Executive Chairman of Honeywell Group, Dr. Ayoola Oba Otudeko, has been voted Leadership Business Person of the Year 2015 by the Board of Leadership Newspapers.

The board says the award is “for his relentless appetite for risk, his zeal to impact lives by creating jobs and transforming the business landscape with legacy projects and his philanthropy.”

Leadership Board Chairman, Mr. Sam Nda-Isaiah, noted that the Business Person of the Year Award was conferred on Otudeko for being a pacesetter, his larger-than-life image as a shrewd businessman and a risk-taker of no mean stature.

Otudeko’s conglomerate operations stretch across oil and gas, flour milling, real estate and marine transportation and a piece of fortune in the oceanfront, Radisson Blu, Lagos, Nigeria.

The recipient expressed happiness at the recognition for his contributions toward a better society for all.

“This award is coming at a time we are expanding both business and philanthropic footprints. We are optimistic about creating value that transcends borders while improving the quality of lives of people,” he said.

Otudeko is a trained chartered banker, chartered corporate secretary and chartered accountant, a highly successful Nigerian investor and entrepreneur, whose domestic and foreign interests cut across diverse sectors of the economy.

He was at various times chairman, First Bank of Nigeria, FBN Bank (UK) Limited, Airtel Nigeria and Fan Milk of Nigeria Plc. He has also served on the boards of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Guinness Nigeria Plc, British American Tobacco Limited and Ecobank Transnational Incorporated headquartered in Lome, Togo.

He was the president and chairman of council of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. The ever-blunt philanthropist promotes his ideals of philanthropy and giving back to the society through the Footprints Occupational Training Centres initiative of the Oba Otudeko Foundation.

It was In recognition of his many contributions to the economic and social development of Nigeria, and his consistent commitment to good causes and the Nigerian nation that his National Honour was upgraded to Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR) in November 2011, having previously been awarded Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) in November 2002 and Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR) in December 2000.

Otudeko’s giant strides towards enthroning sustainable development in the Nigerian economy are being nationally and globally acknowledged.

•Photo shows Oba Otudeko.