Editor's Quote: "The test of democracy is freedom of criticism". D. Ben-Gurion
SPECIAL FEATURE: The Life and Death of Tayo Aderinokun
Editor's Choice
Most...
Submitted by Yemisi Akinbobola on Thu, 16/06/2011 - 6:30pm
Mr Tayo Aderinokun, who was the founder of GT Bank, was greatly admired in the banking sector, as one of the pioneering financial practitioner of his time.
His carer in the industry began with a foundation of various business related degrees including a MBA as well as several other professional qualifications.
He joined the Central Bank of Nigeria in Calabar in 1977, after he was retained following the completion of the year long National Youth Service. He then worked in various financial institutions before setting up First Marina Trust in 1989.
It was in 1990 that he then co-founded Guaranty Trust Bank with Mr Fola Adeola. He served at GT Bank as its Deputy Managing Director, and became the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer in August 2002, a role that made him responsible for the strategic policy direction of the bank.
In an interview with Summit Communications, Mr Aderinokun described the philosophy behind GT Bank: “We have managed to build an institution, which is a bit more than I can say for a lot Nigerian organizations. This is because most Nigerian organizations are more a personification of the owners. What we have tried to do in the last 12 years is to promote an institution that would outlive the promoters”.
Mr Aderinokun was a great lover of Fine Arts, and was a major patron of one of Lagos’ finest art auctions ran by Aditya Chellaram of ArtHouse Contemporary. This love for arts was also extended to GT Bank, which under Mr Aderinokun’s stewardship owns some of the rarest fine art collections in Nigeria.
Speak to IQ4News, the Director of ArtHouse, Aditya Chellaram said: "Mr Aderinokun was a great and respected benefactor to Nigerian arts and culture. He will be sorely missed".
As well as sponsoring Nigerian artists in the UK, Mr Aderinokun invested in the education sector - he was the founder of Day Waterman College.
"Tayo Aderinokun was not only very successful in his career achievements but a creative visionary and philanthropist", Jeni Sayer, principal of Day Waterman College, told IQ4News.
"His dream was to build a school that would educate Nigerian children to achieve great things for their country. Tayo had the highest of aspirations and the courage and commitment to make them come to realisation. He has left a great legacy in Day Waterman College which will endure for many generations to come."
A source close to the deceased described Mr Aderinokun’s ambitions for Nigeria: “Above all, he believed in the Nigerian dream, and made sure that GT Bank supported Nigerian enterprises.”
“The seamless succession between him and his co-founder, Fola Adeola, is a clear reflection of his amiable character, and even the Harvard Business Review did a case study on it”.
Uche Okonronkwo, a former CNBC reporter who interviewed him in 2009 describes him as “one of Nigeria's competent CEOs”.
“He was very open to talking with the media,” said Uche. “During his interview he was very humble and well informed about what was going on in the sector”.
“During his tenure, GT Bank became one of the first banks in Nigeria to be listed on the London Stock Exchange”, she continues. “It is very impressive how he build GT Bank’s image, that’s why during the banking crisis, his name never came up in any of the corruption allegations”.
Achievements
Mr Aderinokun received several awards throughout his career, including being honoured with the national award of Member of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (MFR).
He was also the receipt of the ‘Banker of the Year 2006’ (ThisDay), ‘Most Respected CEO in 2008’ (PricewaterhouseCoopers), ‘African Banker of the Year’ 2009 (African Banker magazine), and the ‘CEO of the Year 2009’ (ThisDay).
Former Vice-President Atiku joined the masses of mourners and said that “his stay with us on earth may have been short, but that could not be said of the huge impact he had on our socio-economic lives. As a pacesetter, he engineered novel ways of banking, which will be with us for a long time.”
In a press release issued by GT Bank, Mr Aderinokun was praised for the “tremendous progress and growth” during his time with the bank.
Mr Aderinokun passed away while on medical leave in the UK, aged 56.
Mr. Segun Agbaje is now Acting Managing Director of GT Bank.
Comments
Post new comment