Efekoha: Turning Passion For Insurance Profession Into Business Success

Currently, the group chief executive officer (GCEO), Consolidated Hallmark HoldingsCHH) Plc, Mr. Eddie Efekoha is not just a name in the African insurance industry space, he is an institution in Nigerian insurance industry landscape. Driven by passion to make a mark on insurance profession, he nurtures his company from incubation stage into a global brand between 2007 when Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Plc(now Limited) birthed after an industry-wide recapitalisation exercise, and now.

One of the few owner-manager still left in insurance space in Nigeria, he has evolved Consolidated Hallmark Insurance(CHI) Limited(formerly Plc) into a HoldCo, birthing about five subsidiaries under his guidance. They include, Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Limited, CHI Microinsurance Limited, Hallmark Finance Company Limited, Hallmark Health Services Limited and CHI Life Assurance Ltd.

The gross premium income of Consolidated Hallmark Insurance, now /Holdings (CHH) Plc rose to N16.62 billion in 2023 financial year from N12.06 billion it was in 2022 and figure would have almost doubled by the time 2024 and 2025 financial results are considered. His company too, has paid several billions of Naira in claims to its policyholders in a move to be responsive and fulfilling promises made to customers as insurers of risks.

Philosophy

On his philosophy of life, he said: “Birthing and leading our fledging Holdco has helped to reaffirm my belief in the participative and transformational leadership styles. The methods deployed in managing members of the team, of course, play a major role in shaping outcomes as every input count. The decision of the boss is not final in our environment.

“Decisions are based on the analysis of inputs received through the bottom-up communication process and an open-door policy. It is the way we empower our people to take ownership for their decisions and prepare them for greater leadership positions both internally and in the society at large.”

Advice To Upcoming professionals

While advising upcoming professionals, he said: “Beyond critical skills really is the need to be determined as young professionals in any area one has set out to build a career in. This requires discipline and focus. There are a lot of distractions which can impede success, especially with the advancement in technology which can be leveraged on for good, or easily abused due to addiction. It is pertinent for them to have these at the back of their mind even as they pay due attention to developing the usual requisite skills in effective communication, time-management, adaptability, problem solving and critical thinking skills, amongst others.

“Young professionals should realise always that they are a part of a larger whole and cannot really achieve too much without teamwork, hence the need to imbibe the team spirit in all they seek to do.”

Biography

Eddie Agberia Efekoha was born on the 16th of August 1959 in Egbo-Uhurie, Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State. He attended Anglican Primary School Egbo-Uhurie and Agbassa Primary School in Warri, where he obtained his First School Leaving Certificate in 1971. He proceeded to Nana College, Warri. He attended Teacher Training College between 1974 and 1979 from where he obtained the Teacher Grade II Certificate.

As a trained teacher, Efekoha taught briefly before joining Warri Refinery & Petro-Chemical Company in 1979 as a Plant Operator. It was during his stay with the refinery that he studied as a part-time student and passed the GCE Advanced Level in Geography and Economics.

Efekoha was a pioneer student of economics at the then Bendel State University, now Ambrose Ali University, Ekpoma, but spent just one academic session before accepting an admission to study Insurance at the University of Lagos in 1982. He graduated in 1985 with a Bachelor of Science Degree and in 1995 obtained a Master Degree in Business Administration from the same university.

Efekoha became an Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute of London in 1987 and Fellow of the same Institute in 1991, specialising in property insurance. He was consequently made a Fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria in 1995. Earlier this year, 2018, Efekoha was admitted as a Fellow of the Institute of Directors, Nigeria.

Mr. Eddie Efekoha is the the group chief executive officer (GCEO) of Consolidated Hallmark HoldingsCHH) Plc, He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Insurance and a Masters degree in Business Administration both from the University of Lagos. Eddie has worked in reputable organizations including Hogg Robinson Nigeria, and Glanvill Enthoven & Co (Nig.) as Executive Director (Technical), Fountain Insurance Brokers Ltd as its pioneer Managing Director/Chief Executive. He was the Vice Chairman/CEO of Consolidated Risk Insurers Plc and before this, he was the Managing Director/CEO of Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Plc.

A Fellow of the Institute of Directors (IOD) and both the Chartered Insurance Institutes of London and Nigeria, Eddie has attended several local and international courses in both Insurance and Management. He is an alumnus of the Lagos and Harvard Business Schools, past President of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria(CIIN) and the 22nd chairman of the Nigeria Insurers Association (NIA).