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Data Regulator Orders WPP Scangroup to Pay Former CEO KSh 1 95mn
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Nov 1, 2024
Data Regulator Orders WPP Scangroup to Pay Former CEO KSh 1 95mn
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0:00
all right listeners welcome back for
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another deep dive with us today we're um
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we're going deep on a case that's got it
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all oh yeah we're talking a high-profile
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CEO multinational corporation okay
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accusations of serious misconduct and uh
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and get this whole data privacy angle
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that I bet you won't see coming oh wow
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sounds juicy it is right lay it on me so
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we're heading to Africa for this one
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okay our main player harat thakrar
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former CEO of wpp scan group wpp scan
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group yeah and uh and this isn't just
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just any company okay this is like a
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marketing and Communications Powerhouse
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operates in 25 African countries big big
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I see so back in 2021 thakrar and the
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company's CFO they're abruptly suspended
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oh that's never good what happened right
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allegations of gross misconduct and
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possible offenses that's what they said
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Gross misconduct that's pretty vague
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super vague Mak you wondering what
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really went on yeah you got to wonder
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what's the story there well and this is
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where things get interesting right so
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the Office of the data protection
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commissioner in Kenya steps in the odpc
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the odpc yeah now you wouldn't normally
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think a data Protection Agency they'd
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get involved in what seems like you know
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a company's internal stuff right right
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usually that's hr's domain exactly so
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how'd they get pulled into this well
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hold on because it gets even weirder the
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odpc they ruled in thar's favor oh wow
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didn't see that coming right they
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ordered wpp scan group to pay him get
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this ksh 1 .95 million okay and D give
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him access to all his personal data all
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the stuff related to his work there huh
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that's interesting it's not just about
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the money then right makes you think
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what information were they keeping from
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him yeah and why what's so sensitive
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about it that the odpc got involved
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exactly and that's where that's where
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knowing the history gets important okay
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fill me in so rewinded 2008 wpp they
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bought a majority stake in scang group
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see You've Got This Global giant wpp
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basically calling the shots at a maj
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African firm exactly and that kind of
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setup it can definitely create some you
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know some tension power imbalance yeah I
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can see that a clash of cultures maybe
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maybe maybe but it gets more complicated
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zrar he's not just some you know some
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disgruntled employee he's the second
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largest shareholder in the company oo so
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he's got a lot of skin in the game right
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so what does he do he files lawsuits
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lawsuits plural plural in Kenya and the
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UK wow going all out what's he alleging
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a full-on conspiracy to trash his
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reputation reputation damage huh that's
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a tricky one to prove it is and how do
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you even measure that in a court right
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like how much is a good name worth
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exactly this isn't just about the money
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it's about thar's future career you know
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and how wppc and group looks to the rest
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of the world yeah their image their
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trustworthiness Big Stuff big stuff but
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of course they're not just going to take
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this line down what are they doing
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fighting back oh absolutely they've come
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out publicly and said they totally
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disagree with what the odpc ruled and
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they're even thinking about appealing it
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an appeal that'll be interesting to
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follow what could they base that on
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that's the big question are they going
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to try and poke holes in the facts of
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the case or maybe they'll say the Kenyan
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data privacy laws yeah they were applied
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wrong could even go after the odc's
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authority you know question whether they
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should even been involved in this kind
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of dispute right and the outcome of this
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appeal it could have a domino effect on
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other multinational companies and Africa
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how they deal with data privacy employee
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disputes the whole nine yard yeah it's a
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potential game Cher for corporate
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accountability over there so let's bring
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it back home for a sec we've got this
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Saga allegations of misconduct a data
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privacy twist and a power struggle at
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the top of a major African firm it's
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like a corporate Thriller right it
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really is but what does all this mean
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for our listeners well it raises some
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big questions like could this case set a
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new standard for how we use data privacy
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laws in corporate battles especially
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when you've got these big multinational
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companies involved exactly and could
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this lead to I don't know more scrutiny
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of how these companies handle you know
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our data employee data it's definitely
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something to think about it is well
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listeners I hope this deep dive has
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given you a glimpse into this this very
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complex situation a lot to unpack there
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a lot to unpack and it's not over so
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keep your eyes peeled for updates
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because this story is far from finished
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