Harvard Business School Association of Nigeria (HBSAN), a non-profit organisation recently honored and recognised individuals who have made significant contributions or demonstrated exceptional leadership qualities in their areas of professional expertise.
Speaking at the 2023 HBSAN leadership awards on Friday, Simi Nwogugu, president of HBSAN, said they were honoring members of the association who have demonstrated excellence in business leadership, general management, entrepreneurship and social impact.
“I am proud to have been a recipient of the social impact award several years ago and look forward to honoring this year’s recipients, especially because we have named two of those awards after Chief Shonekan and Dick Kramer, and carefully selected alumni leaders who we believe exemplify their values and ideals,” he said.
He said HBSAN was founded 40 years ago by visionary leaders who wanted to contribute the school’s thought leadership on management principles to the Nigerian private sector and lend their management expertise to the public sector. The other is to provide networking support to alumni members interested in the development of a good society in the country.
Here are the winners and their profiles
Adedotun Sulaiman (Richard L. Kramer award for Business leader)
Sulaiman is a renowned and retired management consultant with over 35 years of experience in transformational engagements in strategic plan development, organisation design/review, human resource management, technology planning, and process re-engineering.
He was the chairman of the Capital Market Master Plan and is a member of the implementation committee where he has been instrumental in implementing reforms in the Nigerian capital markets and promoting good governance.
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The former country managing director and chairman at Accenture Nigeria sits on or chairs the boards of many companies in several sectors and is an active investor focusing his investing activities on startups, where he mentors and handholds young entrepreneurs.
He is also the vice-chairman of the University of Lagos Advancement Board. Some of the companies he chairs are Parthian Partners, Secure ID Ltd, Cadbury Nigeria Plc, the Corona Schools Trust, and Lagos Angel Network to mention a few. He is also the Vice-Chairman of the University of Lagos Advancement Board.
Sulaiman is a First-Class graduate of the University of Lagos and an alumnus of the Harvard Business School.
Danladi Verheijen (HBSAN Entrepreneur of the year award)
Verheijen is the co-founder and managing partner at Verod Capital, a private equity firm based in Nigeria. The MBA holder from Harvard Business School currently manages over $365 million in assets and has invested in over 25 middle-market, high growth companies.
Before he co-founded Verod, he held roles at Citibank Nigeria, Ocean & Oil Holdings, and McKinsey & Company. He sits on the boards of several Verod investee companies and chairs the board of the Private Equity & Venture Capital Association of Nigeria.
Verheijen who is also the director on the Board of the African Venture Capital Association was named a young global leader by the World Economic Forum in 2014.
He received a B.Sc. in electrical engineering from Calvin College and an M.Sc. in engineering-economic systems & operations research from Stanford University. He is also a 2013 Archbishop Desmond Tutu Leadership Fellow.
Fola Laoye (Ernest O. Shonekan award for social impact).
Laoye is the co-founder and chief executive officer at Iwosan Investments Limited, a health investments holding company in Nigeria and also a founding board member of Hygeia Group Nigeria.
She holds a B.Sc. in accounting from the University of Lagos and an MBA from Harvard Business School. The chartered accountant currently chairs the ElebuteLUTH Welfare Board and co-chairs the Africa Regional Board of the Young Presidents Organisation.
In 2011, Laoye was nominated as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, and in 2013, she was awarded the Harvard Business School Africa Business Club Leadership Excellence award. She is also a member of Harvard Business School Africa Advisory Board.
