Andrew Otike-Odibi, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, C&I Leasing Plc (C&I Leasing) has been named as one of the top 25 CEOs in Nigeria at the 2020 Businessday CEOs and Next Bull Awards.
The award, which took place in a virtual ceremony on Saturday, 5th September 2020, was streamed live and is the sixth edition of its kind hosted by the Businessday Media Limited (Businessday) and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
Frank Aigbogun, Publisher of Businessday in his opening remarks said despite the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world and has gone on as long as it has, the companies that were celebrated at the awards had demonstrated “resilience” backed by their hardworking business leaders, adding that the Nigerian economy would “go nowhere” without private capital from these businesses .
“The fact that we are here this evening is a testimony to the resilience of your businesses and perhaps also a testament to the stable hands that you provided to keep your business going,” he said.
“We have in collaboration with the stock exchange identified a number of you who will be celebrated for the good work they have done and will continue to do. As a newspaper, Businessday is committed to identifying and celebrating hardworking business leaders in our midst. We believe that this economy will go nowhere without a fusion of private capital and we are not just talking here about foreign investors, we are also talking about local investors as well who we see are waiting just to understand how things will shape out.”
Also speaking, Oscar N. Onyema, Chief Executive Officer of the NSE commended the award winners, pointing to their contribution to the Nigerian capital market in the face of a volatile business environment.
“The CEOs who we will be recognizing today have distinguished themselves by contributing to the growth of the Nigerian capital market and increasing shareholder value despite the volatility that we have in our business environment,” he said.
“They have worked tirelessly and dedicated their resources to ensure they meet their obligations to investors and uphold the highest levels integrity in the Nigerian capital market. It behooves me to say that the awardees today are truly deserving of this honor.”
In his acceptance speech, the C&I Leasing MD thanked the award organizers for the honor, while highlighting that the company’s success in the last three decades is hinged on teamwork, dedication, and excellent service delivery to its numerous clients.
“On behalf of the board, management and staff of C&I Leasing, I will like to thank Businessday Media for this prestigious award, for honoring C&I Leasing as one of the top performing companies on the Nigerian Stock Exchange and honoring me as the CEO of C&I Leasing as well,” he said.
“The theme for this year’s award- Advancing Against All Odds- could not be more apt for the times we are in right now. It has been 30 years for us down this road and we are looking at the next 30 years as an organization- the skills required, the opportunities ahead and the impact we intend to make in the country and in the lives of people.
“We have come this far only with the strong teamwork we have within the organization, the dedication of the staff and our clients who have been most supportive and great partners. They are the reason we are here today. We are grateful to God that we can stand here and take this award, and we pray that we will be able to showcase the company’s achievements in years to come.”
The Businessday Top CEOs Awards is restricted to quoted companies on the NSE and was introduced to celebrate chief executives who through sound strategy, disciplined execution, world class governance and adoption of a customer first ethos have delivered alpha, thereby creating competitive shareholder value. The winners were picked out of one hundred and sixty-nine chief executives on the NSE.
