From right: Managing Director/CEO, Leadway Assurance, Tunde Hassan-Odukale; Executive Director, Leadway Assurance, Ms. Adetola Adegbayi; Chief Executive Officer, Leadway Asset Management, David Alao, Managing Director/CEO, Leadway Pensure, Mrs. Aderonke Adedeji; Managing Director/CEO, Leadway Capital & Trusts, Ayodeji Wuraola, and Immediate past MD/CEO, Leadway Assurance and current Chairman, Leadway Holdings, Oye Hassan-Odukale at the official unveiling of the 50th Anniversary logo of Leadway Assurance Company Limited.
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Chuks Udo Okonta
Leadway Assurance Company Limited, one of Nigeria’s leading insurers, last week officially unveiled the anniversary logo commemorating 50 years of providing exceptional service to Nigerians.
The logo unveiling ceremony, toned down to align with social distancing conditions, took place on September 22, 2020 and flagged-off a series of commemorative events to acknowledge stakeholders who have contributed to its success.
The event at the company’s Corporate Office in Iponri, Surulere, Lagos was led by the Managing Director, Tunde Hassan-Odukale; Executive Director, General Insurance, Ms. Adetola Adegbayi; erstwhile Managing Director, Oye Hassan-Odukale and other company executives.
In a message to stakeholders titled, ’50 and Fluid, A Time for Gratitude’, Tunde Hassan-Odukale thanked stakeholders in the Nigerian insurance ecosystem including clients, brokers, partners, staff, well-wishers and the regulator for their contribution towards Leadway’s success story.
“The occasion of our 50th anniversary is a time for reflection and gratitude. Reflection on the strides, successes, and challenges past; gratitude for the journey so far and the opportunities of the future. Ours started with the dream of a man who wanted to serve. He knew that to give life to this vision, he would need to work with other people of like minds. …Ever the community man and humanist, our founder, my father, Sir Hassan Olusola Odukale, believed and firmly practiced the saying …“if you want to go fast, go it alone; but, if you want to go far, go with others.
“The story today will therefore not be complete without the mention of those who took hold of his dream, started the journey with him, kept the faith and sowed their sweat to create the company we see today. Acknowledging them first, I use this opportunity to appreciate every stakeholder that has helped to make Leadway a household name and a respected brand.
“We appreciate the support over the years and look forward to more in the years to come. You make what we do outstanding and we acknowledge your immense support over the years,” he said.
As excited as we are to celebrate our accomplishment in the last 50 years, we do recognize that there is more work to be done to achieve our ambitious goals for Leadway. I have no doubt that with the relentless pursuit of customer-centricity, leveraging innovation and digital technology, the next 50 years will be better than the past,” he added.
The Leadway Assurance Story
In 1960, Sir Olusola Hassan-Odukale, a textile merchant trading in fabric for suits, shirts, and ties, became the first individual insurance agent for any insurance company in the North of Nigeria. Thus, he began his insurance experience, which would later culminate into him setting up Gaskiya (Hausa word for integrity) Insurance Brokers. In 1970, the brokerage was transformed to Leadway Assurance Company Limited, laying the foundation what has now become Nigeria’s leading insurance company. The company commenced operations in the first quarter of 1971.
The mantle of leadership changed in 1994 when Oye Hassan-Odukale took over as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the company. It was indeed a new beginning, a new quest for more remarkable achievements.
The Organisation began expanding its network by opening state of the art buildings in Port Harcourt and Abuja respectively in August 1996 and June 2013 in a bid to increase its footprint nationwide. In 2011, the company moved into its new corporate office edifice in Iponri, Surulere. By 2013, Leadway had spread to 16 other locations across the country, along with 22 agency offices.
In line with the goal to drive retail insurance, Leadway stretched the lead further by creating the first mobile office in Nigeria, making insurance products and services more accessible and closer to the Nigerian public. Also, as a part of their further plans for growth and expansion, they opened an insurance subsidiary in Cote D’Ivoire, Leadway Vie.
In January 2020, the company further demonstrated succession planning capability when it welcomed its new leadership, led by Tunde Hassan-Odukale, the new Managing Director of Leadway Assurance Company.
