Joan Gathoni Ngugi

Joan Ngugi is a veteran of the tourism industry. She joined Star Travel & Tours Limited in 1987 and has never looked back. Over the years, she has refined her tour and safari sales, travel management, and business operations skills to perfection and accumulated knowledge, relationships, and goodwill from all sectors of the travel trade industry.

In 1999, Joan and her sister acquired Star Travel & Tours from its original owners as a going concern and set out to steer the company towards a more international vision. Ms. Ngugi manages the Kenya operations of Star Travel, overseeing the execution of all inbound and outbound business and ensuring the day-to-day client services remain in keeping with the company’s focus on personalized attention.

Ms. Ngugi enjoys the support and partnership of all stakeholder groups, having gained their trust and cultivated enduring relationships and partnerships with airlines, hotels, lodges, and other essential travel trade partners. Using goodwill from her extensive network of contacts, Ms. Ngugi can negotiate competitive contract rates that enable Star Travel & Tours to remain competitive.

In September 2011 Ms. Ngugi and her team successfully managed all ground logistics for the Kenya Protocol Week, hosted by Star Travel in collaboration with Protocol International and the US Commercial Service in Nairobi. That event brought together over 900 participants including major banks, wireless companies, energy companies and other sectors of the economy.

In June 2012, Ms. Ngugi spearheaded the successful comprehensive planning and execution of a Roundtable Conference in Nairobi for the American Bible Society, a weeklong event which included approximately 200 participants from Bible Societies all over the world.

Ms. Ngugi is passionate about philanthropic causes and serves on church development committees for several churches and schools in her community. She resides in Nairobi, Kenya and is a mother of two daughters.

Nairobi, Kenya

Affiliations

• Member, Rotary Club of Nairobi North