William Pike, the brains behind one of the biggest newspapers in Kenya, The Star, announced his departure from Radio Africa, its parent company.
Pike, the outgoing Convergence Director at Radio Africa Group, made the announcement in an emotional memo shared with his team on Monday, September 30, whose contents were obtained by Kenyans.co.ke.
“I have decided to follow our former Group CEO Patrick Quarcoo and retire with effect from October 1, 2024,” he stated.
“This is a sad day for me because I have loved working with you since 2007 as we have built the Star into a well-recognised newspaper and the biggest news website in Kenya.”
William Pike during a past meeting with his staff. PHOTO/ Oliver Mathenge.
Despite mainly working behind the scenes, Pike is the brainchild behind The Star Newspaper, which was founded in 2007.
The veteran graduated from York University with a bachelor’s Degree in history in 1974 before following it up with a Master’s in African studies from the SOAS University of London.
After working as a correspondent at the South Magazine in 1983, a young Pike took his first major role as an Editor-in-Chief and Managing Director at the Ugandan outlet, New Vision Printing and Publishing Corporation, spending 21 years at the outlet until 2007.
In 2007, his journey in the Kenyan media space officially began as he launched The Star Publications a subsidiary of Radio Africa which operates Kenya’s leading radio stations. This new project ran concurrently with his role as the Managing Director at Capital Radio Uganda.
His latest stint as the convergence director at Radio Africa lasted for 11 years, since 2013.
Despite his retirement, Pike clarified that he would still be involved in the goings-on around the organisation, albeit not as actively.
His statement went on, “I will continue to see you as I will be in and out of the office since I remain a shareholder in Radio Africa. I also remain available to provide advice any time you think you might need it.”
Pike’s exit is the second major one in the Radio Africa hierarchy, coming just months after the company’s co-founder and CEO Patrick Quarcoo announced that he was retiring after 24 years.
Former CEO and co-founder of Radio Africa Group. PHOTO/ The Star.
