Nairobi — Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE) CEO, Chris Mwebesa has been replaced by Peter Mwangi.

Mwebesa tendered in his resignation last week prompting anxiety at the stock market barely four months after the renewal of his contract.

Though details of Mwebesa's surprise exit remained scanty, insiders within NSE told the media that the former CEO had been contemplating the decision even with the knowledge of the board of directors who decided to hide the issues from the limelight to wade of speculation at the national mart.

Our efforts for details from the NSE board were thwarted as calls to the chairman James Wangunyu remained unanswered while the public relations office promised to divulge more details later.

The resignation will deny the stock mart Mwebesa's wide experience in the financial world and will come as a big blow to the newly elected chairman who took office last July.

Mwebesa told this reporter there was nothing mischievous about his resignation, terming it normal to move on with one career.

There was controversy early this year when the then chairman of NSE, Jimnah Mbaru delayed in renewing Mwebesa's contract and instead put in place a board reportedly to review the terms of contract of the chief.

He operated under a temporary contract until Wangunyu took over the board chairmanship and confirmed him.

Peter Mwangi is replacing Mwebesa as the new NSE CEO. He beat three other contestants in a recruitment exercise conducted by auditing firm Delloitte and Touche.

Until October 15, Mwangi was the managing director of Centum Investment group where he resigned after a five year stint.

He joins the NSE when investor confidence is at its lowest thanks to bearish streak at the stock mart and a global financial crisis that poses a serious threat to African economies.

Mwebesa was appointed as the NSE chief in 2005 and has since presided over the growth of the bourse.

NSE is the largest stock market in the EAC region and the fifth largest on the continent in terms of market capitalization.

He joined NSE after leaving the giant AIG group where he was the local business development manager. During his era at the stock mart, Mwebesa presided over the most listings of companies the biggest of all being the Safaricom one.

He exits at a time when the Cooperative Bank IPO is yet to close with reports that the process fell 30% short of the expected Sh6.7 billion expectation.

Other achievements include the installation of the Automated Trading System, Wide Area Network, and introduction of the NSE All Share Index (NASI).

Mwebesa has been a key supporter of the ongoing demutualization plans at the stock mart that will improve management through declining ownership and management.

It will also convert the stock market into a limited company whose shares will also trade at the national stock mart.