media and Five Elements Advisory. He obtained a Bachelor of Commerce, Finance Option from KCA University.

Winnie Munyaka
Operations Manager

Winnie coordinates all our Nairobi office operations including admin, logistics, sales, and customer care. With 5 years’ experience in customer service, she previously worked as a customer care executive at Clique Ltd., a leading supplier in the hospitality industry. She has additional sales and marketing experience at Infama Ltd. & Sarova Whitesands. She holds a B.Sc. in Communication & Public Relations and a diploma in Hotel and Restaurant Management from Moi University.

Musyoka Ngala
Business Development Manager

Musyoka leads our sales efforts and manages our sales team. He previously served as Public Relations & Marketing Manager at Azure College of Hospitality and has additional sales experience at Safe Energy Limited, Oracle Consulting Limited & ICEALION Life. He has a Bachelor of Business Administration from the Technical University of Mombasa and additional postgraduate qualifications in Business Administration from JKUAT.

Ian Kibet
Factory Administrator

Ian manages financial and human resources, procurement, store keeping, and OSHA at our Bungoma factory. He previously worked as an Office Administrator at Spanish Coach Express Ltd, managing a fleet of vehicles and coordinating branch offices. He holds a degree in Economics and Public Administration from University of Nairobi and a CPA Part 2 certificate. In his free time, he enjoys swimming and volunteering in community outreach programs.

Isaack Ayoo
Factory Technical Supervisor

Isaack manages our production team and is in charge of factory maintenance. He started with Acacia Innovations in 2018, coordinating our raw materials collection and quality control, before taking up his current role in April 2020. He previously worked as a mechanical supervisor in PSJS Cane Transporter in Chemelil Sugar Co. Ltd and with Ranbra & Sons Transporter in Nzoia Sugar Co. Ltd. In his free time, he enjoys playing football and travelling.

Pius Ngoya
Quality and Carbonization Supervisor

Pius supervises our raw materials drying, quality control and R&D into carbonization. He previously worked as Site Manager at Ranbrah & Sons Ltd., a company which deals in sugarcane farming and transport with a fleet of more than ten vehicles. He also served as a motor vehicle mechanic at Kibos Sugar Company. In his free time, he enjoys watching football & movies.

Non-Executive Directors

Elana Laichena
Founder & Director

Elana is an entrepreneur with diverse experience in sales, program management, policy advocacy, & design in the renewable energy sector. Previously, she served as Director of Sales and Operations at GreenChar Solutions, a briquettes start-up. She held program management roles for Here Comes Solar, a solar energy social enterprise, and Green Jobs- Green New York. Elana holds a MSc. From Pratt Institute and a B.A. from The New School University in NYC.

Mark Laichena
Director

Mark brings experience in strategic planning, performance management, financial modelling and research. He currently works as Country Director for GiveDirectly, an international NGO. He previously worked for the global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company. Mark graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (USA) and is pursuing a Master's degree in Applied Philosophy and Ethics at Strathmore University.

Hitesh Gohil
Director

Hitesh was appointed to the Board of Directors by our investors at Cornerstone Enterprises Ltd. For his day job, Hitesh is the Finance Director of Ashnil Hotels, a chain of safari camps in Kenya. He brings experience in financial management and planning, as a CPA, as well as operational controls. Previous experience includes financial advisory, audit, tax and secretarial service. He is eager to apply this experience to help Acacia Innovations reach scale.