Adeolu Adewumi-Zer currently serves as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer for Allianz Nigeria Insurance Ltd (Allianz Nigeria), a subsidiary of the German multinational Allianz SE. She was appointed to this role in September 2020.
In the wake of sustained losses at Allianz Nigeria, Adeolu was brought in to stabilize the business and lead a transformation effort that would shift the company on to a clear path to profitability. Within her first 16 months, Allianz Nigeria delivered an underwriting profit for the first time in three years. As a transformational leader, she also drove HR best practices in Allianz Nigeria, including formalising a flexible work-from-anywhere HR policy for all employees and elevating Allianz Nigeria to become an employer of choice.
Prior to this role, Adeolu served as the first and only female member of the Allianz Nigeria board as Non-Executive Director. Concurrently, she was the Regional Head of Mergers, Acquisitions and Transformation Africa for the Allianz Group where she led the acquisition of what is now Allianz Nigeria in 2018.
Adeolu is a US-trained actuary and business consultant with over two decades of professional experience. Her career has seen her move from the USA to hold executive positions in Europe, Asia and now Africa. She is a member of the Institute of Directors Nigeria (IoD Nigeria), the Nigerian Actuarial Society (NAS), Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ), amongst other local and international professional bodies, and additionally volunteers mentoring services to several organisations.
A Nigerian and self-described Afro-optimist, Adeolu believes the growth and transformation of Africa can best be accomplished by Africans living within the continent. With this conviction, she combines her robust executive schedule with volunteer coaching and mentoring, aiming to raise the next generation of African leaders.
In addition to her responsibilities at Allianz Nigeria, Adeolu is married with two children. In her limited spare time, she is a lifelong runner, a voracious reader and loves discovering new countries and cultures.
How was growing up like for you and how has it helped to influence who and where you are today and by extension what you do?
Having emigrated from Nigeria to the USA at the age of three, and then moving five years later from bustling Chicago to rural Pennsylvania, I spent much of my formative years pretending that I was not always “the only” in the room. Whether I was “the only black person”, or “the only black girl”, or “the only African”, I spent most of my childhood in an unwelcome limelight.
Thankfully, I was not just African, I was Nigerian…and we Nigerians know how to take care of ourselves. Additionally, as the eldest child of a university professor, with four siblings to set an example for, I was very secure in my drive to always be the best.
This assurance, self-motivation and persistence has allowed me to move to new roles, companies and even countries, never doubting that I would find my place…no matter if I kept being “the only”. With age, I have even learned to lean into my uniqueness—after all, I am “the only” me.
What is Allianz Nigeria about and what are your roles as MD?
Allianz Nigeria is a composite insurance company licensed to transact both life and non-life insurance business in Nigeria, delivering a range of retail products such as Motor, Life, Home Insurance, as well as corporate products to more than 20,000 customers. Incorporated in 1993 as Union Assurance Company plc, the company was relaunched as Ensure Insurance plc in 2016. It was acquired in 2018 by Allianz and rebranded as Allianz Nigeria.
The Allianz Group is one of the leading integrated financial services providers worldwide. We offer our 126 million customers in more than 70 countries a wide range of products, services, and solutions in insurance and asset management.
Serving as the CEO of Allianz Nigeria since September 2020, I quickly established my role to be the “chief enabling officer” for the company, i.e. to be each employee’s and collectively the company’s enabler for success.
In what ways have you stabilised the business in the wake of the losses it experienced?
I stepped in as CEO here in September 2020, at the height of a global pandemic, with the world still struggling through great uncertainty. So, it was crucial for us to stay focused by together building a strategic road-map with clear execution timelines.
I concentrated my first 100 days on our transition–consolidating the leadership of the business, rebuilding our strategic direction, restructuring the company into a leaner organisation. These initiatives prepared us for 2021, when it was time to transform, simplifying our priorities to controlling expenses, redefining our technical foundation, building people capacity and transforming our processes through technology.
This year, we have been working to rebalance into the SME (Small and Medium Enterprise) and retail space, as we get ready for the next phase of performance in anticipation of further expansion in both Nigeria and throughout Africa.
Delivering an underwriting profit for the first time in 3 years, share that experience with us.
Once we got the basics in place for our transformation journey, the rest was really just great team work. To deliver an underwriting profit, you must accept the right type of business, price the risks properly and manage your claims efficiently. It sounds simple but demands tight collaboration between our sales and technical teams, including upskilling each colleague to understand the new demands of the business. We set our aspirations high, and I am grateful for my very capable and effective team.
How important is HR best practices in an organisation and how did you put that in place at Allianz?
HR best practice is the bedrock of any high-performing organisation. You are only as good as your people, and your people are only as good as you treat them. Now, your question is very timely, because on October 20th we were awarded the CIPM (Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria) HR Best Practice Award for the insurance sector. We are especially grateful, as the award recognizes our recent investment in building a people and performance-centred company.
Areas we have optimised in the last two years are: Strategic HR, talent acquisition, performance management, talent development, compensation, rewards and recognition, employee engagement & internal communication, employee and industrial relations, diversity and inclusion, HR policy Development and Implementation, Employee Service and Administration, Organizational development & change management, digital HR/SMAC technology.
At Allianz Nigeria, we offer our people flexibility in both where and when they work, while providing supportive infrastructure such as digital work tools and internet allowances. We provide our colleagues a vast range of engagement activities annually including Fitness Fridays, Bring Your Kids to Work Day, Mental Health Awareness Week and so on. We are also very intentional about enabling a culture of open and transparent communication. All employees are equally able to access senior leadership including myself for informal interactions.
Lastly, I am always proud to note that we were the first insurance company in Nigeria to make WFA (work from anywhere) a company policy post the COVID-19 pandemic.
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You served as the first and only female member of the Allianz Nigeria board as non-executive director, what was the experience like generally, and specifically as the only female?
I believe the impact of breaking this glass ceiling was not necessarily felt in my everyday interactions with my fellow directors, who have from Day 1 accepted me completely as one of them. Rather, it was in the feelings and reactions it engendered in the people around me. Representation really does matter, and people believe something is possible more easily when they see that it is possible. The young women observing me were excited and motivated to do and aspire to more…and that is the true accomplishment.
What can be done to increase the number of women on boards especially in Nigeria? What are the limitations, and how can they be surmounted?
There is a plethora of “how-to” literature on ushering more women into boardrooms. Ultimately, the most important takeaway is this: boards can only achieve more female representation if they are intentional about it. It is not enough to fill board openings with “the most qualified candidate”. Executives must carefully search for qualified women and be intentional about bringing them on board. In turn, women leaders must be very deliberate about coaching and sponsoring more junior female employees. Regulators also have a role to play. For example, the CBN (Central Bank of Nigeria) has mandated commercial banks to have a minimum of 30% women representation on their board. The message is clear: more women on boards must be an urgent priority, not a nicety.
Tell us about leading the acquisition of what is now known as Allianz Nigeria. Secondly, when it was sealed, how did it make you feel?
I actually came on to lead the Nigeria transaction accidentally, as I was initially focused on a much larger transaction out in East Africa (which I finally signed just as I was taking over this current role). Even my coming to Lagos in June 2017 was by chance, as I was invited simply to provide my perspective as a Nigerian. However, as the initial transaction manager left Allianz, I had to quickly step in and take this one over, having no clue as to where this opportunity would eventually lead me.
So July 18, 2018 unexpectedly became one of the proudest days of my life, as my childhood aspiration finally came to light. Who knew that “opening a consulting branch in Nigeria” would turn into buying a Nigerian company for one of the largest financial services companies in the world. I was beyond proud…and was thrilled to rejoice with my new Nigerian colleagues during the new brand launch that following January.
Tell us about being a US-trained actuary and business consultant with over two decades of professional experience.
From the beginning of my career, my north star has always been Africa, and more specifically, Nigeria. Every choice that I made both professionally and personally were taken with that end goal in mind. Whether it was the decision as a qualified retirement actuary to transition into international benefits consulting, or the cross-border move from Chicago, USA to Munich, Germany, or seizing the opportunity to transfer to one of my clients, or finally shifting from HR into business strategy…each step was carefully considered as a next milestone in my journey back home.
Your career has seen you move from the USA to hold executive positions in Europe, Asia and now Africa. How are your experiences in the various places different from each other and what have you learnt?
I have learned that, in all their differences, people are at core the same, although each culture seems to think they are the ones who are special. And indeed, each culture has qualities that are unique to that culture. I have enjoyed leveraging my experiences by taking on board at least one of these qualities from each cultural encounter. The individualism of the Americans, the efficiency of the Germans, the creativeness of the Turks, the diplomacy of the Kenyans and the self-confidence of us Nigerians can all be found in my matured personality.
In what ways are you an afro-optimist?
I love Africa, and I have always been proud to be an African. From my home, to my dress, to my professional hobbies, the African influence can be seen. Of course, love does not blind me to the problems we face and the challenges we must overcome, but I am convinced that a new Africa can be built by Africans living in Africa. So that is why I am here.
The challenges in the insurance sector are numerous. Many don’t always get value when due. In what ways are you ensuring changes in this narrative?
At its core, insurance is the business of managing risk. The tangible evidence of the service purchased is the payment of claims, and this must always be a priority. In 2021, we made an underwriting profit for the first time in three years. Yet we did not rob the proverbial Peter to pay Paul. Recently, we were in the news for settling the claims of a certain celebrity; it was a total loss claim, so we effectively paid for a new car. However, we paid some N2bn of claims last year that never made the news. This was against a revenue of only N5bn revenue. That is one crucial way we are guaranteeing value for our customers. We are Allianz, and we have 132 years of history to back our promises.
What role should the insurance sector be actively playing in improving health care services in Nigeria?
Unlike many other markets, in Nigeria, health insurance is run very separately from life and general insurance, even with two different regulators. That said, there are deep issues with our healthcare system that insurance alone cannot possibly tackle. For example, insurance cannot compensate for the dearth of healthcare professionals. The current talent flight is real and alarming. So a public-private partnership is perhaps the most effective approach to addressing the problem. The government must do its part to improve healthcare infrastructure, as HMOs (health management organisations) will not build hospitals or hire doctors. HMOs can however guarantee that low income earners can access these services if the services are already in place.
In the meantime, we as Allianz are working with our own regulator to bring international health services to people resident here in Nigeria, by providing a solution for access to healthcare anywhere in the world.
Why is any form of insurance important and why should Nigerians not take this for granted?
Insurance provides a safety net by protecting your assets, and hence preserving your wealth. Often people think that insurance is only for rich people, but I often counter that it is not the rich person who needs insurance, because most well-off people can, for example, afford to replace their car, or even their home, when there is an accident. It is the people who cannot readily afford that risk who are most in need of insurance, and, in a country with rapidly rising poverty levels, I see insurance as a non-negotiable.
In what ways are you actively involved in the travel insurance space?
Thanks to internal collaborations and partnerships, we can provide travel insurance cover to our customers for travel worldwide. In Nigeria, I often receive feedback that we have one of the most intuitive travel insurance suite of products, with the added bonus that one can buy travel insurance in minutes from either our website or mobile app. We also have a network of over 100 partners that offer our travel insurance products to their clients.
What day in your life can you never forget and why?
At 45 years of age, and with the amazing journey I have had until now, choosing just one day is too difficult. As a daughter, should it be July 19th when I received a text that my mom had died? As a wife, should it be December 31st, the best new year’s eve ever? As a mother, should it be December 23rd at the birth of my first child? As a professional, should it be September 7th, stepping into becoming the “CEO of Nigeria”, as my sister always smilingly puts it? Each of those days will forever remain branded in my mind, along with future incredible milestones which are yet to happen.
What roles does the right kind of mentorship play in the life of an individual? How has it helped you personally?
Mentoring is a process of coaching, teaching, and supporting another person to achieve their goals. The right mentoring relationship can be a powerful tool for professional growth—it can lead to a new job, a promotion or even a better work-life balance. Mentors can guide essential decisions that affect their mentee’s life, such as academic or professional plans for future careers, and so on. A good mentor will spend time learning the strengths/weaknesses of their mentee, in order to better advise on which path might benefit them most. Yet, one of the trickiest things about mentoring is that it is often informal, so that can make it difficult to find an entry point.
In my 20+ years, I have both mentored, and been mentored. What I love most about mentoring others, other than the opportunity to “pay it forward”, is how much I also receive from the relationship. After all, like with any healthy relationship, mentoring must be a two-way street.
Concluding words
I have two boys, soon to be nine and seven. Between them, they share four passports: Germany, Nigeria, Turkey, USA. Nigeria is the fourth country they have lived in, and they have spent most of their lives on the African continent. My two boys represent tomorrow’s global African, and everything I do now and in the future, must be to build an Africa that they will be proud to inherit.
