# The Only Emergency is a C-Section! | Mbuvi Ngunze on Fires, Boardrooms, and Why He's Not Done Yet

An episode of [The Nitpicker Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/6826170866), 5 Sep 2026, 1 h 01 min.

Audio: https://anchor.fm/s/fbf5fcfc/podcast/play/125209077/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-8-4%2F509ebd9b-d6c9-7636-dfa8-1c2ce2e57eac.mp3

Mbuvi Ngunze has sat in both seats: the one that makes the call, and the one that knows when to challenge it. In this episode of The Nitpicker Podcast, he walks us through the August 2013 JKIA fire — the crisis that tested every muscle of preparedness he'd built — and then takes us inside the boardroom: the CEO-Chair relationship, the characters around a board table, and why the only emergency in the world is a C-section. From growing up in a home that produced two corporate leaders, to becoming CFO of Bamburi at 31, to running internal communications across 80,000 staff at Lafarge in France, to leading Kenya Airways through one of its most visible crises — Mbuvi's career has been about building and consolidating, not founding. We also get into why he took an eight-year break from corporate life, why "retirement" is the wrong word for today's over-50s, and why that saxophone is still in the box. Credits Gab Master (AKA The Host) - Carol Musyoka Ball Juggler (AKA The Producer) - Kui Njoroge Assistant Ball Juggler (AKA The Assistant Producer) - Zawadi Njeru Whip Cracker (AKA The Director) - Kui Njoroge Kissungu Mingi (AKA Script Writer)- Zawadi Njeru & Kui Njoroge Lights, Camera, Action – Snapnest Photography Motion Graphics - Nyambura Irungu The Big Kahuna (AKA Executive Producer) - Carol Musyoka The Nitpicker Podcast – A Ficus Tree Production. The views and opinions expressed by the guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of The Nitpicker Podcast or its affiliates. Any mention of people, products, services, or organisations does not constitute endorsement.

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