At 31, Diana dared to apply for a CEO’s position. Her age stood out but that did not intimidate her.
“I was sure I was ready for the challenge. My late mum used to tell me that a time would come when I would be a very influential leader,” she says.
She is now the head of an organisation that regulates the investment and financial analysis profession in Kenya.
Her career began in an actuarial firm in 2008 where she was an investment analysis intern. While still working, she studied for Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees.
"“If I need to voice something, I will. Women need to speak out more and take risks and don’t get comfortable. Let all the noise be the least of your worries.""
“Then I had a diploma in actuarial science,” she says.
She rose organically from an intern to an investment consultant, to senior management and now CEO.
She says her mantra, even while she being interviewed for the role last year, was “plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win.”
Working in a field dominated by men, she says she rarely sees herself as “the only woman in the room but as a professional.”
“If I need to voice something, I will. Women need to speak out more and take risks and don’t get comfortable. Let all the noise be the least of your worries,” she counsels.
When she is not at work, she spends time with her family and makes bridesmaids’ dresses.
“When I leave work, I leave work literally. I do not carry work home,” she says.
–Doreen Wainainah
