Jenifer Bamuturaki is a Ugandan businesswoman and corporates executive, who serves as the chief executive officer of Uganda Airlines, the national airline of Uganda, since July 2022. Before that, she served at the same airline as the CEO in acting capacity.
Bamuturaki who is a Ugandan born, on completion of her primary and secondary education joined Makerere University, Uganda’s largest public university, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Work and Social Administration. Later, she went on to obtain a Master of Public Administration & Management degree from the same University. She also has qualifications in airlines sales from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), and qualifications in hotel sales and revenue management.
Bamuturaki’s career stretches back nearly 30 years. She started out as a guest relations officer at the Kampala Sheraton Hotel. Most of her career has been in marketing, in the hospitality and travel industries. When the defunct Air Uganda was formed in 2007, she joined and served in the sales and later in the marketing departments.
In 2019, when the government of Uganda revived Uganda Airlines, Bamuturaki was hired as the commercial manager of the new airline. However, after the probationary period ended, she was not hired. She left the airline to pursue other business interests.
Following the suspension and interdiction of the entire board of directors and many senior management executives at the airline in April 2021, the shareholders recalled Bamuturaki and made her the acting CEO in May 2021.
Ms Bamuturaki will be responsible for leading and driving the business and success of the airlines, for devising and executing the airlines’ strategy.
She will also be expected to guide formulation and implementation of strategy, commercial, financial, operations, people, stakeholder relationship and compliance management, corporate communications and oversight of information systems.
Uganda Airlines had not had a substantive chief executive officer since it was launched in 2019. With her appointment as CEO, she becomes the first substantive CEO at the airline and the first woman to serve in that position.
