TONY ELUMELU: A rare
gem at STB.
One of the rare gems in
the banking industry today is Tony Elumelu, managing director and
chief executive officer of Standard Trust Bank Limited. By his
career history and achievements, the young and visionary Elumelu
has continued to make a bold statement that the future of the
country is truly in the hands of young men and women who have
focus and are ready to work hard.
And the man is truly
focused in defining his goals. He not only defines them, but also
plans carefully and works very hard to achieve his goals. This
appetite for achieving goals has seen him transforming the
operations of Standard Trust Bank (STB) into a robust organisation
that is today the envy of most. Indeed, he has brought a great
deal of innovation to service delivery in the banking sector, the
type of innovation never known before in these shores.
Indeed,
foresight forms a key part of the Elumelu formula. There was a
time in this country when banks and financial institutions will
not touch public sector accounts for any reason. But the STB boss
saw the great potential therein. He led his bank in the direction
of the public sector and he discovered gold, leaving competitors
and other operators bewildered. It is not surprising therefore
that STB is today one of the
fastest growing banks in the country with its hands in
every pie that is a money - spinner.
“When
we came on stream in 1997,’ says Elumelu, “we recognised
immediately that the only way to create a niche in the market is
to provide personalised service…we decided to first convince the
customer to give us a try and hence proceeded to deliver service
beyond his expectations, such that the customer having been
delighted had no choice
but to return to us
again and again.” That is the essential Elumelu: calculative,
foresighted.
Knowledgeable
industry commentators say that STB service delivery compares only
with global standards.
Since
he assumed office in 1997, as chief executive of STB, Elumelu
together with a dedicated crop
of staff have transformed STB into a full-fledged financial
service institution
under the universal
banking scheme
offering delightful services through
a network of 80
business offices spread across
the country and associated companies
specialising in capital market and
insurance activities.
All the business offices are linked on-line real time creating the
largest network of electronically linked bank branches in
Nigeria
.
The
well-read Elumelu came into the banking industry prepared. First,
he bagged a Bachelor’s degree in economics from the
Bendel
State
University
(now
Ambrose
Alli
University
). Thereafter, he proceeded to the
University
of
Lagos
for a Master’s degree programme also in
economics. Years later he attended courses at the famous
Harvard Business School
,
USA
. He is an alumnus of both the Singapore
Institute of Management (SIM) and the International Institute of
Management Development (IMD)
Lausanne
Switzerland
.
The
STB boss began his banking career with Union Bank of Nigeria plc
as a Youth Corps member in 1985. Having cut his career teeth, the
young man moved to AllStates Trust Bank (1988-1995) where he held
various important positions. He left core banking briefly in 1995
to become executive director of Linkage Assurance
Company and chief executive of BGL Limited; an asset
management company.
Before
long, he returned to mainstream banking operation as executive
director, Continental Trust Bank Limited, a position he
relinquished in 1995 to join STB as managing director. He is also
a director of ADIC and Standard Global Services Limited and
Chairman of STB Capital Markets and Verticom Wireless, Flame
Petroleum and Gas Limited; Standard Alliance Insurance Company
Limited; all subsidiaries of STB.
In
1999, Elemelu was appointed into Nigerian Presidential Policy
Advisory Committee. Last
year, he was made member of the Federal Government Privatisation
Council Sub-committee (on basic metals). And only a few months
ago, he served
on the Presidential Committee on Interest Rate Moderation in the
economy.
Tony
Elumelu is married to Vivian Awele, a medical doctor and
specialist pediatrician.
Newswatch Special Feature, Friday, 15 November 2002
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