Professor Washington Okeyo, PhD, MBA, BSc, DOLPAK, FKIM
Washington Okeyo is a Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation. A distinguished scholar and administrator, Prof. Okeyo has devoted his career to advancing excellence in higher education, leadership development, and strategic management practice in Africa. He holds a PhD in Entrepreneurship and Strategic Management, MBA in Finance and BSc in Maths and Computer Science all from the University of Nairobi. His academic foundation is complemented by executive development training in leadership, governance, and higher education management, equipping him with a holistic perspective on institutional transformation and sustainability.
Over the past several years, Prof. Okeyo has served in diverse academic and administrative roles, including the Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer of Management University of Africa (MUA) from 2019-2025 during which period he led MUA to be awarded its Charter; the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic, Research and Extension); Senior Lecturer; Lecturer (UoN); Coordinator and Academic Leader of Graduate Studies, and Chair of various university committees on curriculum reform, quality assurance, and institutional strategy. He has also contributed to national and regional dialogues on the role of universities in driving innovation, entrepreneurship, and socio-economic development.
Prof. Okeyo’s research and teaching interests span strategic management, entrepreneurship, organizational leadership, policy implementation, and the integration of emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), into education and governance. He has published widely in peer-reviewed journals, authored several book chapters and books and supervised numerous master’s and doctoral theses in leadership, business and management disciplines. He has presented his research works in international conferences in USA, Japan, Switzerland, India, South Africa, Canada, Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia among other countries.
Beyond academia, Prof. Okeyo has provided strategic consultancy services to public, private, and non-profit organizations like UNDP, UNICEF, Oxfam, CHF International, and USAID in areas such as corporate strategy, performance management, project evaluation, and institutional capacity building. Among others, he served in UNESCO as a Research Project Coordinator for three years and at Kenya Breweries Limited as the Deputy General Manager for six years having previously worked at Caltex Oil (Kenya) Limited for twelve years as a Supply Analyst. He has also been instrumental in fostering partnerships and collaborations with local and international universities, research bodies, and development agencies and he has had study and academic tours in many countries in Africa, Europe, India, Japan, Switzerland and USA.
Prof. Okeyo is the current Council Chairman of the African Talent University (ATU) and served/serves in a number of boards including Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) as a director/board member where he chairs the Loans, Disbursements and Recoveries Committee; the Executive Committee member and Hon. Treasurer of Kenya Association of Private Universities (KAPU). Earlier, he served as the Chairperson of MUA’s University Senate; Chairperson of MUA’s University Management Board; Secretary/Member of MUA’s University Council; Patron of MUA Alumni Association; Strategic/Executive Committee member of the Education Collaborative; Director/Board member of Muthaiga Golf Club; Executive Committee member of Parklands Sports Club; and a member of Nyanza Club. He is the Patron of ACK St. Andrews Ngere Church in Diaspora and also a former patron of Ngere Primary School.
Prof. Okeyo is a recipient of University of Iowa’s Obbermann International Fellowship Award (OIFA) (2026). He is a Fellow of the Kenya Institute of Management (FKIM), Member of Distance, and Open Learning Association of Kenya (DOLPA-K), and other professional associations. Guided by a vision of excellence, ethical leadership, and knowledge-driven transformation, he remains dedicated to contributing to positioning the academic institutions as centers of quality education, research, and societal impact.