Meet The Two Brothers That Emerged Chairmen Of First Bank
The management shake-up in First Bank of Nigeria by the Central Bank of Nigeria has made two brothers, Oyekanmi Hassan-Odukale and Tunde Hassan-Odukale, the Chairmen of the bank’s United Kingdom subsidiary and parent company in Nigeria, respectively.
Based on findings by THE WHISTLER, both brothers are sons of the founder of Leadway Assurance, Sir Olusola Hassan Odukale.
Their father founded Leadway Assurance in 1970 to boost local participation in an industrial sector dominated by foreign firms.
He sat on the board of several Blue-chip companies and was Leadway’s Chairman from 1993 till 1999 when he died.
His son Oyekanmi Hassan-Odukale led the management of the company for three decades after taking over from his late father.
Tunde took over the organisation as the new Managing Director, effective January 1, 2020, after his brother stepped down.
Oyekanmi is the current Chairman of FBN Bank Ltd (UK), a wholly owned subsidiary of First Bank in the city of London, according to First Bank.
He also sits on the board of several blue-chip companies, including being the Director of Adswitch Plc and Globe Reinsurance Company Limited.
“He was a Non-Executive Director on the Board of First Bank of Nigeria Plc. between 1999 and 2010 and he is the current Chairman of FBN Bank (UK) Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of First Bank in the city of London,” First Bank UK wrote on its web.
His brother Tunde, who is 56-year-old, was named the new Chairman of First Bank by the CBN on Thursday.
He has replaced the former Chairman, Board of Directors, Ibukun Awosika, who was named First Bank of Nigeria’s Chair in 2015.
The development came after the CBN sacked all the Board of Directors of First Bank.
The action by the CBN was not unconnected to the removal of Adesola Adeduntan as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the bank.
The bank appointment Gbenga Shobo as MD/CEO designate without necessary regulatory approval.
This makes the two brothers chair First Bank UK and First Bank Nigeria.
The new First Bank of Nigeria Chair, Tunde, has been in Leadway Assurance for 29 years and two months.
According to his Linkedin profile, Odukale has been a Non-Executive Director from March 1992 to January 2020, a period of 27 years and 11 months.
In January, the banker was appointed the company’s managing Director before the Central Bank of Nigeria dissolved First Bank directors.
First Bank wrote, “His executive management experience spans over 21 years and includes Asset Management, Finance, IT and Life Insurance Operations.
“He has a keen disposition to evaluating proposals as well as forming IT strategy and direction which are beneficial to the Bank’s Board.”
The banker also sits on the board of Total Health Trust Limited and other Leadway Assurance Subsidiaries.
A look at his education history revealed he got his A Levels certification in Hurtwood House College in the United Kingdom between 1981 to 1984.
He holds a BSC in Metamathematics at the University of London between 1984 to 1987 and a Post Graduate Diploma in Actuarial Science at City University London between 1987 to 1988.
His hubbies are playing tennis, reading and seeing new places, according to his Linkedin profile.
