Kunle Alake is new Group MD of Dangote Group

In order to strengthen the group’s Executive management team and sustain its strategic business growth trajectory, Africa’s foremost indigenous conglomerate, Dangote Industries Limited (DIL) has announced new appointments.

In the new organizational rejig, Olakunle Alake the erstwhile Chief Operating Officer (COO) is now the Group Managing Director and Dr. Adenike Fajemirokun, the Group Chief Risk Officer has been elevated to the office of Group Executive Director, President’s Office, where she will take on new roles in addition to her schedule as the Risk Officer. She is the first ever female executive director in Dangote Group.

The management also announced the appointment of Austine Ometoruwa as Group Executive Director, Corporate Finance and Treasury.

President/Chief Executive, Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, speaking on the new appointments said “it is exciting seeing a female occupy such a high position. We are gender sensitive and create equal opportunities for both male and female to get to the top.”

“The new appointments are to strengthen the Group’s executive management team and to consolidate on its strategic business growth trajectory”, he added.

Alake has been the Chief Operating Officer of Dangote Industries Limited since 2007. He serves on the board of Dangote  Sugar  Refinery  Plc, NASCON Allied Industries PLC, Dangote Cement PLC and Dangote Flour Mills PLC.  Mr.  Alake’s experience  spans 34  years  which covers banking, management consultancy and manufacturing industries.

He  joined  Dangote Group in July 1997 and served  as its Financial Controller and Head of  Strategic Services till 2001 when he was appointed to the board of Dangote Industries Limited as Executive Director/ Group Strategist.

He started his  working career at PricewaterhouseCoopers, a  firm  of  Chartered Accountants in September 1984 and left in 1990 to join Liberty Merchant Bank Limited as the Financial Controller for three years.

Between August 1993 and July 1997, Mr. Alake served as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Liberty Merchant Securities Limited and was part of the team that provided consultancy services for the smooth take-over of the International Trust Bank Plc, by Dangote Group in August 1996. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria. Mr. Alake holds a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife in 1983.

Dr. Fajemirokun, a consummate Risk Management & Insurance specialist has over 18 years diverse experience in developing and implementing risk management strategies in Financial, Engineering, Manufacturing and other industries.

She started her career with Ove Arup and Partners as a Fire Engineer where she was responsible for carrying out qualitative and quantitative risk assessment of various assets and developing risk assessment frameworks for quantifying identified risks.

She later joined Deutsche Bank AG, UK, and served in  senior leadership roles such as Director and Global Head Operational Risk, Head of Transaction Management Group for leverage finance at the Corporate and Investment Bank. Prior to specializing in the Risk Management field, she held positions in finance as a front office quantitative analyst at Goldman Sachs London and New York.

Dr. Fajemirokun worked with First Bank of Nigeria  where she developed the operational risk management framework for the bank as well as  its Business Continuity Certification by the British Standard Institute. She also managed and tracked the firm’s risks across all directorates, transaction services and alternative investments.

In 2010, She founded and headed AFRisk Management Consultants Limited which developed the enterprise risk management frameworks for some of the country’s major institutions including Central Bank of Nigeria, First Bank Nigeria  and First Bank Capital Plc.

She was appointed Chief Risk Officer of Dangote Group in 2013 and leads the Risk Management Functions for the Group and its various Businesses where she oversees the company’s governance model and enterprise risk program. She develops and manages processes to identify, assess, monitor and reduce risks that could interfere with the achievement of the company’s goals and objectives. She is also responsible for managing the Group’s Insurance, Procurement Portfolio and Logistics.

A holder of B.Eng. in Civil, Structural and Fire Engineering and a Ph.D. in Risk Informed Engineering both from the University of Manchester, UK, Dr. Fajemirokun is a Fellow of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and Specialist member (SIRM) of the Global Institute of Risk Management. She is also a visiting professor at the University of Manchester, UK. She has been recognized globally for her work with the Operational Riskdata Exchange Association (ORX), Institute of Risk Management, UK. She is a member of the Lagos State Research and Innovation Council.

Ometoruwa is an accomplished international investment banker. Prior to joining the Dangote Group as the Group Executive Director, Corporate Finance and Treasury, Austine Ometoruwa provided advisory services to the Dangote Group over the past 25 years in his capacity as the Executive Chairman of his firm, Boston Trico Capital LLC.

He started his professional career as a credit analyst at Chase Manhattan Bank. He thereafter progressed to Bank of Boston as the General Manager in Nigeria before moving on to Standard Bank of South Africa (Stanbic) as Strategy Consultant.

Mr Ometoruwa was the first Nigerian appointed as Executive Director to the Board of Citibank Nigeria leading its West Africa investment banking and subsequently as CEO and Regional Director of Corporate & Investment Bank, Citibank Middle East North Africa (MENA) operating in Cairo, London & New York.

Mr Ometoruwa setup and launched the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) as the founding President and CEO.

He was awarded the Dean’s Prize and First Class Honours Bachelor’s Degree in Banking and Finance from the University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria.

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