17th March 1945 — 29th January 2026
Mike Eldon passed peacefully on January 29th, at home in Nairobi, Kenya.
Son of late Bruno and Gaby Eldon and sister to Ruth Eldon. Mike was the loving husband of Evelyn Mungai, proud father of Dan and Amy, and stepfather of Eric and Wacuka, and daughter-in-law Molly. He was grandfather to Jack, Daniel and Arabella, and Karungari, Githuku, Noni and great grandfather to Prince and Luke and uncle to many.
A graduate of University College London and London Business School’s Sloan Fellows Program, Mike was the former Managing Director of International Computers, Ltd., Wang, and IBM in Kenya. In 1993, Mike founded the DEPOT, the Dan Eldon Place of Tomorrow, to commemorate his son, Dan, artist and Reuters photojournalist killed in Somalia in 1993, whose life and values continue to inspire young changemakers around the world. Using the DEPOT as his base, Mike consulted with companies across Africa, including organizing executive leadership training seminars, and peace-building retreats across cultural divides, often behind the scenes. Mike was proud of his 50-year involvement with the Rotary Club.
He was chairman of Occidental Insurance and an independent director of Davis and Shirtliff, co-founder of the Institute for Responsible Leadership, adjunct faculty member at Strathmore Business School, and former chairman of the Council for KCA University. He served as chairman of the Council of the Kenya Institute of Management, where he was a Fellow of the Institute. Since 2007, he has been writing a column for Business Daily.