NigerianFLIGHTDECK Travel and Business Reportage 
THE Board of Directors of foremost African financial institution; Guaranty Trust Bank plc, has announced the appointment of Mobolaji Lawal as an Executive Director and Babatunde Soyoye as an Independent Non-Executive Director of the Bank respectively.
According to the bank, Mr. Lawal who joined the Bank in 1992 as an Executive Trainee and rose through the ranks to become a General Manager, a position he held until his appointment as Executive Director.
He has over twenty-four (24) years’ of banking experience which covers various aspects of banking including Credit Risk Management; Corporate Banking Group; Commercial Banking Group; Investment Banking and Corporate Finance where he served as Group Head. Under his leadership, the Group worked on several landmark debt syndications, capital market and project finance transactions both in Nigeria and abroad.
He holds a Bachelor of Law degree from Obafemi Awolowo University (1990); B.L from the Nigerian Law School (1991) and a Master of Business Administration from the Oxford University, United Kingdom (2002). He has also attended several executive management and banking specific developmental programs in leading educational institutions such as Harvard Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business and Institut Européen d’Administration des Affaires (INSEAD).
Announcing the new appointment, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Bank, Mr. Segun Agbaje stated that: “As a Bank, we maintain high corporate governance standards and ensure our Board appointments are in line with global best practices”. He further stated, “Bolaji has been an integral part of the Bank’s success and has seen the bank evolve and develop through the years. I am confident that his appointment to the Board will further strengthen and position the bank for improved performance“.
Meanwhile, the Board of Directors also announced the appointment of Babatunde Soyoye as an Independent Non-Executive Director of the Bank.
Mr. Soyoye is a seasoned professional with over twenty-four (24) years’ work experience, twenty-one (21) of which has been spent in investment/financial advisory services.
He is the co-founder and Managing Partner of Helios Investment Partners LLP, a private investment firm with its principal office in the United Kingdom, formed to pursue alternative asset class investments in Sub-Saharan Africa, specializing in investment in companies, growth capital for private enterprises, restructurings, joint ventures, start-ups and structured investments.
Prior to co-founding Helios Investment Partners, Mr. Soyoye was a Principal responsible for Telecoms & Media investments across Europe for TPG Capital. Before that, he served as a senior member of the corporate strategy team at British Telecom, and manager of business development at Singapore Telecom International.
Announcing the new appointment, the Chairman of the Bank, Mrs. Osaretin Demuren stated that: “As a Bank, we maintain high corporate governance standards and ensure that Board appointments are in line with global best practices and industry standards”. She further stated, “Babatunde brings to the board, a wealth of experience garnered over two decades and I am confident that his appointment will further strengthen and position the bank for improved performance“.
