Yemisi Izuora
Leadway Assurance Company Limited has announced the retirement of Oye Hassan-Odukale as Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
A statement by the company said Oye is succeeded by Tunde Hassan-Odukale as the organisation’s Managing Director/ CEO effective January 01, 2020.
Tunde Hassan-Odukale has been a key member of Leadway’s executive and leadership team since 1999, previously serving as the company’s Executive Director, Financial Services and Systems.
After three decades of nurturing the company in executive capacity, Oye has picked this moment to bow out, the firm said.
During his tenure, Oye saw the business grow from a small regional company into one of Nigeria’s foremost insurance companies, attaining the number one position in terms of Gross Premium Income (GPI) and Balance Sheet Size.
Announcing Tunde’s appointment, Leadway’s outgoing CEO, Oye Hassan-Odukale stated that “In his 30 years of leadership experience at Leadway, Tunde has been the driving force behind the tremendous growth we have seen in the areas of Life Assurance, Investments, Finance and Technology. This makes him a natural successor to steer Leadway to its next phase in history.”
He commended the professional team at Leadway, emphasizing his confidence that “Tunde will build on the Company’s legacy with their unflinching and committed support.”
Reflecting on his appointment, Tunde said: “I am honoured, yet humbled to lead this company at a time like this. We have a customer-centric culture and an engaging approach that has enabled us to grow strongly through the years. Building on this legacy is a challenge that I accept together with our professional team.
We are where we are because our clients, brokers and direct customers trust our ability to support them in a friendly, empathetic and reliable manner. This is humbling and our ambition to continue to deliver remains fierce. I am passionately committed to consolidate on existing achievements by placing our clients at the absolute centre of everything we do.”
Tunde, 55, is a graduate of the University of London and City University, London. He holds a Bachelor Degree in Pure Mathematics and is an alumnus of the Lagos, London, Harvard and Stanford Business Schools.
He sits on the board of directors of various blue-chip companies, which includes First Bank of Nigeria Limited. He is a member of the Royal Society of Mathematics, the Institute of Actuaries and the Institute of Directors