As Uzoma Dozie officially resumes today as the new CEO of Diamond Bank PLC, a bank his father founded 24 years ago, we take a look at CEOs of companies founded by their fathers and how they are performing.
Paschal Dozie and Uzoma Dozie
Business mogul and serial investor, Paschal Dozie, founded Diamond Bank in 1990, growing it into one of Nigeria’s top tier banks before resigning as CEO in 2006. Fourteen years and two CEOs gone, the mantle of leadership returned to his family in the capacity of his son, Uzoma Dozie, who has spent the last 20 years mastering his trade in the banking industry.
Under the exiting CEO Alex Otti, Diamond Bank had its most successful period, and Uzoma ushered into the hot seat is been watched closely to see if he can better, not just his predecessor’s achievement, but also his father’s legacy.
Many say aside his in-depth experience and intellect, the 45 year old trained chemist has his father’s blood as an advantage. Looking the mentions below, and how well they have performed so far, father’s blood sure looks like an added advantage.
Abdulwahab Iyanda Folawiyo and Tunde Folawiyo
The perfect example of a father to son handover, even more perfect than that of Paschal and Uzoma. Tunde Folawiyo’s father, Abdulwahab Iyanda Folawiyo, began what will become a business empire when he founded Yinka Folawiyo & Sons, an import-export enterprise, in 1957; four years before Tunde was born. Fifty years on, the enterprise has grown into Yinka Folawiyo Group, a diverse conglomerate with interests in shipping, banking, construction, agriculture and energy; and Tunde has grown into, well, the Chairman.
The elder Folawiyo, famous for his business savviness and philanthropy, passed on in 2008 and the baton of his legacy was passed on to Tunde as he became the chairman of the Yinka Folawiyo Group. Tunde has been the CEO and group Managing Director of the group since 1989, and prior to that practised law with the law firm Messrs Ogunsanya & Ogunsanya. Like his father, Tunde’s business savviness continues to manifest; he has held roles on the board of several leading companies among them the Telecom giant MTN Nigeria Communications Ltd where is a director and shareholder.
He has also taken to philanthropy, demonstrated by his involvement in several education institutions, including the African Leadership Academy — a school dedicated to improving the skills of the next generation of African leaders.
Otunba Michael Subomi Balogun and Ladi Balogun
If Ladi Balogun is among the shining stars of Nigeria’s Banking industry, then his father, Otunba Michael Subomi Balogun, is among those who set up its galaxy.
The senior Balogun founded, in 1979, the First City Merchant (now Monument) Bank, which was then the first to be established in Nigeria without government or foreign support. He had resigned from his job at a bank two years earlier after he felt cheated out of a deserved Chief Executive position, a depiction of the guts and self-confidence that he is made of.
Just as Otunba is reputed for his courage in founding the bank, his son’s dexterity is remarked as being the key in the expansion of the bank. The junior Balogun since taking over from his father has transformed FCMB from a privately held business to a listed company on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in 2004 and from a merchant bank to full service banking group.
Michael Ade-Ojo and Ademola Ade-Ojo
Michael Ade-Ojo is the archetypical serial businessman, with diverse interests ranging from Automobile to Oil and Gas. However, the most prominent of his ventures is Elizade Nigeria Limited, and it’s here that his son Ademola Ade-Ojo comes in.
Michael, now in his 70s, founded Elizade in the early 70s as a trading company handling general textile sales. A few years later, the company grew into an automobile marketing company dealing on only Toyota vehicles and spare parts in Nigeria. Following his company’s decades of a strong relationship with Toyota, it is now the number 1 Toyota dealer in Nigeria.
Michael’s strong relationship with his son Demola, take after his father’s business as the CEO and Managing Director in 2005. Well-grounded in auto business, Demola Ade.Ojo holds a 1st and 2nd degree in Business Administration from universities in the United States of America, and worked there in Toyota Motor Sales Incorporated [TMSI], where he held several management positions. His experience at the aforementioned company is widely seen as a contributing factor to successful leadership of ELIZADE.
