McLEISH U. OTUEDON President and Chief Executive Officer

McLeish Otuedon is the President and CEO of LeishTon Consulting & BoardGov Limited. McLeish is responsible for running the day-to-day business operations of the Company and in conjunction with the Board develop and implement the Company’s long-term business strategy. He has a specific mandate to focus on providing visibility and accelerating the growth of LeishTon, first, in Nigeria, and then to other Anglophone West African countries. He will also interact extensively with members of the LeishTon team to provide leadership and direction for all business activities.

McLeish brings into LeishTon over 15 years of quality experience. He previously served as Senior Vice President and Head of both FBN Merchant Bank Limited (FBNMB) and FBN Capital Limited (FBNC), where he re-engineered the Compliance function and embedded compliance into the activities and systems of both institutions. While at FBNMB and FBNC, he helped develop and implement several robust compliance and AML/CFT related policies, frameworks, manuals and standards. He worked assiduously to embed compliance culture across both organisations, and was appointed into many leadership positions, including being an active member of the Risk Management Committee (RMC), New Products Approval Committee (NPAC), Human Capital Committee (HCC), Management Credit and Underwriting Committee (MCUC). He was also actively involved in the Informational Technology (IT) Transformational Project and Integration Project while in both organisations.

Prior to his tenure at FBNMB and FBNC, McLeish served as AML/Compliance Manager for the Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) Division of Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC (a member of the Standard Bank Group of South Africa). He also acted as head of compliance for a period of one-half years and was in the forefront of conducting face-to-face training for all CIB employees and enabling functions employees supporting CIB businesses. He was directly responsible for all Chinese walls, wall crossing, conflicts of interest, information confidentiality, market conduct, market abuse, personal account dealing, outside business interest , gift and entertainment, watch and restricted list, deal/conflicts clearing  management activities in Stanbic IBTC and AML activities in the CIB space. Before joining Stanbic IBTC, he worked as Enterprise Risk Analyst with MTN Nigeria Communications Limited (MTN Nigeria) and as a Cash Officer with Zenith Bank PLC. While at MTN Nigeria, McLeish worked with Risk Champions in more than 16 business units to develop robust risk systems and held several workshops to identify and access business risks. He also had a brief stint in the Oil and Gas industry and Audit Practice in Nigeria and worked with some fantastic firms in the United Kingdom prior to joining MTN Nigeria.

McLeish is currently studying for two doctorates degrees (DBA and PhD) in business administration and governance, with specialisation in leadership and corporate governance respectively. He holds a Master of Science (MSc) degree in Investment and Finance from Middlesex University Business School, London and a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in Accountancy from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. McLeish has also attended several Executive Education Programmes at top business schools in the United States, including the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). McLeish has published several articles in international double-blind peer review journals, including the International Journal of Economics, Commerce and Management, (IJECM), UK, the European Journal of Business, Economics and Accountancy (EJBEA), UK, the European Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance Research (EJAAFR), the European Journal of Business and Management (EJBM) and the Journal of Marketing and Consumer Research: An International Peer-review Journal (JMCR).

McLeish is a Chartered Accountant (ACA), a Chartered Tax Practitioner (FCTI), a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS), a Certificant Member of the Institute of Risk Management (IRM), UK (CIRM), an Environmental and Social Risk Analyst (ESRA) and a Professional Manager (MNIM). McLeish currently lives in Lagos, Nigeria with his lovely wife and their three wonderful children.