After months of uncertainty over who would take over from Richard Byarugaba, the NSSF Board of Directors has appointed Patrick Ayota the new Managing Director of the pension fund. The NSSF Board of Directors chairperson Peter Kimbowa revealed the news in a statement, following a board meeting yesterday. The meeting also recommended Gerald Kasaato as acting deputy Managing Director. He will work in an acting position pending approval. Ayota’s appointment is effective from today, 18th August for a period of five years. He has been the Fund’s acting Managing Director for the last eight months. He also served as the deputy managing director to Richard Byarugaba, since December 2017. Ayota had also been the Chief Financial Officer at the pension fund since 2011.

Kimbowa says the board is confident that Ayota is the right person to steer the fund forward at such a critical time, following changes in legislation. Earlier this year, a select committee of parliament investigated and unearthed matters of mismanagement and corruption at the NSSF.

Ayota replaces embattled Richard Byarugaba who has been at the helm since 2010.

Who is Patrick?

Patrick joined NSSF in July 2011 and is currently the Managing Director. He is also in charge of the Fund’s Strategy Function.

He was previously the Chief Financial Officer, a position he held for 6 years until November 2017. Patrick has been at the forefront of various projects at the Fund, which he steered successfully, including the strategy function’s setup and the rollout of the balance performance scorecard. He was named runner-up at the 2017 National CFO Awards organized by ACCA.

Prior to joining the Fund, he was the Finance Director for Barclays Bank (Uganda). He has extensive experience in accounting and finance management that has been attained in various roles in Uganda and USA.

Patrick is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). He holds an MBA from the University of South Carolina (USA) and a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Liberty University, Virginia (USA).