Ganiyu Musa, Cornerstone Insurance GMD becomes chairman of NIA

The umbrella body of insurance companies in Nigeria, the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) has elected Ganiyu Musa, the group managing director (GMD) of Cornerstone Insurance Plc its new chairman, to steer the affairs of the underwriting trade group for the next two years.

Ganiyu who was elected at the 49th Annual General Meeting of the Association held via virtual, takes over from Tope Smart, the group managing director of NEM Insurance Plc, who held sway in the last two years.

Ganiyu Musa will be supported by Ebelechukwu Nwachukwu, the managing director, of NSIA Insurance who was also elected the deputy chairman of the Association.

Ganiyu Musa is a highly experienced management professional with diversified experience in insurance, reinsurance, audit, consulting, business advisory and financial management.

Prior to joining Cornerstone, Ganiyu worked at African Reinsurance Corporation for 19 years, holding key positions, including Director of Finance & Accounts, Chief Financial Officer for 10 years and Deputy Managing Director, Services for 5 years. He played a lead role in the creation and initial supervision of the risk management function at AfricanReinsurance Corporation and supervised the design of the Corporation’s investment guidelines and asset allocation. He was also instrumental in the preparatory work and the eventual setting up of the African Reinsurance subsidiary in South Africa, where he subsequently served on the Board and Audit Committee. At various times, Ganiyu served as a member of the investment committee of a US100million private equity fund and as chairman of the investment strategy committee of a top 3 Pension Fund Administration company.

He also worked with Pannell Kerr Forster and Arthur Andersen & Co where he trained and qualified as a Chartered Accountant and gained top quality experience in audit and financial consulting. He left Africa Re in 2011 to join African Capital Alliance (ACA) as Insurance Sector Specialist and a Director on the Board of Cornerstone Insurance Plc.

Ganiyu holds a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc. Hons.) degree in Business Administration and a Master in Banking and Finance (MBF) degree, both from the University of Lagos. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (FCA), having won multiple merit awards in the qualifying professional examinations. He is also a Member of the Chartered Insurance Institute of London and a Senior Member of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria.