Jared Kangwana has a problem. People call him when they want his father, Jared Kangwana, a former influential Moi-era businessman. The meritocracy police want to make him their first arrest, saying he is where he is because of his father. ‘There’s always an assumption that he’s really the force behind what we’re doing here, which is frustrating.’
As the managing partner at Clyde and Co., he knows a famous name can be a crown on your head and a millstone around your neck. His father made his name. (His father is associated with the Monarch Group and a raft of real estate properties including Chester House.) Now Kangwana Jr is trying to separate his.
Not that it bothers him anymore. These days, he has bigger fish-or rather, lamb-to fry. He cautions that once you’ve had his triple-fried shoulder of lamb, he’s ruined all your other lamb experiences. ‘You’re done. Over with,’ and you can take that to the bank and use it as collateral. He doesn’t necessarily call himself an expert on lamb, but he won’t stop you if you do. That’s one way to make your name. Or separate it.
What is it like to be the son of someone with such big shoes to fill? It’s inspiring to see what he and my mum have achieved over the years. I’m not filling his shoes; I’m following a similar path while doing things differently because we are in a different world. But one critical thing I have learnt from them is to never give up. Two, education is critical. That said, I do get calls and emails asking for Jared in meetings; I am like, ‘Wrong person.’ I have not received any of his love letters. Nor has he received any of my love letters, as far as I’m aware [chuckles].
How are you your own man? Taking chances. Growing up, you tend to be boxed into a particular journey, especially in certain careers, and law is one of those. I’ve taken risks, most of which have failed. But by not giving up, seeking out opportunities and being brave, you chart your own path.
Which dreams have you let go? By choice or? Haha! Outside the legal profession, my biggest dream was to fly. I got my licence in 2016. I have not flown for a very long time, so that’s something I feel like I have let go of.
What does flying mean to you? One, I’m always fascinated by the ability of this huge piece of metal to glide through the skies. Two, I’m a bush person. It is my happy place. And I found out the quickest way to get to the most remote places in this country is by air. Three, it is peaceful. My day-to-day life is hectic, including weekends. Being up there by yourself, and it’s just you, the sound of the engine – it’s complete and utter peace. It clears my mind, but it’s risky. I’ve got a young family, so I need to balance that out. And it’s also very expensive.
Flying or the family? That’s a good question. Both haha! I need to align my priorities.
What is one place you’ve flown to that has really stuck with you? I flew my mum to the border of Tanzania and then into Magadi. We had breakfast there and then flew back to Nairobi and continued with her birthday party. And the second was when I was probably showing off a bit when courting my now-wife. We flew to Chyulu Hills, but it’s more about the journey and who’s part of that journey and not so much the destination.
Did that help you win your wife? I think I’m a nice person [chuckles]. Well, I don’t know because she’s refused to fly with me since then.
What kind of husband did you set out to be? Did I have a plan? Not really. I think I’ve simply tried to follow in the footsteps of my parents and the kind of family they created for us. My wife is Ethiopian, and when we met, she had been in Kenya for about three years. She didn’t have any other family members here, so one of my biggest priorities was making sure she felt at home and that we built the kind of warm, wholesome family that my siblings and I were fortunate to grow up in. For me, being a good husband means listening to your partner, allowing her perspective to guide me, and supporting her wherever she needs me. That’s the kind of marriage I’ve always wanted us to have.
How did you make your marriage unique from your parents’? I don’t know if I’ve done anything different. I think they did more when they were my age than I’ve been able to do now in terms of building the family, building their businesses, and supporting the wider family and community in Kisii.
Is that a challenge or a burden to outdo your parents? It’s an inspiration, without a doubt. And really, the question is, what does success look like to me? You fall short if you pitch your success against someone else. Your success should ultimately be your success. What makes you happy.
What did success look like for you when you were younger? I’m still young haha! This is cliché, but financial independence. The second is building something I hope will outlive my partners and me and create an institution for the benefit of whoever is in it and for our clients. From a family perspective, it is being able to put the children through good schools and watching them succeed.
You went to boarding school at six years old. That’s your whole life… How was that like? I’m the youngest of four children, so I was quite young when I first went to boarding school. At the time, I had no idea what was going on. It just felt exciting to be away from home. As I got older, though, it became more challenging. This was before the internet and mobile phones. The only way to keep in touch was by writing letters, so homesickness could be quite real. Even so, I’m a big advocate of boarding school, depending on the nature of the child.
Would you parent your children the same way? Yeah, but you’re asking the wrong person. I definitely would.
How did fatherhood reconstitute success, if at all? It has put a different perspective and more drive to pursue success. It has given me a lot more purpose in terms of what I’m doing, to get out of bed on those grey Monday mornings when you’re tired, you’re stressed, you’re broke.
What frightened you most about being a father? The unknown. You can read books, or other parents will speak to you and give you all the information you need, but once that baby comes, it’s like, I don’t know what to do with this thing. And then having to learn and adapt very quickly on how to look after the child. It’s terrifying.
This is a dicey question, but which of your father’s flaws are you actively not trying to pass down to your children? Let’s call it a character trait, which I have as well. Stubbornness. If we’ve set our minds on something, it’s going to happen. I can see it coming out in my five-year-old boy and two-year-old girl.
What used to make you happy that no longer makes you happy now? The streets haha! The nightlife. I used to love passing by the bar on Friday evenings. I used to be a very sociable person. Now, I just prefer more intimate gatherings.
When did this shift happen for you? I need to be careful about this. I might give you a timeline. If my wife reads this, she’ll be like, that’s a lie [chuckles]. But around the time we got married, 2018. The reason is that you have to be purposeful about what you’re doing. Your life changes once you get married. You need to give each other attention. You’re building something and still getting to know each other. Why have you married someone if you prefer to spend Friday nights out and Saturday mornings in bed, hungover?
How do you take care of yourself? I’ll show you [shows paper]. Eight hours of hard work, eight hours of good sleep, and eight hours spent on family, friends, health, and soul. I still struggle with sleep, but I enjoy spending time doing things that take me away from work. I love cooking. Most weekends I will cook. Gym, three days a week. And being in the bush.
What’s your signature meal? Triple-fried lamb shoulder. This weekend, I’m trying to perfect my pizza-making. It’s a good way to spend time with my children, especially my son. It is not so much about the food, but the process. I have to say I have no interest in sweets and cakes. I’m scared of the dentist. I have 12 fillings and four fake teeth.
Do you have an insecurity you are willing to share? I’m a very anxious person. I worry a lot about things I really shouldn’t be worrying about. I’m doing myself a disservice, I know.
What do you wish people understood about you more? That there is a distinction between what the team and I are doing here in this firm versus what my father has done. There’s always an assumption that he’s the force behind what we’re doing here, which is frustrating. He has nothing to do with it. But it’d be silly not to get guidance from him and other experienced people.
Does that make you want to keep on proving yourself to people? Yeah.
You didn’t grow up in lack, so where does your ambition come from? This is a delicate one. With one of my first firm jobs, I got some internal information that they were deciding who to let go of. And the information I got out of there was… ‘They don’t need to retain me. I’ll be fine anyway.’ Which really frustrated me, because you’ve made an assumption and taken away all the effort and hard work I put in. So I resigned. I left with one ambition. To grow something bigger and better.
Which part of success did not taste as good as you thought it would? Let’s call it growth. Putting my hand up and saying, ‘Oh, I’m successful,’ is quite arrogant. What it has not fixed is peace. It comes with more and more challenges.
When you think of the weekend, what comes to mind? Children first. We like going to the national park. We like seeing my siblings; they’ve got children as well. Anything but work.
What habit are you trying to break? Work. I can’t live without work emails on my phone. I’d be anxious. But it taught me something. We’re a service industry. You need to be responsive to clients because without people having problems, we have no work. But how to measure your response? Is it really that critical? Can I just say, I’ve understood. I’ll get back to you on Monday. I think it definitely annoys my wife.
How do you ensure you’re stopping to smell your roses? I have to be forced into it, to be honest. It’s difficult for me to just stop. Or that tomorrow I’m not doing anything. I’ll need to be pushed into that. But also appreciate the people around you. Whether it’s family, whether it’s colleagues. Spend time with them. Listen to them.
What is your most used emoji? Probably a thumbs up. Memes, I don’t use. It’s complicated. Those GIFs. You go through it, and you’re like, oh, let me find something that’s funny. I’m not a funny person. This is a thing. And I can’t even be bothered to change the colour [chuckles]. My emojis are all yellow. It’s quick.
Give us some pro bono lawyerly advice. Think outside the box. It’s absolutely okay to be selfish. In terms of making the decisions that are right for you, and ultimately the people around you. Take bold steps and be prepared for failure. But also, there’s too much noise and external influence. Too many people are in a rush to achieve certain things, which seldom works, so cut the noise and focus on what’s important-don’t expect that even your closest friend has your best interests at heart. Those are the people who can wipe you out. And it’s not always the case that the cheap one is going to give you the same quality of advice that you actually need. And when you look at your policy, always look at exclusions. What you’re sold and what you get at the end of the day can be two very different things.