Oladimeji Alo, chairman of Berger Paints Nigeria Plc, has continued to live out the pledge he made shortly after he was appointed in that capacity last year.
Alo had promised to help the company improve its operations and regain its leadership position in its industry. When he was appointed in that capacity, he said it was a great honour, pledging to work in the company’s best interest.
“I feel humbled by the appointment, considering the great strides the company had recorded under some of the best minds in corporate Nigeria in its 55 years of existence.
“In accepting the appointment, I commit to working with my colleagues on the board to give the company the guidance and direction it needs to regain its leadership position in its sector,” he said.
He was 59 years old when he made the pledge; today, Alo is 60 and still waxing strong in the business of providing direction for the company.
According to a management staff who spoke with BD SUNDAY on condition of anonymity, Alo has been a blessing to the company.
Quoting Clement Olowokande, former chairman, he said Alo has been instrumental to the “re-engineering of Berger Paints since he joined the board in 2012.
“He brings to the table his wealth of experience in corporate governance and human resource management, which will be very beneficial to the next phase of growth which the company is currently going through,”
The man Alo
He was born into a polygamous family in Osogbo. His parents were textile traders and moved from one city to another to eke out a living. Alo started his primary education in Osogbo at African Church Primary School, but completed it at Ilesha, due to the movement of his parents from Osogbo. He proceeded to Ilesha Grammar School for his secondary school education.
He attended the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University, where he studied Sociology and Anthropology, a course he chose because of the sound of the name! He got a merit award from Oyo State government as a result of his hard work and excellence, which came with full scholarship, and at the end of his studies, he emerged the best student in his department.
The Berger Paint chairman went back to school for his Master’s degree a few months after his NYSC. Thereafter, he was employed as an assistant lecturer in his department. He went ahead to obtain his PhD which he completed in 1984.
Family life
He met his wife when he was in Primary six, but they started dating formally 1971, and got married in 1981. He had three children in two years – a girl and a set of twin boys. Even though he planned to become a polygamist like his father and all those who surrounded him as an impressionable young man, but as he grew older, he understood things better, and he realised it was unnecessary trouble, and because he had a good wife, the thought of looking for another woman did not cross his mind.
Professional career
He moved over from the academia to the corporate world in 1987, joining Coopers & Lybrand Associates, Lagos as a Senior Consultant, where he provided executive leadership for the Organisation& Human Resource Management Consulting Practise of this international firm. He moved rapidly through the ranks to the position of Executive Director before leaving the company in 1995. He went on to become the managing director/chief executive officer of Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC), Lagos, from 1996 to 2009. At FITC, he succeeded in re-engineering the firm from a loss-making entity that had lost the confidence and support of its stakeholders and re-positioning it to become the leading provider of human capital development and advisory services for the financial services sector in Nigeria and a highly profitable and resourceful organisation. He is currently, the managing director/chief executive officer of Excel Professional Services Limited, a management consulting firm that provides advisory support to leading organisations and businesses on matters of Strategy, Leadership and Governance. He is a non-executive director of ARM Life Plc.
Alo joined the board of Berger Paints Nigeria Plc on December 11, 2012 and was appointed the chairman on July 17, 2014.
Professional accomplishments
President/Chairman of Council, Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (CIPM) from 2007 to 2010; President, West African Bankers’ Association, 1998 -1999; Vice-President, Nigerian Association of Management Consultants, 1993-1997; among several others. He has written over 20 books and journals which have been published, and over 60 technical papers yet to be published.
Hobbies
Alo plays Table Tennis, Lawn Tennis and listens to good music.
Zebulon Agomuo
