Arsenal Supporter, Loving Wife, Traveler… Meet Honeywell Group’s Top Women

As Honeywell Group, the conglomerate with diversified businesses such as foods and agriculture, telecommunication and infrastructure, real estate and financial services continue to trend on the wings of its latest exploit, SocietyNow.Ng dug into the behind the scene persons and unearthed the significant roles women are playing.

The Group emerged the largest shareholder at FBN Holdings, the parent company of Nigeria’s oldest bank – First Bank – with the purchase of over 4,770,269,843 additional shares valued beyond ₦105 billion through investment vehicle, Barbican Capital Limited.

The deal that surged the value of FBN Holdings to an all time high in the last 52 week remains talk-of-the-town, even on the streets.

Managing Director, Obafemi Otudeko in a letter to the Chairman of FBN Holdings highlighted the values the group is bringing on board, and referenced the breadth and depth of the over 150 years combined experience of the international gender balanced team he leads.

SocietyNow.Ng parades the top women on the management team, the things they like and what they do.

Responsible for legal advisory and dispute resolution functions for all operating companies within the Group,  Olasumbo Abolaji is General Counsel at Honeywell Group.

With oversight over the management and resolution of all disputes involving any of the operating companies within the Group, the avid supporter of Arsenal Football Club oversees drafting, reviews and negotiations of all commercial agreements.

Also a fitness enthusiast, Abolaji has nearly 20 years’ post-call experience in commercial legal practice, having worked in several full-service law firms in Nigeria SocietyNow.Ng gathered.

Before joining the group that has boosted the value of FBH Holdings across financial markets with its latest , the legal mind who likes to travel and watch football was an associate at Aelex Legal Practitioners & Solicitors.

With a Bachelor’s degree in Law from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife and a Master’s degree from the Cornell Law School, New York, United States, Abolaji is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association and the New York State Bar Association with several trainings in the area of commercial contracts under her belt.

On her part, married mother of children with extra special interests in reading, Yewande Giwa is responsible for Relationship Management functions for all operating companies within the Group. 

Her job title is Head, Governance and Sustainability the conglomerate exploring “long-term relationship, as customers, investors, and board members” to boost operations at FBN Holding. .

The title comes with the spelled-out responsibilities of implementing and managing the governance framework for the Group, ensuring compliance with internal and external rules.

Listed as loves to travel, Giwa who holds a bachelor’s degree in Law from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife, a Master’s degree in Commercial & Corporate Law from the University of London, United Kingdom and began her began her legal career with Banwo & Ighodalo has over 15 years’ post-call experience in commercial and company secretarial legal practice.

With Certificate and a Diploma in International Business Law from the University of London among additional qualifications, the member of the Nigerian Bar Association, the International Bar Association – and the Society for Corporate Governance Nigeria – is credited with several trainings in the areas of finance, corporate governance, company secretarial practice and compliance. 

With nearly three decades of experience in company secretarial, corporate governance, litigation, and commercial law practices and exceptional skills in deal advisory and structuring as well as reputation as a trusted legal expert in significant cross-border transactions to her name, Oluwayemisi Busari is the senior adviser, Government Relations at HGL.

A member of the Nigerian Bar Association, the Federation of International Women Lawyers, the Institute of Directors (IOD), and the Institute of Corporate Governance, Busari has a strong passion for counseling and mentoring young individuals .

A mother of three, she has fingerprints on the capital raising for a multimillion-dollar investment in Nigeria’s first GSM operator, project finance legal advisory for a USD100 million national power electrification and transmission project, and successful negotiations of joint ventures and partnerships with international counterparts.

Also at the forefront of the institution, bringing over 150-years combined experience in various professional qualifications and specialties to bear on the operations of FBN Holdings as the biggest shareholder is Kemi Adeoye, the financial strategist and advisor with in-depth expertise in finance and experience that cuts across multiple industries.

The possessor of a first-class bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Oxford Brookes University and an MBA from the Lagos Business School is the Chief Financial Officer at the conglomerate with diversified businesses such as foods and agriculture, telecommunication and infrastructure, real estate and financial services.

She is credited with playing a “pivotal role in HGL’s valuable investments and initiatives including developing and owning the partnership with the Bank of Industry, providing financial advisory on the purchase of a majority stake in a port operations company, and leading the finance and tax work-stream on the Honeywell Flour Mills divestment” according to checks by SocietyNow.Ng.

Recently appointed a non-executive director on the board of Ikeja Hotel Plc, Adeoye’s job function at HGL includes providing guidance and expertise in key financial decisions, ensuring the company’s financial objectives are aligned with its broader goals – and also responsible for  risk management and ensuring the adequacy and effectiveness of controls and Internal Audit across the Group.

Before joining Honeywell Group in 2006, Adeoye, a member of the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (ACCA) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), worked with Baker Tilly where she led several audit engagements with local and multinational clients across different business sectors.

In her role as overseer of various functions that include strategy and project execution, human resources, information technology, communications, administration, and facilities management, Tomi Otudeko is the is Head, Corporate Services at Honeywell Group.

A programme delivery expert with deep expertise in operational excellence, the Prince2 (Practitioner) certified Project Manager joined the Group in November 2017 to help set up Itanna, Honeywell Group’s corporate venture investing platform.

Before then, “she led the implementation of integration activities for First Bank of Nigeria across 6 African countries and was Head, International Banking Coordination for its International Business: coordinating the implementation of strategic initiatives, business development and group management activities across multiple regions. Before joining First Bank, she was an Investment Manager at Stanbic IBTC Asset Management and advised various individual and corporate clients on financial management and investments. She also worked at IBM UK as a Business Development Specialist with a focus on process/service improvement through Strategic Outsourcing” information on her profile revealed.

The Otudeko who Tomi holds an LLB in Law from King’s College London and an MSc in Economics with Merit from the University of Manchester also has a Certificate in Entrepreneurship & Innovation from Stanford University and recently completed the Program for Leadership Development at Harvard Business School SocietyNow.Ng learned.

The conglomerate founded by Obafoluke “Oba” Otudeko, the legendary boardroom guru, as a trading enterprise in 1972 remains on many lips, in and out of the investors’ community. as its N105Billion deal continues so boost FBN Holdings’ value across financial markets.