Rebecca Miano is a distinguished Kenyan lawyer, corporate executive, public servant, and continental business leader whose career spans law, energy, government, investment, trade, tourism, and sustainable development. She is particularly recognized for her historic leadership of Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen), where she became the company’s first female Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, and for her subsequent service in Kenya’s Cabinet.
Rebecca Miano studied law at the University of Nairobi, where she earned her Bachelor of Laws degree. She subsequently undertook legal training at the Kenya School of Law and later pursued postgraduate studies in Comparative Law at the Australian National University. She also completed an Advanced Management Programme at Strathmore Business School. Her combination of legal expertise, corporate governance knowledge, and management training became the foundation for a career spanning both the private and public sectors.
Miano began her professional career in the legal field, gaining experience in both Kenya and Australia. In 1998, she joined KenGen as an Assistant Legal Officer. Over the years, she steadily progressed through the organization, taking on increasingly senior responsibilities, including Company Secretary, Director of Legal Affairs, and Corporate Affairs Director. Her rise through the ranks demonstrated her expertise in corporate law, governance, strategic management, and organizational leadership.
In 2017, Miano made history when she was appointed Managing Director and CEO of KenGen, becoming the first woman to hold the company’s top executive position. She led Kenya’s largest electricity-generation company during a period in which renewable energy, sustainability, investment, and energy security were increasingly important to Kenya’s economic development. Her leadership helped strengthen her reputation as a major African business and energy-sector leader.
Her professional interests have extended beyond corporate leadership into gender equality and women’s advancement. She founded the Pink Energy Forum, an initiative focused on addressing gender disparities and encouraging greater participation of women in Kenya’s energy sector. Her work has consequently positioned her as an important advocate for women’s leadership in traditionally male-dominated industries.
Miano later transitioned from corporate leadership into national government. She served as Cabinet Secretary for the East African Community, the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs), and Regional Development. She subsequently became Cabinet Secretary for Investments, Trade and Industry, a position she held from November 2023 to July 2024. These appointments expanded her influence from the energy sector into regional cooperation, investment, trade, industrial development, and economic policy.
She currently serves as Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Tourism and Wildlife, where she provides leadership on tourism development, wildlife conservation, investment, policy, and the sustainable growth of the sector. The Kenyan Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife identifies her as the Cabinet Secretary and highlights her previous experience as KenGen’s CEO and Cabinet Secretary for Investments, Trade and Industry.
In this role, Miano has emphasized the importance of modernizing Kenya’s tourism industry, increasing tourism earnings, creating employment opportunities, encouraging investment, and making the sector more resilient and sustainable. In 2026, she also participated in initiatives promoting tourism resilience and digital innovation within the sector.
Her career has also included international leadership responsibilities. She has served on bodies connected to the United Nations Global Compact, the World Bank Group’s Gender and Development Council, and the COP26 Presidency Business Leaders Forum. These experiences have contributed to her reputation as a leader whose work extends beyond Kenya into broader African and international conversations about sustainability, governance, gender equality, and economic development.
Rebecca Miano’s journey from lawyer to corporate executive and eventually Cabinet Secretary represents a significant example of women’s advancement in African leadership. Her career demonstrates how expertise in law, governance, business, energy, and public policy can be combined to influence national development. Through her leadership, advocacy, and public service, she continues to contribute to Kenya’s economic transformation and to the wider conversation about effective and inclusive African leadership.