DNK International By Our Reporter,Nairobi
Mahmud Janmohamed, a towering figure in East Africa’s hospitality and tourism industry, is the current Chairman of the Kenya Utalii College Council.
This is a role that crowns his distinguished career spanning decades in hotel management, tourism promotion and industry leadership.
The appointment places Janmohamed,one of the region’s most experienced hoteliers at the heart of Kenya’s premier hospitality training institution at a time when the sector is undergoing rapid transformation.
Janmohamed’s exact age and place of birth are not publicly disclosed, but his professional journey is widely documented and respected across Africa and beyond.
He built his career through hands on training and international exposure, working across Europe, the United States, Africa and Asia, experiences that shaped his global outlook on hospitality standards, service excellence and sustainable tourism.
Janmohamed is known to have trained extensively in hotel and hospitality management and is affiliated with respected professional bodies including the Cornell Hotel Society in the United States and hospitality management associations in the United Kingdom.
He is best known for his long and influential tenure as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Tourism Promotion Services (TPS) Serena Hotels, where he served for more than 25 years.
During that period, Janmohamed oversaw the growth of Serena Hotels into one of Africa’s most recognisable luxury hospitality brands, with properties spread across Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Mozambique and Asia.
Under his leadership, Serena became synonymous with blending luxury accommodation with local culture, heritage and conservation, setting benchmarks that many regional hotel groups later emulated.
His time as CEO was marked by expansion, consistent profitability and international recognition.
Serena Hotels received several accolades during his tenure, including continental awards recognising its contribution to African tourism and hospitality.
Janmohamed frequently emphasized that commercial success and community development could go hand in hand, a philosophy reflected in Serena’s investment in local staff training, environmental conservation and community partnerships around its properties.
Beyond the boardroom, Janmohamed played a central role in shaping tourism policy and advocacy in Kenya and the wider region.
He served as a founding chairman of the Kenya Tourism Federation (KTF), uniting private sector voices to engage government on policy, security, marketing and infrastructure issues affecting tourism.
He also served on conservation and tourism related boards, reinforcing the link between wildlife protection and sustainable tourism growth.
Industry peers credit him with mentoring generations of hospitality professionals, many of whom rose from entry level positions to senior management roles within Serena and other hotel groups.
His leadership style, often described as firm but developmental, focused on discipline, service standards and grooming local talent to compete globally.
One of his widely cited industry beliefs is that “tourism succeeds when people are trained to deliver excellence consistently,” a principle that now aligns directly with his role at Utalii College.
As Chairman of Utalii College,one of the hoteliers told Daily News Kenya-International that Janmohamed is expected to leverage his vast industry experience to bridge the gap between training and the job market.
His focus is on modernising curricula, strengthening industry linkages, promoting internships and ensuring graduates are equipped with practical skills demanded by today’s competitive hospitality and tourism sector.
Stakeholders see his appointment as a strategic move to reposition Utalii as a regional centre of excellence producing globally competitive professionals.
With decades of leadership at the highest levels of hospitality and tourism, Janmohamed’s transition from running luxury hotels to shaping future professionals marks a full circle moment in his career.
His influence, already deeply embedded in East Africa’s hotel industry, is now set to shape the next generation of chefs, managers and tourism leaders who will carry Kenya’s hospitality reputation forward.
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🗓️ [DNK-International@February 10,2026]
