June Chepkemei appointed new Kenya Tourism Board CEO

June Chepkemei, the former Acting Managing Director at the Kenya Investment Authority (KenInvest), has been named the new Chief Executive Officer of the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB).

Chepkemei will hold the position for the next three years, succeeding John Chirchir who has been at the helm of the tourism board in acting capacity since November 2022.

Her appointment was confirmed via a gazette notice date March 19, 2024.

“In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 37(1) of the Tourism Act, 2011, the Cabinet Secretary for Tourism and Wildlife appoints June Teclar Chepkemei to be the Chief Executive Officer of the Kenya Tourism Board,” the notice reads in part.

Chepkemei was appointed Acting KenInvest MD in January 2023 by then Trade Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria.

She was at the time tasked with the responsibility of spearheading strategies to attract and grow investments to Kenya from USD 500 million to USD 10 billion by end of 2023.

In 2022, Chepkemei successfully led Kenya’s team in a fruitful bid to host the 41st International Association of Science Parks and Areas of Innovation (IASP) world conference slated for 2024.

She was also part of the team that was charged with delivering Technology and Innovation Jamhuri in 2022.

She has served as a member of the Taskforce on the Kenya Media Policy Guidelines, following her appointment by then ICT, Innovation, and Youth Affairs CS in 2021.

Chepkemei was named among the Top 25 Women in Digital 2021 having pioneered the Konza Innovation Ecosystem Initiative that brought together various industry stakeholders to support the commercialization of research, innovation and the development of new solutions and enterprises within Konza Technopolis.

In 2017, June was appointed as the Project Coordinator for a New Institute of Strategic National Importance, Kenya Advance Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), that was developed by the Ministry of ICT & Digital Economy in partnership with the Ministry of Education (MoE).

Before joining Konza, Chepkemei was the Communications Business Partner at Safaricom Limited, after a six year stint in the media industry where she rose through the ranks from an intern to become a Business News Editor.

She holds a Master’s degree in Communications Studies from Moi University, a Bachelor’s Degree in PR & Communications from Moi University, Postgraduate Diploma in Professional Marketing from The Chartered Institute of Marketing of the UK, and an Executive Certificate on Innovation from Stanford Centre For Professional Development.

She is also a Chartered Marketer by the Charted Institute of Marketing (CIM), UK.