Mathias brings over 25 years of Executive leadership experience and more than 15 years at board level across financial services, investment, and public sector institutions in East Africa. He is the Founder and Lead Consultant of MAKLEAD, a leadership development, strategy, and business advisory firm.
He previously served as Managing Director and CEO of dfcu Bank for 4 years, where he successfully led the institution through the COVID-19 pandemic, and earlier as Managing Director of Housing Finance Bank, leading it through a major transformation in its ability to deliver on its core mandate of supporting the housing sector through improving its digital offering, customer experience and turnaround in financial performance.
He served as CEO of present-day Finance Trust Bank, transforming the institution from an MDI to acquiring regulatory approval for a Tier 1 Commercial Bank license. Additionally, he was Chairman of the Uganda Bankers’ Association, Chairman of the Uganda Institute of Bankers, Chairman of the Association of Microfinance Institutions in Uganda (AMFIU), Director at the Private Sector Foundation in Uganda and held various positions at Orient Bank Limited (now I&M Bank Uganda), Post Bank Uganda, Barclays Africa, Pride Uganda and Pride Microfinance Limited
Mathias currently serves as Chairman of the Uganda National Oil Company and UAP Old Mutual General Insurance, and sits on several investment and advisory boards.
He has undertaken executive education at leading global institutions including INSEAD Business School, University of Oxford, IESE Business School (University of Navara, Spain), Lagos Business School Nigeria, Harvard Kennedy and Wharton Business School (University of Pennsylvania). This is in addition to a Postgraduate Diploma in Public Relations from the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, Master of Science in Financial Management from the University of East London and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Greenwich.