“Value is everything”
The Inquisitor sat down with Leonard Mudachi, Chief Executive Officer at Branded Restaurants Africa. It is a busy Wednesday morning. Traffic is thickening into a sludge along Ole Odume road. From the office window, I see Leonard drive in. He’s just dropped his son in school and is rushing to another meeting. With a firm handshake and as I usher him into the office he says, “This power interview better be 20 minutes tops. Because that’s all you have.”

Who is Leonard Mudachi?

I struggle with standard definitions because I think one can be many things. I believe you can be as many things as you want to. I am a father, husband, entrepreneur, hospitality professional, a restaurateur and I also serve on boards.

I enjoy building things and understanding businesses; how they work, how they come together, how they fail and how they succeed.

So yeah, I am many things and I don’t limit myself. I try to be as many things as I possibly can.

What dreams did you have as a child?

As a child, I wanted to be a chef. I always had a passion for food and by extension a passion for service. In our family, we always had the best times when we’d get together and entertain one another. I always thought that it would be great to be in a career that allows you to entertain and make people happy either because of the food or the environment that you have created. This informed my decision to be a chef.

So, entertainment for you is whipping up a good dish?

It was. But that was then. Now, I think entertainment is a whole lot more. I love great conversations and I believe there are very few powerful things as coming together over a meal to just talk and share. Whether It is in a formal setting or a barbeque, meals are great triggers for great conversations.

Do you do barbeques?

I do. A lot of them.  I do it for friends and family. We hang out and we talk. The barbeque is usually just an excuse for the conversation.

Have you lived your dream or are you living it?

(Pauses to reflect) I am a dreamer. My dreams are not static. I am perpetually dreaming of new things. I have however learnt that the joy of bringing those dreams to life is more about the journey than the event. There are way more lessons in the journey; the time you’ve spent, the people you’ve met, conversations you’ve had, the thoughts you’ve shared and the changes you’ve had to make in putting everything together for you to arrive at the event. I feel that there is too much emphasis on the event; on arriving, as opposed to the journey.  I think we take these experiences for granted in trying to live the dream that we have for ourselves. Right now, I’d say that I am living the best life that I can.

How has your experience been having had careers as a corporate as well as being an entrepreneur?

I have been very fortunate. I have worked for global and local hotel brands and restaurant chains. It’s been very interesting, and I have enjoyed it quite a lot. I have also met some great people along the way. I’d say that it has been positive.  I have enjoyed, and I am still enjoying the experience.

Which boards are you currently serving on?

I chair the board of Nairobi school, which is my alma matter and I am also a board member at Kenya Utalii College.

Any fond memories from Nairobi school?

Loads of memories…. (Takes a bite of a Digestive biscuit which I had been eying for a minute). By the way, I also chair the Old Cambrian society, which is our old boy’s alumni association. I think national schools are a great thing for national cohesion.  Bringing together guys from all walks of life, from every corner of the country and saying, “You are all form 1s, now deal!” I think that’s amazing. Some of my closest friends to date, I all met them at Nairobi school. We have watched each other grow professionally and supported each other socially. We have maintained this strong bond all these years because of the experiences we had at Nairobi school.

Your LinkedIn profile summary says “Conceptualizing, developing and managing lasting hospitality brands” Tell us more about that.

Truly lasting companies solve problems for the society. These companies find opportunities through which they can offer goods and services in solving these problems. In doing so, they provide a lasting experience to the customer. Take Amazon as an example. I think they have done a lot to solve people’s problems. Talk about convenience, time saving, exceptional customer interaction and experience.

I however look around and ask myself how come there are no Kenyan brands out there growing and moving out yet Kenyans are really sharp people? Some guys tried but it is unfortunate that governance issues messed them up. Chase (the Bank) was getting it right from a customer experience perspective. I always enjoyed my Nakumatt shopping experience but then again governance issues took that away. So why are such companies in Kenya and in Africa the exception rather than the rule? That is what I am trying to do; build brands, conceptualize them, think through what the consumer wants, define the opportunity and then build the team to execute all that and bring it to life.

Speaking of governance and in the context of building long lasting brands, what do you think entrepreneurs need to understand to ensure there is sustainable business growth?

The owners of the capital and wealth require the governance. Good governance. It comes down to making the decision whether you only want to make profits at all costs or build wealth and create value. I think that’s a huge deal.

What does the recently enacted Finance Act mean for you and the plans that you have in setting up your business?

(Sighs) Tax man! Tax! I think the government needs to think through these things of value and interrogate what does a value proposition to its citizenry look like. Because, if we were seeing value, I doubt there would be noise.

You mean value with regards to government’s provision of goods, services and opportunities?

Exactly. If we were feeling the value, if we were seeing the value, then nobody would complain. I remember in one of my jobs, we were going to Uganda and one of my bosses told me that us guys in Kenya have it rough.  I asked him why and he said, “You have a middle class but it’s really not a middle class. Because you cannot pull yourself out of that and into the wealth creation. You pay for quality education, quality health care, quality transport while a lot of guys in the West are able to pull themselves from middle to upper class or from lower to middle class because they don’t have to pay for all these things. Why? Because the system works. The government needs to talk to its people and do a whole lot less of benchmarking because the solutions to all our problems lie with us. We have incredible and phenomenal brains in the country that could help us out in a big way. The system needs to provide value. So, from the taxation perspective, I think we can do better and become a bit more creative if we are to ensure sustainable business and economic growth.

There is a whole range of austerity measures that the government is implementing in curbing its expenditure. There is the freeze on local and international trips by government officials and setting limits on hospitality expenditures. What’s your take on this?

Well, it’s tough times ahead, and for us guys in the hospitality industry, business will be slow and many companies will struggle no doubt. So, it affects me in a huge way and I am taking that into consideration as I set up my other ventures. But then again, if I can create an entity that is obsessed with perpetually interrogating and maintaining the value proposition, I think I will be fine regardless of the situation. Because that will entail not being static. Not being static means that I will positively react to whatever is happening in the market.

So, value to you is key?

Value is everything. Providing value to the person who is consuming your products is everything. It is key to building relationships. It is key to building long lasting brands.

I’m sure you grew up watching Bill Cosby, didn’t you?

Yes, I did.

Any thoughts on his incarceration?

It’s tough to see for anyone who grew up watching the Cosby show. Bill Cosby quite evidently was not the greatest person on earth. He was not the best of people going by the revelations that came to light and his eventual sentencing. But does that take away the lessons that were in his shows?

I don’t think it does.

For me, people should look beyond the appearance of a person and look to interrogate the content of an individual’s character. There is too much societal pressure these days and people struggle with putting up a front. We should be real with ourselves and discerning enough to know what we want for ourselves and from whom. That’s a key lesson that I feel people, especially the young folks, should learn.

 

He walks out of the office thirty minutes after arriving and clearly, he has been more than generous with his time. Reflecting on his insights as I transcribed this article, value, as he said, is everything. Value builds relationships. It builds loyalty. It sustains a business. It steers the business when the tides are uncertain and unfavorable. Value builds long lasting brands. Proper governance is about building and sustaining value and entrepreneurs should be alive to this fact.

The Inquisitor.