By Ugo Aliogo
Six months in the saddle as the Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Africa, Segun Ogunsanya is using his extraordinary leadership skills to make the organisation not only the largest, but the most profitable and reliable mobile telecommunications network in the continent writes Ugo Aliogo
The last week has witnessed an outbreak of good news for the telecommunications company with Indian provenance, Airtel Africa Plc, which operates telecommunication and mobile money services in 14 countries in Africa.
First, there was an announcement by the London Stock Exchange (LSE) that Airtel Africa, which was listed on the Exchange in 2019, would be joining the exclusive list of the largest companies by market capitalization on January 31, 2022-FTSE 100. Airtel Africa thus became the largest African company on the LSE.
Before the ink dried on that spectacular piece of news, the Nigerian media was abuzz that Airtel Africa has become the largest company on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NGX). In that singular move, Airtel Africa not only overtook Dangote Cement Plc, which has colonised that position for some time, it also became bigger than all the Nigerian banks listed on the NGX put together. And while this was on, news came from the global headquarters in New Delhi that the tech behemoth, Google, would invest $1b in the Bharti-Airtel, the parent company, for a 1.28% stake. What an extremely proud moment this would be for the investors, founders, management and employees of the company!
Perhaps, what is most remarkable about these good tidings is that they are coming amid an extremely rough business year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Airtel Africa is succeeding despite the Coronavirus-induced global economic meltdown. Credit should go to the management and staff of the company led by Nigerian-born and bred Obafemi Awolowo University-trained Electrical Electronics Engineer turned Chartered Accountant, Segun Ogunsanya.
Ogunsanya was last year appointed to replace Mr Raghunath Mandava as CEO for Airtel Africa after nine years as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Nigeria. Having run the business for only about six months, it could safely be said that Ogunsanya does have the Midas Touch and everything he touches turns to gold. This is no surprise to industry watchers because he performed a similar feat in Airtel Nigeria, which became PAT (Profit After Tax) positive only one year after he joined the company from the Coca Cola Hellenic’s Bottling Company, Nigeria.
Segun is a veteran having been a CEO for 23 years. He turned 55 last July. An Engineer and Chartered Accountant, as earlier promised, he has over 30 years’ cognate experience firmly under his belt garnered across multiple geographies, organizations and diverse sectors such as telecoms, consulting, Banking and Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG).
He joined Airtel Nigeria from the Coca-Cola System, where he started his career in Finance and gradually transitioned into senior leadership roles within the various bottling operations of The Coca-Cola Company across diverse markets and countries in Africa. In his last stint as the Managing Director and CEO of Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company in Nigeria, the first African to be so appointed, he was responsible for over $1bn revenue operations annually.
He was also the CEO of the Kenya operations for Coca-Cola Sabco, where he was instrumental in successfully turning around the business. Before this, he worked with Eco bank Transnational where, as the Managing Director of its Retail Banking for Africa, he was responsible for retail banking operations across 28 countries.
Between 1999 and 2007, he was the Chief Executive officer of The Coca-Cola Bottling of Company of Ghana where he turned around the business from loss-making to profit-making aside from supervising the divestment of the Government of Ghana from the business.
Apart from manufacturing and banking, Mr Ogunsanya has consulting experience having worked with Arthur Anderson & Co in Nigeria where he was involved in Audit, Tax Advisory, setting up new businesses and profit improvement services.
Ogunsanya is arguably the first African to lead an FTSE 100 company. Not a stranger to recording firsts, he is also the First Black African Chief Executive Officer of Coca-Cola Bottling of Ghana; First Black African Chief Executive Officer of Coca-Cola Sabco’s Bottling operations in Kenya and First African Chief Executive Officer of Coca-Cola Hellenic’s Bottling Operations in Nigeria.
In 2012, he was appointed a member of the Implementation and Technical Committee of Strategic Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Policy by the Federal Government of Nigeria. He was a member of the Business Support Group, which was set up to provide a platform for anchoring the views of the Organized Private Sector on the development of a National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan for the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2013.
A director on the board of Nigeria Economic Summit Group, the foremost private sector advocacy group in Nigeria and a director on the board of Grange Education Ltd (Grange School). He also served on the board of the following organisations at various times: Coca-Cola Holdings, Kenya, Coca-Cola Juice Company, Kenya (BSK Limited), Board of Trustees of Machakos Institute of Developmental Studies (Kenya), American Chambers of Commerce, Ghana (Vice President), Board of Trustees of the Post Graduate Medical School of Ghana, Junior Achievers, Ghana Chapter, and ICT Advisory Board, Nigeria.
Ogunsanya, an alumnus of the highly regarded Mayflower School, Ikenne, Ogun State, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the University of Ife, Nigeria. He is also a Chartered Accountant. A member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Institute of Credit Administration and Institute of Directors in Nigeria, he is also an Honorary Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Food, Science & Technology. He is a member of the prestigious Lagos Metropolitan Club, the Ikoyi Club and Lagos Motor Boat Club.
On, November 28, 2021, he was awarded an Honourary Doctor of Computer Education Degree by Tai Solarin University of Education, Ogun State, Nigeria. So, you can call him Dr Segun Ogunsanya!
If his track record is anything to go by Ogunsanya, with his extraordinary leadership skills and his revolutionary management team is well-positioned to make Airtel Africa the largest, most profitable and most reliable mobile telecommunications network in the continent. Airtel Africa’s publicly avowed commitment to “expanding financial inclusion, sustainably bridging the digital divide, meeting the evolving needs of customers and supporting host communities” seems strong enough pillars to make the above dream a reality. With the recent approval of Mobile Money and Super Agent licenses for Airtel in Nigeria, the coast is clear for greater earnings and the reality will be sooner rather than later.
Little wonder upon the news of his elevation, President Muhammadu Buhari, congratulated him, saying the flag of Nigeria has been hoisted proudly across the African skyline once again.
Buhari added that the appointment has once again proven that Nigeria has a surfeit of quality professionals, who can hold their own in any part of the continent, and even beyond.
President Buhari said with the cognate experience of the new MD/CEO for Africa, which spans consulting, banking, fast-moving consumer goods, and telecommunications, he would acquit himself creditably in his new role, and repeat the strides that made him position Airtel Nigeria as the second-largest telecommunications company by revenue, serving over 50 million customers.
He urged younger Nigerians to draw inspiration from Ogunsanya, saying with focus, dint of hard work, and resourcefulness, they would reach the peak of whatever careers they have chosen for themselves.
“The reward for hard work is more work,” says President Buhari, as he wished Ogunsanya greater successes ahead.
This article first appeared in ThisDay Newspaper