Lately, the Chief Executive Officer of Transcorp Hotels Plc, Mr Valentine Ozigbo, has been the recipient of numerous local and international awards – more than twelve of them. Just earlier this month, he was inducted into the prestigious Seven Stars Pantheon hall of fame during the Pantheon of the Seven Stars Luxury Hospitality and Lifestyles Awards which took place in the luxury Greek island of Crete.
All of these awards were, of course, given in recognition of Mr Ozigbo’s professional accomplishments. In keeping with the times, the excited business executive took to Social Media (Instagram to be specific), to share a message about his journey up the corporate ladder, and he especially thanked some of those who helped him along the way.
One intriguing aspect of Mr Ozigbo’s Instagram post was watching him talk about how he went from being a village boy to becoming the CEO of one of the biggest hotels in Nigeria. This is the kind of story that aspiring entrepreneurs love to hear, and it is so thoughtful of this accomplished CEO to have shared it.
In view of this, it is only apt that we make Mr Valentine Ozigbo our corporate personality of the week. Let’s avail you of the opportunity to know more about him; precisely, how he transformed from that village boy who probably never dreamt of being on a plane, to a highflying CEO who tours around the world receiving global accolades.
Hope this inspires you to also accomplish great things. Enjoy.
About his early days
Young Valentine was born in Amesi, one of the small towns in present-day Anambra State on the 20th of August, 1970. He grew up there, and was enrolled in the town’s secondary school, Christ the Redeemer College, where he excelled academically and obtained his O-Levels. He probably never left this village until 1989 when it was time for him to go to the university.
His impressive academic background
Mr Ozigbo is a trained accountant, having studied at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka between 1989 and 1993. He graduated with a First-Class degree (honours), the best in his department and the entire faculty during that academic session. No doubt, his impressive performance set the tone for all that he would go on to accomplish academically, even as it opened the doors for his successful career.
Two years after his first degree, Mr Ozigbo returned to the University of Nigeria to obtain a Master’s degree in Business Administration, with specialisation in Banking and Finance, and he graduated in 1997. In 2003, he won a Chevening Scholarship to study Finance at UK’s Lancaster University, graduating in 2004 with a Distinction.
He has also obtained professional qualifications from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (1998), the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (2000), and Institute of Credit Administration (2015).
He has over twenty years of professional experience
Mr Valentine Ozigbo had at least 16 years of professional banking experience working in some of the biggest banks in Nigeria. He was Head of Commercial Banking at Diamond Bank Plc for five years between 1995 and 2000, before proceeding to United Bank for Africa where he worked for a year (from 2000 to 2001) as a Business Manager.
Between 2001 and 2003, Mr Ozigbo was the Acting Regional Director of FSB International Bank. He later left this role and returned to United Bank for Africa in 2004, where he worked for four years as Head of International Banking.
In 2008, he left United Bank for Africa for Keystone Bank for what would be the last leg of his nearly two-decades-long career in the banking industry. He served as the General Manager of the bank’s Global Transaction operation.
His appointment as Chief Executive Officer of Transcorp Hotels Plc
In 2011, Mr Ozigbo chose to leave behind his years-long career as a commercial, retail, investment and global banker. His next move was to delve into the hospitality business as the CEO of Transcorp Hotels Plc, the parent company of Transcorp Hilton, Abuja and Transcorp Hotels, Calabar.
Managing an exotic hotel as prominent as Transcorp is understandably a major task. But Mr Ozigbo seems to handle it well, judging from the numerous accolades he has received so far. Some of his key strategic functions as CEO include actualising business expansion objectives, initiating and supervising facility upgrades/renovations when necessary, overseeing mergers and acquisitions, and ensuring the overall success of the company.
How has he fared as CEO of Transcorp Hotels Plc?
Under Mr Ozigbo, the hotel has remained relatively well financially. However, there is always room for improvement. For instance, while the company’s revenue and profits were averagely N14 billion and N3 billion (respectively) between 2012 and 2016, revenue declined to N12 billion in full-year 2017, while profit after tax also reduced to N2.6 billion in the same year.
Meanwhile, it is important to note that Mr Ozigbo has accomplished quite a lot of other things during his time as CEO. Under his watch, the company has developed and is still developing some important new facilities in cities like Lagos and Port Harcourt. The company’s existing hotels have also undergone upgrades.
As he continues inspiring growth in the company whilst getting recognised for it, Nairametrics will continue to celebrate him.
