WE’RE h-a-p-p-y/We’re happy people; We make you happy." So goes a part of the lyrics of one of Adewale Ayuba’s numerous Fuji music productions.

at has Ayuba to do with Mr. Bode Akinboye, the man who sits atop the mega-billion outfit that goes with the brand name SA Insurance Plc? He leads a happy team that strives day in, day out to make policy holders happy.

Before he stepped into the shoes of GMD, as he is now well known around his work place, Akinboye had distinguished himself as Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of SA and as founding General Manager of erstwhile Standard Life Assurance Company Limited.

As he steadily went up the ladder of success in his star-studded career, Akinboye also served as the Head of Finance and Investment and later Assistant General Manager/Head of Oil & Energy and Financial Institutions in the insurance company. It was this very strategic business unit of SA Insurance Plc that enabled him to "blaze forth abroad," to borrow the words of one hymn writer.

Before he joined the happy team at The Standard Alliance Group, Mr. Akinboye had worked with Industrial and General Insurance Company Plc as the Management Accountant, being Accountancy graduate and Fellow of Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria. He also belongs to the Chartered Insurance Institute, London and Nigeria, Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria and Nigerian Institute of Management.

Akinboye who holds an MBA degree specialising in Banking and Finance, has gained considerable hands-on experience in strategic marketing, product packaging and corporate and reputation management. He has attended numerous courses in these and other areas, both within our shores and internationally.

Besides, he is young, creatively imaginative. Undaunted in his pursuit of corporate objectives, Akinboye ferrets out challenges wherever they may be. In fact, he sees more challenges ahead as he pilots the SA group’s ordinate quest for the plum position of No. 1 brand in the insurance sector. He is determined catapult SA to the dominant-player echelon in the financial services sector. This is encapsulated in SA’s vision: To be the leading provider of insurance, risk management and investment services in Africa.

He speaks on the company’s vision and other industry issues. Akinboye believes that the opportunity cost of the funds trapped in the escrow account has impaired the capacity of insurance and reinsurance firms to access their money for investments, "thereby suffering loss from capital gain and investment income." He believes that is why firms have not fully delivered on their promises of enhanced returns on investments (ROI) to shareholders in the short run. He then proffers a way out: He calls on the government to conclude, as a matter of urgency, whatever verification that it has set out to do on the recertified insurance and reinsurance companies and release the funds to them without further delay.

Akinboye confesses to be the happiest Group Managing Director in the insurance industry, going by the investments made by most notable local and international organisations, as well as the massive response by the Nigerian investing public in response to SA’s public offer. The group managing director sees the huge response as a practical indication of the spread and acceptance of SA Insurance as a brand, locally and across the Nigerian shores.

Under Akinboye’s leadership, SA launched the biggest public offer which is an industry statement. Through it the company raised over N18 billion from the capital market. Unlike before when allotments were not full, SA Insurance had approval to allot full shares to shareholders. He added that it was only the allotments to the bigger investors that would be slightly affected.

He noted that the company’s total assets now stood at N7.4 billion as against N3.2 billion in 2006. "For the second year running, the company has been rated "A" with an improved 285 per cent international solvency ratio. The rating further re-enhanced our stable position and improved the financial strength of the company,"

Akinboye believes this is a direct: Consequence of SA’s commitment to continue to adopt the international best practices in the running of the affairs of SA Insurance Plc.