When Thairu Muchiri speaks about becoming a partner at Deloitte Canada — a milestone he reached in June this year— he does so with a mix of gratitude, disbelief, and a grounded calm. “I think I’m a first in many ways,” Thairu says.
As a Kenyan and a black person, being named partner in the audit and assurance practice is no mean feat. Not least in Toronto—one of the world’s top financial centres.
He’s getting used to the weight of his new role. The title sits on him lightly, but the responsibility does not. “The buck stops with you,” he says. “You’re making decisions that commit the firm.”
Thairu’s journey began in a tiny village in Kirinyaga, a place of, as he puts it, just a couple of families. From there to New York, London, Nairobi, and now Toronto, his story is defined by discipline and an un-showy brilliance. Even as a boy, he reveals, “I was definitely the smart kid,” though high school at Starehe Boys Centre showed him he wasn’t the only fish in the pond.
"I’m a Kenyan through and through. It’s my number one place in the world."
He has worked across Deloitte firms in four countries, mastering actuarial science, accounting, and risk advisory along the way.
But the moment that shaped him most wasn’t professional — it was personal. “My late father pushed me to break out of my comfort zone,” he says. His father passed away in April this year; the grief is still raw, he confesses.
“If I can even be a tenth of the father he was, I’d be an amazing dad.” For Thairu, partnership isn’t the finish line but the platform. He wants to grow business, mentor others, and strengthen his family life. “I want to [be] like my father — someone celebrated by his kids.”
And, despite having built a global career, Kenya remains home in every sense that matters. “I’m a Kenyan through and through. It’s my number one place in the world.”
A partner, yes — but also a son carrying forward a legacy.
-James Rogoi