Eliud Ogutu
Head of Legal,
Stanbic Bank Kenya Limited, (A member of the Standard Bank Group),
Nairobi, Kenya.
5:30 am
My alarm goes off and I groggily hit the snooze button. I jump into the shower when I remember that I have an eight o’clock meeting.
6:00 am
Sit down at the breakfast table with my six-year-old son who regales me with yesterday’s exploits and today’s plans for school. I feed him some oatmeal porridge as I catch up on my iPad. I respond to a few emails, scan my Twitter feed, and recon rm an 11 am meeting.
6:45 am
My wife sleeps through her alarm so I return to the bedroom to wake her. My four-year-old daughter is already awake and is preparing for preschool. I give her a quick hug goodbye as I rush downstairs with my son, one arm lugging his backpack and the other carrying my laptop bag.
7:30 am
Drop my son off at school and chat for a few minutes with his teacher about an upcoming school trip to Lake Nakuru National Park.
8:00 am
Attend a meeting with our product heads to discuss a new product launch that is imminent. We are running close to the launch date, albeit with many outstanding deliverables. I excuse myself from the meeting to confer with an external counsel who is about to make closing submissions at the Court of Appeal on an important litigation case. I make it back to the meeting in time to offer an opinion on the regulatory aspects of the product.
9:30 am
Conduct an unscheduled brief with the CEO on a regulatory inquiry.
10:00 am
Take time to review some ISDA® Documentation — which is the only transactional work that I do. I make a mental reminder to divest from handling transactional work, as it is becoming more difficult due to my increasingly busy schedule. I propose that one of my team members develop her skills in this area.
11:00 am
A scheduled meeting is canceled at the last minute. I use the rest of the hour to review some pending contracts that ought to have left my desk the previous afternoon.
12:30 pm
Catch up with the head of compliance out of the office for lunchtime to discuss certain anticipated legislative changes in the financial services sector. I send an email to one of my team members asking them to research aspects of an upcoming legislation.
2:00 pm
Participate in a conference call with the head of legal for Africa, who is based in Johannesburg, to discuss a matter that might become litigious. I communicate the strategy to the rest of the stakeholders.
3:00 pm
Quick meeting with one of my team members to discuss the management of his litigation portfolio. We also take the time to discuss his ideas about the unit’s human capital complement.
4:30 pm
Dash to the Nairobi Club for my twice-weekly training session for my soccer team, the “Seniors Football Club.” It is crunch time in the league and we have a must-win match against the “Beercelona Football Club” this coming Saturday. I limp home with a slightly strained Achilles tendon for my trouble. I console myself that it should be healed by game day.
7:30 pm
Get home and review my son’s homework as I chat with my wife and daughter.
8:00 pm
Dinner with family. Tonight it is grilled tilapia fillets with steamed broccoli and cauliflower. I am trying to avoid carbs at dinner.
8:30 pm
Prepare the kids for bed. Chat with my wife as we both listen to “No Borders,” Hugh Masekela’s latest release.
10:00 pm
Watch my beloved Arsenal Football Club play for a measly two-all draw against the Paris Saint Germain Football Club in the Champions League. I go to bed disappointed as this was a home game at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium. I was about to send a “Sack Arsene Wenger” tweet, but my better judgement prevails.
