Who said, “Keep your face to the sunshine, and you can never see the shadow?” Well, it matters little as it doesn’t relate to Wangui Mbugua’s story in any way. What’s interesting about Wangui, though, is that she was nuts about Egypt when she was young, so nuts that she wanted to study Egyptology.
She might have ended up as a university professor, a museum curator, or a teacher of classical languages in some unsentimental, far-flung country with bruising winters.
Instead, she went and studied law (LLB and LLM) at the University of Manchester “because I loved English and history and argued a lot as a child.”
She then worked for McKinsey and Company as a management consultant for four years, KOKO Networks for a handful of months before Joining Uber Eats as their General Manager.
However, she hasn’t ruled out Egyptology. Maybe one day. As Elvis Presley once said, “When things go wrong, go with them.” Again, another quote not related to Wangui Mbugua’s story.
What do you remember about childhood?
Being surrounded by family and friends and travelling with my cousins across Kenya and enjoying the privilege that came with that.
My fantastic mom and dad exposed us [siblings] to many experiences growing up, including trading stocks from as young as 10 years, so we could learn the value of money and investment.
I attended private schools and loved writing about fiction, poetry, and history. I still do. I loved the idea of strong African societies. I was particularly obsessed with Egyptology after a family trip to the land of Pharaohs.
But being the firstborn daughter who liked arguing, people would tell me to study to be a lawyer. Many of my family members were lawyers, which contributed to setting me on this path.
What did your parents do?
My dad is an engineer and now does project development and project finance. My mom is formally employed as an administrator, but she’s also an entrepreneur.
You mentioned that you learned about the value of money from them; what's the value of money?
That's a good question. The value of money is not in the currency itself but in what it can facilitate for your life. The value was definitely in the opportunities it opened up for me through schooling and travelling.
I did my undergraduate degree at a top university outside of the country. I have always loved business and learning about how things work, and money is a part of that equation.
Who or what has influenced you the most in your life?
I’ll give it to my dad. He’s inspirational and has taken enormous risks. Some have paid off, some have not, but he’s been consistent about his values, and what he’s chasing for himself and his family. He’s grounded in family and strong values.
What would you say has been your greatest risk?
I don't think I've taken my greatest risks yet. They're coming. As you mentioned, maybe some of us are on the younger side of life so far.
Sure, I've taken many risks even within the jobs I've held, the careers I've jumped to, and my personal life. But I don't think I've covered the breadth of what risk looks like.
What are you scared of now the most?
I’m scared of putting myself in a box, which means I only get one life journey, one set of experiences. I’m afraid of limiting myself that way.
Comfort levels, whether in my job and financial security, personal life, or the relationships I’ve built, can induce that.
Sometimes we limit our potential when we don’t realise we’ve boxed ourselves. It could mean you get opportunities but don’t jump at them because you’re tethered or grounded to your comfort zones.
That scares me right now. I think my fears will look different in a few years.
When was the last time you felt unstable, wobbly, like a dog with three legs?
I feel it in varying degrees all the time, even at my current job at Uber Eats. There have been risks whenever we are onboarding or starting new business lines.
Over time, we’ve expanded to do healthcare, pharmacies, supermarkets, groceries, liquor, and gas delivery. All those are times when I felt a bit removed from the trajectory I thought we’d be on, but still, they paid off.
From a personal perspective, I thought I would be a killer corporate lawyer. I did my undergraduate and my masters in law.
I qualified in the UK and was like, “Yeah, I’m going to kill it in Europe.” I planned to spend 10 years out there evolving, being a kick-ass lawyer. I was looking for job opportunities as a solicitor in the UK, but then Theresa May, Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Employment, had strong anti-migration policies curtailing that.
That destabilised me because I had worked hard and done the right things.
At that time, a job opportunity in Singapore presented itself. I moved back to Kenya in 2014 and told guys, “I’m only here for a short time working on my paperwork, then I will go to Singapore to become this, you know, brilliant lawyer, and I’ll call you guys later when I’m there.”
But then Ebola happened, and Singapore grew cold feet in issuing African work visas because of that global health crisis.
Looking back, I’m so glad I stayed on the continent. In hindsight, it was the best decision of my life because tech digital players started underpinning the direction many companies were taking, and I was really fortunate to get on that path in a timely way.
Under what circumstances do you find your confidence to be shaken?
Was it Sheryl Sandberg [former Facebook executive] who wrote about imposter syndrome? Imposter syndrome comes with the challenges of entering new careers.
Some of it is valid because you don’t know everything there is to know about the industry you’re getting into. This is when my confidence is most shaken.
One time when I was new at McKinsey, and we’d made a mistake on a critical document, I was panicking, and the client could see it on my face.
My South African partner asked me, “Do you know the difference between a duck and a swan and why one is called elegant and the other isn’t?”
He offered, “A swan is calm above murky waters. Thank you for sharing that you’re nervous, but it’s not helping anyone.” I have since learned to ride the undercurrents in moments of trouble.
What are your personal undercurrents now?
Last week I was invited for a talk at a country club, and one of the questions asked captured the undercurrents that I’m feeling, which is legacy.
Kui Mbugua is the General Manager at Uber Eats Kenya. PHOTO | POOL
It is such a complicated word that encompasses how you influence and shape the team under you and allow yourself to be influenced and shaped. That’s what I’m grappling with. What kind of legacy will I leave behind?
If fear was taken away from you, what's the one thing you'd do?
Solve world peace. No, I'm kidding. [Chuckle] World peace, it's always the go-to answer as a pageant queen. Look, I don't know if that's even a fair question because fear is also a driver of success, and it's a good check-and-balance on the things you're going to do, the risks you're going to take and the decisions you're making.
It's not always healthy, like everything else not taken in moderation, but taking away fear will prevent you from thinking things through thoroughly.
Fear is a part of the human experience, and to really enjoy life, you must have an element of fear because then there's an element of conquering it.
What emotion embarrasses you the most?
(Pause). Sadness, I think. (Another pause) And maybe anger. You can be angry, but the way you express it can be unadmirable.
Married?
No, not yet.
Dating?
Yes.
I was about to ask you this next question, but I had to pause and ask myself if I’d ask a man the same question - probably not - which brings me to wonder if it’s by any chance sexist to ask a woman a question I wouldn’t ask her male peer.
[Chuckles] Are you about to ask, in juxtaposition, a question about women dating and career success?
I was going to ask if dating gets more difficult for a high achiever, like yourself.
It’s good that you are asking yourself these questions. These are good conversations to have. Coincidentally, I was asked the same question at the same event I was invited to talk at the country club last week.
On the same panel were men, but they didn’t get asked that same question. I get asked that question a lot.
Is it sexist? Yes and no. The world is generally a little sexist, and patriarchy is alive, and well, so I expect to be asked such questions.
But it is not always sexist when women are asked this question because there’s a story, a narrative, young girls looking up to the person being asked this question, and there are men who need to understand that both are possible.
To answer this question, values determine dating success as a career woman. You should find someone with shared value systems.
Surprisingly the predominant narrative is that successful career women struggle to date or get married. That is only sometimes true.
I’ve met many women who have had both - successful careers and marriages. I don’t think career success and personal success have to be divorced.
Is it a challenge to manage both effectively?
Yes, definitely it is. But that is true of every single woman and man in a relationship, and that’s why the values are the core of making it work between both. They must understand each other well before getting into a relationship.
It’s the end of times, the Second Coming, or whatever; you have a chance to order your last meal through Uber Eats; what would that meal be?
The beauty of Uber Eats is that we have a great selection. [Laughter] We have so much variety. You can order anything you want, you know, junk food or healthy food, you can do your KFCs, your Burger Kings, all of which we have on the platform.
If you want to go out on African or Asian cuisine, we have those too. So if you want to go on a cultural journey or be true to your roots, we have Swahili food and African cuisine.
Please, keep going.
[Laughter] If you want to recall your childhood, depending on where you grew up, some local partners do fish ugali and traditional greens, mukimo, and stew.
We also have new verticals. We have supermarkets and groceries where you could potentially order from and make your own last meal plus the alcohol to go with it, the gas to cook it [the meal, not the alcohol], and the book you want to read while you’re waiting for everything to get ready, all on Uber Eats. [Laughter]
Now, personally for me, (Chuckles), I think I’m going to an Art Cafe market and I’m ordering some nice steak that I’m going make myself. I’m ordering a nice glass of wine, some greens, and potentially potatoes to make mashed potatoes.
