From Anthony Nwachukwu, Lagos
To provide strategic leadership and drive growth, the Board of Sky Capital and Financial Allied International has appointed financial expert, Ayoku Liadi, as the company’s group managing director to oversee all Sky Capital’s subsidiaries and affiliates in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Gambia.
Sky Capital Group – the financial subsidiary of SIFAX Group, has subsisting investments in banking, insurance brokerage and asset management, with subsidiaries and affiliates including Skye Bank Guinea, Skye Bank Sierra Leone, Bloom Bank Gambia and Sky Capital Asset Management.
Speaking on the appointment, the Group Executive Vice Chairman of SIFAX Group, Dr. Taiwo Afolabi, said the quality of the new helmsman fitted the Group’s vision to drive pan- African expansion of Sky Capital Group.
His appointment was “part of the Group’s expansion and transformation plan, which is targeted at strategic positioning, improved service delivery, corporate re-engineering and next level strategic growth,” a statement from the SIFAX Group Corporate Affairs Manager, Muyiwa Akande, quoted Afolabi to say.
Therefore, “we are delighted to appoint Mr. Ayoku Liadi to provide strategic leadership and drive growth at our financial subsidiary, Sky Capital & Financial Allied International.
“Though the company is relatively young in the market, we believe this quality of leadership will position it for the level of success we are targeting”, it added.
Ayoku is an accomplished financial expert with over 25 years of progressive experience. Prior to his appointment at Sky Capital, he was the Deputy Managing Director, UBA Nigeria, where he was in charge of about 500 branches nationwide.
He also served as the MD/CEO of Guaranty Trust Bank, Sierra Leone, between 2011 and 2013 where he recorded outstanding achievements and led the bank to become the most profitable bank in 2013.
His exceptional leadership also earned the bank the prestigious KPMG award for the Best Customer Service Bank in 2012.
Ayoku holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, ACA from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Marketing at the University of Lagos.
His expertise in business transformation, operations, financial control and relationship management has earned him several awards throughout his career. He is an alumnus of Kellogg Business School, USA, Cranfield Business School, UK, IMD Business School, Switzerland, and other prestigious institutions.
