Coop Bank director of ICT & Innovation Charles Khacheso Washika has been crowned CIO of the year 2023.
He has been honored with an award in recognition of his achievement this year.
The CIO of The Year Award is a peer award where CIOs and judges nominate an individual who has excelled in managing the IT leadership function in an organization.
Washika successfully oversaw the execution of what is arguably the largest and most intricate IT project in the region.
This project involved the implementation and migration to the new Finacle core banking system, which went live on Monday, June 12th of this year.
This Core Banking Implementation project spanned multiple years and had a multi-million-dollar budget.
It also included numerous upgrades to peripheral systems, all aimed at supporting the Finacle system, which has been rated by Gartner as the best core banking system globally.
Organized by the African digital transformation driver, dx5, the CIO100 Awards program celebrates organizations and individuals utilizing IT in innovative ways to deliver business value, whether by creating a competitive advantage, optimizing business processes, enabling growth, improving customer relationships, or digitally transforming the business.
The CIO of The Year Award is a peer award where CIOs and judges nominate an individual who has excelled in managing the IT leadership function in an organization.
Washika received recognition for surpassing competitors, including Peter Kanda from Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital, Gilbert Mutai from Car & General Group, Sachin Samant from NCBA Bank Kenya, Martin Mwarangu, the Chief Information Officer of KTDA, and James Nyakomitta, the Chief Information Officer of APA Insurance.
“I wouldn’t have gone to a career in IT but my Dad encouraged me. My wife is also around, and I dedicate this award to my family as well,” an elated Washika said after receiving the award.
Previous recipients of this honor have included Moses Okundi, who serves as the Chief Technology Officer and Chief Information Officer of Absa Bank, Tom Mboya, the Technology Lead for East Africa at Unilever, George Njuguna, the Director of Information Technology and Chief Information Officer at Safaricom PLC, Jaine Mwai, the Chief Information Officer at Standard Chartered Bank, and Kenneth Ogwang’, who holds the position of Head of Digital and Technology for Eastern & Southern Africa at Diageo.
This award to Co-op Bank Director ICT & Innovation, Charles Khacheso Washika comes on the year he successfully executed arguably the largest and most complex IT project in the region, the implementation and migration to the new Finacle core banking system that went live on Monday 12 June this year.
The Core Banking Implementation was a multi-year multi-million dollar project that also entailed numerous peripheral systems upgrades to support the Finacle - rated by Gartner as the best core banking system globally.
the lender's significant ICT investments are a big boost to the bank’s digitisation journey towards a more advanced banking proposition and customer experiences.