The Kampala-headquartered mobility company has appointed former chief financial officer, Rob Sanford as CEO as former co-CEOs and co-founders, Alastair Sussock and Maxime Dieudonné seem to be stepping back from day-to-day operations at the company they founded 8 years ago.

On Tuesday, Sanford announced his appointment as CEO of SafeBoda on LinkedIn. Separately, a SafeBoda representative confirmed the news to TechCabal.

Rob Sanford joined SafeBoda in 2019 as Head of Finance, before serving as the company’s global VP of finance between 2020 and 2021. He was chief financial officer for just under 2 years before stepping into the CEO role. “As CFO, I’ve had the opportunity to work with an amazing team of professionals who are passionate about our mission and dedicated to making a positive impact. Special thanks to Maxime Dieudonné and Alastair Sussock for giving me the opportunity to witness first-hand the dedication and hard work that goes into making SafeBoda a success. They will be big boots to fill!” Sanford, SafeBoda’s new CEO enthused.

Sussock and Dieudonné could not be immediately reached for comments. However, Sussock’s LinkedIn indicates that he is taking up the role of non-executive chairman at SafeBoda. The pair founded SafeBoda in 2015 as an on-demand motorcycle taxi service focusing on safety as boda boda (regular motorcycle taxis in Kampala) were seen as driving recklessly.

SafeBoda grew quickly, and launched its services in Kenya in 2018, followed by an entry into Nigeria, where it commenced operations in Ibadan. But it was forced to shut down its Kenya operations due to the negative effects of COVID-19 on its business, SafeBoda said. Last year, the company announced its departure from Nigeria to focus on “bringing the company to profitability by deepening its core transportation offering” in Uganda, its largest market.

In October, SafeBoda announced car-hailing pilots in Kampala. It was a precursor to SafeCar, a car taxi service that is now operating in Kampala.