{UAH} Pojim/WBK: Work hard, play harder sums up Sasha Mutai’s life - Magazines
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June 15, 2015
MAGAZINES
Work hard, play harder sums up Sasha Mutai's life
Sasha Mutai, Partner, YMR. PHOTO | EMMANUEL JAMBO
Posted Thursday, June 11 2015 at 11:07
IN SUMMARY
SASHA MUTAI, Partner, YMR
Age: 38
- Education
Nairobi University.
Strathmore School. - Positions
Vice Chairman
The Architectural Association of Kenya
April 2013 – March 2015 (2 years) Nairobi
Chairman
Safari Sevens
June 2012 – April 2014 (1 year 11 months)
Vice Chairman
Kenya Rugby Union April 2012 – March 2014 (2 years)
Some men, like Sasha, seem to thrive best under the canopy of flamboyance. The canopy with top-of-the range juggernauts, single-malt whiskies, snazzy fashion, helicopter rides and flamboyant parties that society editors in newspapers (like this one) once ranked in the top five city parties for their unabashed debauchery.
And it's easy to imagine that men-about-town like him just sit around on old family money, partying midweek and waiting for dad to roll over his will.
Instead, some are surprisingly hardworking, well-educated and wildly driven as I realised when I met Sasha, a partner at the 30-year-old YMR, a Quantity Surveying firm (five partners in total), one of the largest independent construction consultancy practices.
We met in his tastefully minimalist office at Lion Place, Westlands. His unmemorable desk – simple, long and heaving under stacks of paperwork – is perhaps the most prominent metaphor of the man's work ethic.
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So who's white, dad or mum?
Mum. She is Russian. Dad is Nandi. They met in the Soviet Union where dad went to study in the 60s. He was the first black man she ever saw…(Laughs). My sister was born there before my folks came back in 1971.
Straight from the Soviet Union, my mum went to Nandi where mzee was appointed a district officer in Kenyatta's government. They were civil servants, not corrupt. My dad still drives the first car he bought and they still stay in the same house. They taught us the value of honesty, integrity and hard work.
And what's your professional story, in a thumbnail?
I ran my own QS firm for six-and-a-half years, until 2011 when I closed shop and moved in with my people here. Like most QSs, I cut my teeth at Armstrong and Duncan, one of the oldest QS firms in the region and the best training ground. I was inspired greatly by Stanley Murage, the chairman.
Unfortunately, unlike here, they didn't have a succession plan in place. I love it here because we handle most of the big jobs.
We have done all the shopping malls in Kenya except Village Market. We are currently doing Two Rivers, which is going to shake and shape this region. I'm a single father. I work really hard and we also party really hard. (Laughs)
What project have you enjoyed the most in your career?
You know, most projects have been fun to do – like the Windsor Park which I did through my own firm back in the day... Panafric Insurance building…..But I think Two Rivers is a unique project by its sheer scale and ambition and also because it's a Kenyan investment.
It's an urban development that was converted from a 100-hectare coffee farm. It's unprecedented. You might think you know everything but every day when I work on this project I learn something new. We have big clients and big clients have big demands.
What project do you look at with envy... like you wish you had done it?
We bid for Britam Towers in 2011 but lost. I mean this is going to be the tallest building in Kenya and the third tallest in Africa. Of course you want to be the one to do it. The thing with my job is you interact a lot with the super wealthy, the billionaires and it's always a lesson.
And, based on these interactions, why do you think billionaires are who they are?
Because they see things ahead of time. Like in the case of Two Rivers, these guys took a risk, got the best professionals in. Wealthy people are wealthy because they think big. You think small, you only end up doing small things.
I was the youngest director at Kenya Rugby Union, aged 29. I got sponsorships. I appointed Benjamin Ayimba and crew to the bench. We were the youngest management in world rugby and we got to the semi-finals in the World Cup. When we beat Fiji in San Diego, I cried. My point is, you have to think big to do big things.
Why is rugby going to the dogs?
Look, I'm passionate about the game. I played it when I was much younger, for Mean Machine, until I broke my leg. You remember the coup I carried out earlier in the year as I tried to get rid of the crooked elements in the union. I called in the anti-corruption guys and I was taken to court, the first time ever for me. But I was doing the right thing.
During my tenure, I made deals that brought in sponsorships. I brought in coaches. I mean we made Sh9 million in profit during the weekend of Westgate at the Sevens at Kasarani, while during peaceful times they made a Sh30 million loss. That's why the sponsor left. These crooks pushed me out in order to eat.
OK, back to business. Which of your clients has made the biggest impression on you?
Well, CK (Chris Kirubi) for sure. (Laughs). He enjoys his life, makes no apologies and he gets what he wants.
And what do you want, incidentally?
Talking of which, I saw your Instagram feed. You and some guys rolling in a chopper to Kitale 'for the weekend'. Is that the life quantity surveyors have chosen?
(Laughs) Well, we went with some friends of mine from different professions to Kitale to support a good cause. Our friend had his father's memorial and then there was a fundraiser for a church, St Kizito, which we went to support. It's about giving back to society.
What's your mantra in life?
I get stuff done. I always get stuff done... like Olivia Pope. (Smiles).
What's your deepest fear?
Failure. I've seen guys who were great then went to nothing. You don't want to fly too high like Icarus. I have a daughter who I fear failing. Milla is eight years. That's the boss of the boss. (Laughs).
Is it challenging being a single father?
Well, she mostly lives with her mother, we share custody. But I spend time with her, we travel. I recently took her to Disneyland. We have been to Hong Kong. I try to be close to her. I want her to grow into a strong woman like my mum and my sister, both very intelligent women. My sister – Natasha Mulei, also a QS – was number one in Kenya in the 1982 examinations.
What's your biggest extravagance?
Cars. I own a Jaguar XJ, a Porsche and a Mercedes S-Class. I built my house in Lavington when I was 29. Cash money – something I'm proud of.
Why do you need all those luxury cars? How far apart an experience can a Jaguar be from an S-Class?
I think they offer different experiences. The Jaguar is a driver's car, the Mercedes is a car to be driven... I always wanted to own a Merc. The Porsche is just a lovely ride.
I'm not yet successful but I think success is a continuous thing... always wanting to be better than you are today. In Strathmore, one of my lecturers told us that a day that goes by without learning something new is a wasted day.
What have you learnt today?
To be honest it's a bit of a sad day for me. My mum is not feeling too well, and I have to take her to India next week for treatment. I think I have learnt about the fragility of human beings. She is 70 and it's sad to see her life slipping away. Dad is also on dialysis three times a day. It's our turn to take care of them.
You lead a lavish life, you love good things...
You always have to go for the best. I love watches [he has on an Omega Seamaster], pens, fine whisky and cigars. I shop when I travel. I love America because a sale is a sale – not like here. (Laughs).
What do you least like about yourself?
I try to be very humble but sometimes…(Drifts off). It's hard to make me angry. My Nandi temper is there but I haven't shouted in ages. I try to suppress it. I party quite a bit and make no apologies for that. But also my job can be quite stressful so you have to find a way to stay sane.
So, a young, single guy with all these trappings, women must be crawling out of the woodwork?
Is marriage in the cards at some point for you?
If I get the right woman, why not? There is no hurry. For now I plan for tomorrow, live for today. You know, I have been engaged twice, never worked out.
First time it didn't happen with the mother of my daughter. The second time a woman I loved cheated on me.
Is this the same urban legend of the Dubai engagement?
I took her to the highest restaurant in the tallest building in the world, Dubai's Burj Khalifa. It's called the Atmosphere Restaurant, it sits on the 124th floor or something. There, I engaged her. I found out a few weeks later that she had cheated on me. My Nandi temper came out then. (Laughs) But it's a good thing she was back in Dubai when I found out.
I'm not proud of the stuff I did after that. But you know what, things happen for a reason. I'm glad I found out, I would have married her.
Has that experience made you cynical?
(Pause) Yeah...yeah. I think so.
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