Larry Ettah took over as Group Managing Director and CEO at UACN Plc in January 2007 after working in multiple roles including Executive Director for the previous nineteen years. He set about refocusing and refining the group’s strategy, resources, businesses and governance aimed at improving performance and efficiency. He modernized the reporting templates from all the subsidiaries, divisions and departments to ensure strategically-relevant data was transmitted up the organization and streamlined the governance structure of the entire group such that the Group CEO served as chairman of the subsidiaries as against a previous dysfunctionalsystem in which different group (non-executive) directors chaired boards of the subsidiaries.
After initial efforts at strategy redefinition, Larry turned his attention to business expansion. The primary strategic mechanism he opted for was to leverage UACN local market knowledge, distribution and logistics competences and legacy profile to attract international partners into joint ventures in various parts of UACN’s target businesses. This strategy led to the partnership with Tiger Brands of South Africa in UAC Foods Ltd; and with Imperial Logistics in MDS Logistics. These approaches from UACN point of view were less-resource intensive and minimized risks from greenfield investments. It also gave the group access to global know-how and best practices at relatively low cost. UACN also began to make acquisitions-in Portland Paints and Products Nigeria Plc to consolidate its paints portfolio; and Livestock Feeds Plc to complement the leading competitive position of Grand Cereals and Oil Mills Ltd. The group also shed non-core and low-value investments in automobiles, registrars and pension businesses while working to optimize difficult aspects of its portfolio.
As the re-positioning of UACN continued, Larry focused on branding and reputation, refreshing and sharpening its logo and fashioning a new corporate pay-off line, “doing good”. I wrote an article at the time, “Can companies do good?” examining the implications for corporate strategy and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of UACN’s bold claim to good deeds and enduring corporate citizenship. I have had extensive opportunity to observe Larry’s commitment to corporate governance and sustainable behavior as a consultant to the group and as a director at CAP Plc. My views on corporate governance in Nigerian firms generally is that many Nigerian firms misunderstand the essence of corporate governance, appearing not to understand that the principles and concepts embodied in the field and usually encapsulated these days in various regulatory codes of corporate governance were created to help companies succeed, and are not technical stipulations which a company may comply with in form while evading the substance thereof. For instance companies are advised to have independent directors because persons who have expertise and independence will usually add value to the deliberations on a board of directors, and are more likely to speak the truth to executives. The attitude of the usual Nigerian board is however rather to find individuals who satisfy the technical (but not the mental) definition of independence, and who really are cronies of the chairman or other powerful insider!
As CEO at UACN, Larry was chairman of UAC Property Development Company Plc (UPDC Plc), Chemical and Allied Products Plc (CAP Plc), Livestock Feeds Plc, Portland Paints and Products Plc, UAC Foods Ltd, UNICO CPFA and Warm Springs Water Nigeria Ltd. He was also a director at Grand Cereal Oil Mills Ltd and Coronation Merchant Bank Ltd. Larry Ettah made his positive impact on the industry and economy beyond the narrow confines of his work at UACN-he served as Vice-President (Multinationals) at Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Council Member of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and is the current President of Nigerian Employers Consultative Association (NECA) serving his second term. As NECA President, Larry Ettah re-invigorated and revitalized the organization improving the quality of its interventions in national economic and policy conversations.
They say behind every successful man is a woman and there is Ekemere, Larry’s quiet and effacing wife giving him support on the home front and allowing him focus on UACN, and his passion for fitness, sailing and squash! Larry and I have rarely disagreed over any important issue, but we did over the Nigerian polity in 2015! Even though he is yet to formally concede, I have long since declared victory!The weight of evidence in my favour is now overwhelming!
Larry Ephraim Ettah joined UACN as a management trainee in 1988. He worked in various businesses within the group including Kalamazoo, Mr. Biggs/UAC Restaurants and UAC Foods until he became an Executive Director/Head of HR in 2004. Three years later in 2007, he became Group Managing Director/CEO until December 2017, a tenure of eleven (11) years!Larry worked in the UACN group for almost 30 years, serving half of his career on the board and is leaving behind a business that is younger, fresher and more strategically relevant; combined group revenues are approaching N100billion; and the group has leading businesses in foods, cereals and grains, paints and decoratives, logistics and real estate. Even as he steps down as CEO, Larry Ettah is just 54 years old, a relatively young man with great experience behind him and a significant future ahead of him.
Opeyemi Agbaje
