Eddie Efekoha, group chief executive officer (GCEO), Consolidated Hallmark Holdings Plc is excited to lead a financial services firm that is positioned to contribute to GDP, foster investments in various sectors, provide employment opportunities, protect other businesses and helping Nigeria reclaim its position as Africa’s largest economy. Efekoha in this interview with Modestus Anaesoronye shares his vision for the group, growth plan and impact on society.
Congratulations on your appointment as the GCEO of Consolidated Hallmark Holdings Plc. Can you walk us through your professional journey, and how you came to lead this organisation?
Thank you for this opportunity. I assumed this new role one year ago, effective from 1st January 2024. This was after the reorganisation of our group of businesses into a Holding company structure. Consolidated Hallmark Holdings Plc was formed and our main flagship company, the insurance subsidiary (Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Plc) was then changed from a publicly quoted company to a limited liability company. This milestone was marked by a press conference when the new team was unveiled last year.
My professional journey, of course, started over three decades ago in the insurance industry. I have traversed insurance broking and underwriting, occupying top leadership positions. My career path culminated in leadership in the insurance sector as the 22nd Chairman of the Nigerian Insurers Association, the 42nd President of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) and at the sub-regional level, the immediate past president of the West African Insurance Companies Association (WAICA).
Consolidated Hallmark Holdings Plc is the natural result of collective efforts and aspirations of I and my team to diversify into different sub-sectors within the financial services space of the economy. The dream to offer services beyond insurance started over 15 years ago with our acquisition of the licence of a finance company, Grand Treasurers Limited, which was later renamed Hallmark Finance Company Limited. We thereafter made a foray into Health Maintenance with Hallmark Health Services Limited (with the trade name Hallmark HMO).
After several years of leadership, our succession plan in the insurance firm necessitated that we handed over the affairs to the next generation led by Mary Adeyanju and proceed to nurture the Holdco to success in its early growth stage.
Holding companies are an emerging corporate structure in Nigeria. Why the decision to become a holding company and what opportunities does it hold for the larger economy?
Like you mentioned, Holding companies are increasingly becoming very familiar in our financial services landscape. These became popular especially in the banking sector and now cascading to the insurance industry where some key players are making huge investments in other sectors of the economy including real estate, hospitality, telecommunication etc.
Our decision to become a holding company was driven primarily by the quest to tap from the several benefits inherent in such structure, principal of which is the reduction of risk through diversification of investment across various industries or sectors. The structure paves the way for us to take advantage of the ensuing economies of scale, effective diversification of our revenue sources and efficient capital allocation and strategic oversight, which enhances overall financial health.
For the larger economy, companies like ours contribute to GDP growth by fostering investments in various sectors, provide employment opportunities, protecting other businesses and thereby helping Nigeria reclaim its position as Africa’s largest economy.
What are the peculiarities of running a holding company with subsidiaries operating in different sectors of the economy?
Ours is a non-operating holding company, with assets currently spread across the insurance sector (health, general and micro-life), and finance company business. We also hold some investments in other sectors especially oil & gas through the Nigerian capital market. Apart from the imperative e of appropriate diversification of risks, we also generate revenue through the ownership of financial assets in these sectors. We are therefore in the business of owning other businesses and investing in new opportunities with growth potential and supporting then to realise their full potentials profitably. We do not produce any goods or services of our own per se.
We are leveraging on skilled workforce across different sectors of the economy to deliver results across board. It needs be emphasised that that diversification of revenue streams is the way to go to secure the current successes that we have achieved and have a hold on the future. That way, an organisation which operates across several sectors can continually post favourable returns to its stakeholders even when one sector faces negative headwinds.
Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Limited (the insurance subsidiary of your Group) is one of the companies in Nigeria that have attained the IFRS 17 reporting standard. What does this achievement foretell about CHH’s ambitious goals for growth, profitability and industry leadership?
Compliance with regulatory requirements has always been one of our key attributes as a going concern. Achieving IFRS 17 standards underscores our commitment to excellence, despite the significant financial and human resources investments required. This is the standard we have since set for ourselves whether in our flagship subsidiary in insurance and others. We do not take things for granted. We have been mostly free from regulatory infractions in the insurance sector (National Insurance Commission), or the Capital Market as regulated by both the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Nigerian Exchange Group Limited (NGX).
This disposition has reflected in a certain level of confidence reposed in us by the various markets where we operate Our team members have at various times occupied leadership positions in market associations, trade bodies and professional associations, both in Nigeria and in Africa.
CHH subsidiaries have invested in impact initiatives over the years, like the essay competition now in its 13th year, and the annual blood drive in collaboration with LUTH. In what other areas will the Holding Company look to contribute to societal development?
Our key Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives have been carefully selected to make impact in vital areas which require intervention. The Annual Essay Competition for students in higher institutions studying insurance and actuarial science has been geared towards grooming talents, deepening knowledge and encouraging research. This has been beneficial, not only to us as a company or group but also to the entire insurance industry and the economy at large. Moreso, we also have an annual workforce hunt programme in place – The Graduate Trainee Scheme where we provide opportunities for young graduates to join our team. They go through intensive training for several months to prepare them for managerial roles before they are fully absorbed into the system.
The Annual Blood Donation drive of our Health Maintenance subsidiary – Hallmark HMO is targeted at saving lives. In collaboration with the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), we ensure strive to bolster blood bank supplies. This is a vital lifesaving resource when needed most.
Our next initiative is to reach out to the younger generation in post primary institutions for vital training in requisite skills. Details shall be unveiled in due time.
It is not very common for companies to look within to make appointments when a restructuring takes place. In the case of Consolidated Hallmark Holdings, it appeared that the organisation deviated from this norm as a number of appointments were announced across your subsidiaries. What informs this philosophy of elevating home-grown talents and what does it say about the quality of talents you have attracted over the years.
As a matter of policy, the first port of call for filling leadership vacancies in the Group is internal. Human resource is the most crucial aspect of our assets, and it deserves the utmost attention. We have expended enormous resources to develop our workforce over the years. They can stand tall amongst their peers when it comes to requisite skills. Why then go outside to recruit when the internal team can deliver? That is not to say that when openings occur, we do not invite outsiders to compete for the available slots, but from our experience, several internal executives have performed even better than outsiders, thus encouraging us to elevate them and continually spend significant sums of money on training and retraining at local and international level. Suffice to mention that given our increasing rate of expansion, we have had cause in the recent past to attract talents from outside.
Companies are in business to make profit. With this holding company structure, what sectors or businesses is Consolidated Hallmark Holdings exploring to expand to? What can we expect from CHH in the short-to medium term?
As a non-operating holding company our primary focus since commencement of operations has been to effectively manage our various subsidiaries and strategic investments to deliver competitive returns. I must say that our outing this first year has been very encouraging. Our published nine months financial result attest to this modest result achieved. God has been on our side and to Him Be The Glory.
We are working towards continually running a professional organisation which is devoted to high ethical standard and with integrity in our operations to ensure we deliver appreciable returns to all our stakeholders.
For us, expansion shall not be done without the requisite due diligence before making any investment decision. It should not be all about the volume, but quality of investment. What our customers should be sure of, in all of these however, is the best always – whether in protection of their valued assets, addressing their healthcare concerns through our network of providers, or when it comes to relying on us for assets financing and quick loans to finance their lifestyle needs.
On the state of the economy. CHH has subsidiaries in insurance, health management and finance. What role do you see these sectors playing to improve the overall wellbeing of Nigerians and improve their quality of life?
There is no doubt that a large proportion of Nigerians are currently facing difficulties, more than ever before in meeting their basic needs due to the current economic challenges. However, there is solace in the fact that hard times do not last forever. As the economic challenges make it increasingly difficult to acquire new assets or replace existing ones, the need for protection of such assets is even more imperative. It is wise to purchase adequate insurance for what you have already by paying a small proportion of the value as premium. Same goes for health. With the rising cost of drugs and other health related services, appropriate health plans in place with the HMO will provide succour in times of illness, without having to pay from your pocket. Need we also dwell on the availability of affordable loans and asset financing from our stable? These are crucial financial services that can help our existing and potential customers to effectively navigate the prevailing difficult economic terrain. We are confident that Nigeria is on the path of growth and we as a Group are well positioned to support this growth trajectory and deliver value to our customers and other stakeholders.
What would you identify as key trends that business leaders should pay attention to in the new year 2025?
The International Monetary Fund in its World Economic Outlook is projecting a modest growth from 3.1% in 2024 to only 3.2% in 2025. As events unfold globally, these rates are being periodically reviewed by different organisations though with slight differentials, and mostly pointing at a slowdown.
What the situation portends is for organisations to be cautious in planning – considering the vulnerability of the local currency and resultant fluctuations in energy costs, which has a domino effect on the costs of goods and services.
Interest rates also continue to play a major role in determining the spread of financial assets as the apex bank attempts to tame inflation.
On the whole, lessons learnt in the current year shall be pivotal in determining future plans, as individuals and corporate organisations seek ways to successfully navigate the terrain at all times.
What critical skills would you advise young professionals to develop in building a career parallel to yours?
Beyond critical skills really is the need to be determined as young professionals in any area one has set out to build a career in. This requires discipline and focus. There are a lot of distractions which can impede success, especially with the advancement in technology which can be leveraged on for good, or easily abused due to addiction. It is pertinent for them to have these at the back of their mind even as they pay due attention to developing the usual requisite skills in effective communication, time-management, adaptability, problem solving and critical thinking skills, amongst others.
Young professionals should realise always that they are a part of a larger whole and cannot really achieve too much without teamwork, hence the need to imbibe the team spirit in all they seek to do.
How has the process of creating and even more recently, leading Consolidated Hallmark Holdings, shaped or challenged your leadership style?
Birthing and leading our fledging Holdco has helped to reaffirm my belief in the participative and transformational leadership styles. The methods deployed in managing members of the team, of course, play a major role in shaping outcomes as every input count. The decision of the boss is not final in our environment. Decisions are based on the analysis of inputs received through the bottom-up communication process and an open-door policy. It is the way we empower our people to take ownership for their decisions and prepare them greater leadership positions both internally and in the society at large.
Africa and particularly, Nigeria has one of the lowest insurance adoption rates in the world. Seeing insurance is the Holdco’s flagship subsidiary, coupled with your vast experience in insurance, what current trends in insurance have you observed that can be adopted to improve market penetration?
Insurance penetration rate has been a source of major concern not only for industry players but also for the authorities. Nigeria is ranked amongst the countries with the lowest rate even in Africa, ranking below Egypt and South Africa. However, it is gladdening to know that efforts are being made by the various stakeholders to improve on insurance adoption by Nigerians. A current trend that is helping to drive adoption is the collaboration between Insurtech firms and traditional insurance service providers to make distribution channels available in a simpler, faster and more convenient way. This, coupled with sustained awareness creation and prompt settlement of genuine claims, will help to penetration rate.
What regulatory changes do you anticipate will most significantly impact the insurance industry in the next three years?
We are closely watching the calls for increase in capital for the insurance industry. The decline in the value of our local currency, the Naira, has raised serious concerns in recent times about the adequacy of the existing operating capital. This has implication for the capacity of operators to retain risks. We have gone through processes of capital raise at various times in our history. We are therefore well prepared to address this again in the future whenever the need arises
How is Consolidated Hallmark Holdings preparing its subsidiaries for increasing technological disruption?
We have made significant investments in the use of technology to enhance our processes and ensure better customer experience across the board. Our API (Application Programming Interface) integration with third party partners for instance has made our various services available in channels where they would otherwise not be present.
Also internally, various transaction portals have been created in line with our aspirations to bring our services closer to our existing and potential customers in all areas we operate in. From general insurance to micro life assurance, health maintenance, loans, leases and other financial services.
Investment in technology tools is an on-going process. Hence, we shall continually commit resources to this vital area of our operations.
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