With a wealth of experience spanning over 25 years coupled with adroit visionary leadership, our Woman Crush Wednesday, ‘Funmilayo Omo shows us that women are equally successful at the helm of affairs in top financial institutions. This is clear in her successful role as the Managing Director of African Alliance Plc.  

Her professional career began in 1991 with African Alliance, before it was listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, as the Head of Department, Individual Business. Since then, her exponential rise to the helm of affairs can be attributed to her a passion for innovation and transformational leadership such as:

• Leading the retail marketing team to expand the business volume by over 1000% as, Head of Technical, Insurance Operations.

• As Chief Operating Officer in 2006, she was solely responsible for providing strategic direction for the company’s business operations.  

• In 2012 now as Executive Director (ED), Operations at African Alliance Plc., she doubled the gross premium income of the company within 3 years and pioneered the design of the annuity products of the company boosting the annuity product range of African Alliance Plc to become a top-3 market player in the industry.  

• During that same stint as ED she was credited for championing the design of the life administration application and supervising the transition of African Alliance Plc from semi-automated application usage to fully automated management; a change that saved the company countless man hours, thereby improving efficiency and turnaround time.  

• ‘Funmilayo’s pioneering spirit led to the creation of Takaful (savings plan with basic life insurance cover) in African Alliance Plc.  She also developed and successfully launched Micro Insurance as a Strategic Business Unit in African Alliance Plc to mention a few.

‘Funmilayo’s informed business decisions are premised on a formidable educational background that began with a BSc. (Hons.) degree in Insurance from the University of Lagos. Since then, she has gone on to become an Associate Member of the prestigious Chartered Institute of Insurance, London, an Associate Member of the Nigerian Institute of Management, an Associate Member of the Certified Pensions of Nigeria and an Associate Member of Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ). She is an alumnus of the Lagos Business School and the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS).

Other notable leadership roles include serving on the Board of Trustees, Ajaokuta Steel Complex, Axiom Air and National Iron Ore Mining Company (NIOMCO) until 2016. She currently serves on the board of Frenchies Food, as well as on the board of PAL Pensions Alliance, an associate of African Alliance Plc.

We celebrate ‘Funmilayo for her resilience in the corporate world and pioneering spirit. She is truly an inspiration to women the world over.