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WHEN a colleague of mine heard that Mr Tony O. Elumelu just turned 50, he could not believe it, he asked how come some people have all the lucks in the world, wondering aloud, he noted that for someone who bowed out of his chosen career in life after getting to the zenith while still in his 40s, Mr Elumelu must be a very lucky and fulfilled man. Continuing, he highlighted that before he graduated from the university, the name Tony Elumelu has started making waves in the Nigerian banking industry and was already regarded as someone with a daring can
do mindset, impatient with the old system that holds everyone back, fearlessly introducing highly innovative value added products most of which became the fulcrum that changed the Nigerian banking sector into what it is today. He is said not to think twice in sticking out his neck for what he believes in.
What my colleague did not know is that though there is always an element of luck in every success, but to achieve what Mr Elumelu achieved, he created most of the said luck. Those who know him closely could attest to the fact that to possess such a restless mind, always seeking out how to make things better, is more than luck could offer, it requires enough to create all the lucks needed in a life time. Every organisation that has had the privilege of his presence is imbued with his philosophy that creating operating mechanism makes organizations work better.
Widely acknowledged as one of Africa’s most influential business leaders, Mr Elumelu who is the Chairman of Heirs Holdings and Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc founded The Tony Elumelu Foundation as part of his own contribution towards the making of a better society. Unlike great minds who are inspired by political activities, Mr Elumelu said that many things motivate him, for him; politics is not the only way to make an impact on our Society, The Tony Elumelu Foundation was set up to achieve this.
The Foundation
The Tony Elumelu Foundation was founded with the aim to influence policy through advocacy, leadership and entrepreneurial development and dedicated to the promotion and celebration of excellence in business leadership and entrepreneurship across Africa. This was established following his retirement from United Bank for Africa in July 2010. The main objective was to “prove that the African private sector can itself be the primary generator of economic development. It sets out to promote and celebrate excellence in business leadership and entrepreneurship across Africa. Its approach is different from traditional grant-making organisations as it does not focus only on grant-giving but advocates the use of market tools to solve previously intractable social problems.
Apart from his activities at Tony Elumelu Foundation, he is equally active in several other organisations such as the World Economic Forum’s Regional Agenda Council on Africa where he is a member. He is also a member of the Bretton Woods Committee, which brings together senior leaders in the global banking industry and he is a Fellow of the Nigeria Leadership Initiative (NLI).
He is involved, through his foundation, with the Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative (AGI) in a partnership to strengthen the private sector’s role in the economic transformation of select African countries. This partnership is called the Blair-Elumelu Fellowship Programme.
A big dreamer
A firm believer in the potential of the African continent to hold its own globally, Elumelu said that Africa’s prosperity depends on developing a private sector that can compete with the best in the world. He is the originator of the term Africapitalism which he says is an economic philosophy that embodies the private sector’s commitment to the economic transformation of Africa through long-term investments that create both economic prosperity and social wealth. He sees the continent of Africa taking charge of the value-adding sectors and ensuring that those value-added processes happen in Africa, not through nationalisation or government policies, but because there is a generation of private sector entrepreneurs who have the vision, the tools and the opportunity to shape the destiny of the continent. Africapitalism, he insists is not capitalism with an African twist; it is a rallying cry for empowering the private sector to drive Africa’s economic and social growth.
Business Philosophy
“We should train the mind to know when we are faced with opportunities. And when they come, we should be positioned to take advantage of it”, he is fond of saying. He strongly subscribes to Michael Porter’s concept of Creating Shared Value (CSV), a man who had great influence on him while he was at Harvard Business School; it is not surprising then that Professor Porter is the Founding Patron of The Tony Elumelu Foundation. Creating Shared Value refers to the idea that “companies must take the lead in bringing business and society back together.” It asserts that “businesses acting as businesses, not as charitable donors, are the most powerful force for addressing the pressing issues (society) face(s).”
His Rise and Rise
His career projectile is one of the swiftest in the country, guided by his belief that Human capital and Branding are two key elements in building a new business, he maximised this virtually in all the organisations he worked in. Mr Elumelu began his professional banking career in 1985 through BGL Limited, an asset management company which he founded as its pioneer Chief Executive Officer. In 1997, he led a group of investors and turn-around experts to reposition the then distressed Crystal Bank into the Standard Trust Bank.
He took a step that shocked even people who know nothing about banking when in 2005, he led the acquisition and subsequent merger of the smaller Standard Trust Bank with the old United Bank for Africa (UBA).This according to observers was the first time a smaller snake swallowed a bigger one. This gave credence to Mr Elumelu’s knack for risk taking and to a great extent his high confidence level which those who know his ascribed to his firm belief that Knowledge increases confidence and confidence is a key attribute for excellence. This acquisition by a smaller company was a first in the African sub-region. The integration was also done, remarkably, in record time. He conceived of and executed UBA’s 3 tier approach to financial sector dominance in Africa. He was the mastermind behind UBA’s spread to 20 African countries and expansions in the US, the UK and France. With him at the helm, the bank received an “A” rating in the annual rating of banks worldwide, with an estimated brand value of US$322 million and a listing as one of Africa’s 40 fastest growing companies (the African Challengers) in 2010 by the Boston Consulting Group. He retired from UBA in August 2010, following a Central Bank of Nigeria limitation on CEO tenure.
Life after UBA
He founded the African proprietary investment company Heirs Holdings after his retirement from United Bank for Africa. The company states its investment policy as being targeted at opportunities that will create economic prosperity and social wealth in Africa. Heirs Holdings is a long-term investor and is characterised by its deployment of patient capital. The company’s favoured investment sectors are financial services, health care, infrastructure, real estate hospitality, agriculture, and oil gas. In 2011, Heirs Holdings gained a controlling interest in the Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc, a conglomerate that operates in the Energy, Agribusiness and Hospitality sectors.
Special Recognitions
In 2003, the Federal Government of Nigeria granted Tony Elumelu the title of Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR), a national honour. In 2006, Elumelu was voted African Business Leader of The Year by the Africa Investor magazine and was recognised African Banker of the Year in 2008 by the African Banker magazine. In 2009, the Nigerian President Umaru Musa Yar’adua asked him to serve on the Presidential Committee on the Global Financial Crisis.
He was awarded an honorary doctorate of science degree from the Benue State University and an honorary doctorate of business administration from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
The Man
Mr Tony Elumelu was born in Jos, Nigeria, in March 22 1963. He has two degrees in Economics from Nigerian schools. His Bachelor degree was from the Bendel State University and he has a Master of Science degree, also in Economics, from the University of Lagos. He is an alumnus of Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Programme. Tony Elumelu married Awele V. Elumelu, a medical doctor, in 1993 and has five daughters.
Elumelu holds the Nigerian national honour, the Commander of the Order of Nigeria (CON). New African magazine recently listed him as one of the 100 most influential people in Africa. He is not what you will call an extrovert, he once said that instead of throwing parties, I rather celebrate Entrepreneurs who are toiling day and night to transform Nigeria and Africa into a developed (Both in Economic and Social Wealth) society that future generations can be proud of. On his reaching the golden age of 50, he said that ”turning 50 is symbolic for me. Life now is about Impact and Essence”.
Tony Elumelu @ 50: A truly transformational leader
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