Ifie Sekibo is a Nigerian banker and entrepreneur. He currently sits as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Heritage Bank Plc., a Nigerian Commercial bank,
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Primarily, Ifie has over two decades of professional work experience in the banking, insurance and energy sector. Also, he has a track record in organisational leadership and management.
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Ifie Sekibo Career
In 2002, Sekibo became a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria. Also, he is an alumnus of Harvard Business School OPM Class (2006-2009).
He is the former Executive Vice Chairman of International Energy Insurance (IEI). In 2003, together with his team, they acquired the Global Assurance Company Limited from the National Insurance Commission.
As its leader, he starred the company into a front line insurance company in Nigeria. The company under his leadership also undertook successful capital raise, and listed on Nigerian Stock Exchange. After serving as the Executive Vice Chairman of IEI, Sekibo became the pioneer MD/CEO Of Heritage Banking Company Ltd.
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Sekibo is a member and fellow of several professional institute like:
- Institute of Directors
- Institute of Petroleum, London
- Nigeria Institute of Management
- Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria
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Awards and Recognition
He has won a number of awards, both for himself and for Heritage Bank Plc. Some of his personal awards are;
- Man Making a Difference, Goal Attainment Made Easy (GAME), 2014
- Leader of the Year Award, Leadership Clinic GOTNI, 2016
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Heritage Bank Plc (HB)
Heritage Bank Plc is one of the leading commercial banks licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria. At first, it existed as Societe Generale Bank of Nigeria (SGBN). SGBN was founded by late Dr. Olusola Saraki, former Governor of Kwara State in the 1970s.
However, in 2006, it was closed by the Central Bank of Nigeria due to failure to meet the new minimum capital requirements for a National Bank. Then, in 2009, the closure was challenged and in 2012, re-licensed with a regional authorization.
Next, on March 4, 2013, SBGN got a new ownership, re-branded and began to operate as Heritage Banking Company Limited. In 2014, it acquired Enterprise Bank Ltd. Having met requirements of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), full ownership was transferred in 2015.
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Summarily, Heritage bank Plc services include retail banking, corporate banking, online/internet banking, investment banking and asset management services. Its headquarter is in Lagos, Nigeria. It has 127 branches, 202 automated banking centres and 350 ATMs across Nigeria.
Under the Leadership of Ifie Sekibo, HB developed as the most innovative banking service providers in Nigeria. It also won several awards including Best SME Bank in Nigeria by Capital Finance International (CFI) 2018. Also, Agriculture Bank of the Year at Nigeria Agriculture Awards (NAA) 2018, and many other awards.
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Ifie Sekibo Quotes
“…A business plan is an important tool to help guide your decisions.”
“Decision-making is an integral part to business management. And although several factors affect growth, the right choice in the right direction can bolster your business.”
“When your ways inspire others to learn more and become more, that is a typical portrayal of leadership.”
“Choose to look beyond barriers that challenges pose and identify opportunities.”
“Rejuvenate. Refresh. Recharge. Begin again. That is how you maintain PERSISTENCE.”
“Establishing strong business networks exposes you to like-minded and experienced business owners, opportunities to grow your business and new business terrains to explore.”
“Accountability is one element that, if missing, would stall the growth process of any business.”
“Focus on doing ordinary things extraordinarily well. That’s how you achieve excellence.”
“Showing appreciation increases productivity.”
“Life offers so many great choices, all you have to do is to see them.”
“Always fight for knowledge. You have the right to question everything.”
“An efficient team ensures efficient execution. Focus not on the size of your team, but on the quality of personnel in your team.”
“An entrepreneur is one who relentlessly pursues opportunities, not reckless, but is always a risk-taker…”
“The greatest legacy you can pass onto your children is not money or material things; but a legacy of character and faith.”
“Everything is a success, just that you’ve not reached a desired goal.”
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Business Lessons From Ifie Sekibo
See Failure As a Way to Build Character
According to Sekibo, failure builds character, it teaches in a way that success cannot. Failure shapes and make one more resilient. Sekibo believes that the more we cultivate the right attitude to failure, the more we move closer to success.
Failures and obstacles should propel us towards achieving our dreams.
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Accountability
According to Ifie, lack of accountability stalls the growth process of any business. Basically, to succeed in business, you must learn to efficiently use time and resources.
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Excellence
One of the important things to note about Ifie Sekibo is that he is a result-oriented person. In all of his leadership positions, he has led his team in achieving seemingly difficult feat. Heritage Bank under his leadership has won several awards from CBN, CFI and other standard organisations.
Excellence should be a daily habit for the entrepreneur.
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