Patrick Gatonga’s romanticism and spaghetti myths

Weekend with the CEO

Patrick Gatonga’s romanticism and spaghetti myths

Saturday August 19 2023

Patrick Gatonga, the AAR Insurance Group CEO. PHOTO | POOL

It’s not every day you get serenaded by a C-suite executive. So, when Dr Patrick Gatonga, the AAR Insurance Group CEO, cracked his fingers and rose up to play the piano, I stopped taking notes.

Music has been the key that has underlined the scale of his ambitions, so innately aligned with who he is that he met his wife on his way to teaching music—said wife who now also sings while he plays, a sort of musical pas de deux, together, a force de jour, strung along by a love that has the power to pry ribs apart, I could tell.

It is that whatever they have achieved apart, nothing sounds as sweet as the music they have made together.
The Mozart of the health industry, his parents, flaunting their prescience called him Gatonga which means a small rich man-hence his nickname ‘karich’.

What they could not tell, however, is how musically inclined he would be, with a dervish-like intoxicating mix of genteelness and grace, brutality and beauty.

Here, in an empty room with a devilish grand scale piano at the Legato Getaways on James Gichuru Road in Lavington, he channels his inner Beethoven, playing all the classical hits about his hopeless romanticism and a broken wine cellar and his Amboseli cravings. 

What’s the first thing you did this morning? 

I was at the gym.

Do you go to the gym often? 

At least three days a week. Started with cardio then learned that in old age, it is how strong your muscles are that makes people walk straight. Now I am doing lots of muscle training. Exercise helps me clear my mind.

What led you to the piano?

I was introduced to music through the church in my early teens. My real immersion was in high school (Starehe Boys Centre) where I got a dedicated music teacher.

From there I just took off. I enjoyed it. Then at some point, I started writing music, then teaching music and voice as well. I don’t sing, however.

What draws you to music?

It’s an interesting art. It’s personal but very communal. It’s a language that you express in the way you want. You can determine what to say, just by pure expressions. You can manage moods and feelings; you can play and entertain others—it is very communal.

Does music hold a special meaning in your life?

I have some sentimental attachment to it. I have met people through it, and music takes me back to those memories. You could easily find me on Fridays in the middle of the night just listening to classical music, which is strange considering where I grew up.

Where did you grow up?

Kajiado. So you can imagine Kajiado and classical music. Ha! I am drawn to melodies and good harmonies.

Have you had special memories while playing the piano? 

I played some hymn for my wife at our wedding and the entire congregation just sang along.

Are you a hopeless romantic? 

Haha yes! But my wife also sings. In fact, she is gifted, if I do say so myself.

Your home is purely musical? 

Yes, I write songs for her to sing. My firstborn son plays the piano as well. My second-born son is two years but you can tell he has a musical ear.

Music has a way of enriching one’s creativity. Children who learn music also do better in other areas. It teaches you hand-eye coordination, and overall development plus there is some truth in the apple not falling too far from the tree.

What was an embarrassing moment you had while on the piano? 

I was playing from memory in a concert and there is a part that I forgot and ended up going back to the beginning. To a keen person, they probably would have been able to tell.

The biggest lesson for me was to just practice more. That time, I hadn’t practised. 

You also have a concert in October. Where do you find the time? 

It’s not easy. The fact that it is fun—if you enjoy watching football, somehow football will fit somewhere in there. I drag my family a lot in my music endeavours. I have a lot of support from my family.

At some point, I had to invest in a home piano, early mornings, and Saturdays to just play. In the evenings after dinner, I’ll put my fingers to practice and play for a few minutes.

Have you used the piano to remedy a situation à la David-and-Saul in the Bible? 

If my wife falls in that category then yes, haha! I met her while I was on my way to teach music at the conservatoire at the Kenya Cultural Centre (née Kenya National Theatre). Suffice it to say, I never made it to the job, haha!

But I have also taught many children to play, and I am now working with a few people to see how we can use music to show the role it can play in early child development and the purpose of music, considering how expensive musical instruments are.

What’s the most boring part about playing the piano?

Practise time. And patience, especially when you are learning something new. Sometimes I wish music could descend on me without playing. Argh!

What else has remained unchanged about you since childhood? 

I am generally very playful. I have learned over time that in leadership you really have to know yourself, move away from work and immerse yourself in something that helps grow your leadership.

That’s how I have learned that I generally thrive where things don’t stay the same. I like motion. A child can’t sit in one place for too long.

What was your nickname growing up? 

My parents would call me karich. Gatonga means a small rich man, hence karich.

Has the prophecy come true?

Haha! I have been lucky. I would be ungrateful if I say otherwise. But the value for me is more around the experiences I can create for myself and others, not necessarily money. What’s the value of life and how much I can make a difference?

Speaking of, what’s life’s simplest pleasure? 

Peace.

What’s your secret to life? 

Being yourself. Know yourself and you are able to understand how it will affect others and vice versa.

When you think of the weekend what food comes to mind?

I have a weakness for desserts. I have a very sweet tooth.

What gives? 

Left to my own devices, I will not care about carbs. I enjoy a really good apple pie.

Can you make one? 

Yes. I decided to learn how to and now make for my children. 

But is there a special treat you do just Karich? 

I enjoy adventures a lot. I can pack a bag with my family and just leave for a destination.

What is one place you’ve gone that has stayed with you? 

The Amboseli. I find myself going back there often. It sort of blends a lot of things for me and takes me back to my childhood in Kajiado.

I was there just a week ago and my eldest son—who loves snakes—saw a black mamba. He wanted to keep it.

Did he? 

Of course not haha! But he wants a pet snake.

What’s the first thing you usually do when you get to the Amboseli? 

Get into the park. I can barely sit indoors. Since Covid-19, I’ve been walking a lot, doing 5k steps a day, or 10k steps over the weekend.

What’s the dumbest thing you’ve spent your money on? 

A violin that I never learned. And a wine cellar. I am building one and I just learned it is not the right one. I don’t even drink that much wine, and it is not even complete.

How much have you spent so far? 

About Sh300,000. And it is not done yet. It is one of those holes you just have to keep digging. It hurts.

What is the most painful thing you’ve been told? 

When I was 13, I learned my mom had a chronic heart condition that required open-heart surgery. She’d go to the hospital and spend two weeks there.

At one point we were counting and she had had five strokes. It is why I decided to become a doctor.

Would you consider yourself a momma’s boy? 

I care a lot about her but you will not find me clinging to her. My brothers and I are quite independent.

How are you like her? 

Oh my! She has such a sweet tooth which has caused her a lot of cavities haha! But we share a strong sense of family.

What’s your superpower? 

Intuition. I see a lot of perspectives. I am generally able to find clarity in complexities and see things that others sometimes can’t see yet.

What’s something you are proud of but never get to brag about?

My children. Everything I do just revolves around them. I changed jobs because of them because I used to travel a lot.

That and positive change, that things can get better, organisations can grow and harness the power of people.

What do you have that money can’t buy?

I have learned that the best results are achieved through people. Understanding how best I can influence people. Plus, I have a lot of love from my family.

But who has your back?

My wife.

What’s the worst piece of advice you ever received? 

I studied in Australia for a gap year with some international students. One of the things we’d do is drink a lot during the week.

When I was about to leave, they convinced me to go out and drink and drink and drink. The following day I had a formal farewell breakfast and I was barely alive haha! I was very embarrassed.

What is your weekend soundtrack? 

It starts with a lot of classical music, Beethoven’s symphonies, on Friday night. It is almost predictable. Saturday afternoon will be rock music. Then Sunday afternoons will be taarab.

What’s something you long believed to be true but you realised it isn’t? 

I thought spaghetti grows on trees! It was very expensive. I had read a story when I was a child and in it, there was a tree that had spaghetti growing on it, haha!

What is a weekend hack that could make my weekends better? 

Letting be.

Who would you like to play for, dead or alive? 

My wife. We have a way we connect when I play and she sings.

Are you happy? 

Generally.

When was the moment you realised? 

It is just self-awareness. The more I reflect on life, the more I appreciate that it offers a lot of privileges and not everyone has access to them.

We have that privilege as young Africans to change the narrative, and be aware of being where we are as Africans and that we can change the trajectory.

What never fails to make karich laugh? 

Good food.

Who do you know that I should know? 

Our unspoken heroes. My parents. They gave up their livelihood so we could be better. They invested a lot of resources in that. Had it not worked, we would have been a disaster. We need to celebrate them because we tend not to see the silent transformers in our lives.

Has it all worked out? 

Well, we are here. Haha!

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