I woke up to the beautiful news of the appointment of Ms. Sheila Azuntaba as deputy Managing Director for the Consolidated Bank Ghana. By far, it is the best news to crown a rather fruitful week and I could not hold back my excitement. Of course, this is truly a ‘’Good morning,’’ one that lives to its bill of what a great day should begin with.
My Encounter with Ms.Sheila
My first encounter with Sheila was around December 2022, I had attended an interview for the role of Head of Marketing in a company that she led as Chief Executive Officer. Truly, that interview did not follow the pattern of your traditional job interview forat, where a CV appears more important than the individual. It was more like an interactive session that teases out the best a prospective candidate could offer. For those who know Sheila, I am sure you would not debate if I said her infectious smiles could calm a temperate storm. Even though I was meeting her team for the first time, she created an aura of warmth that made me feel at home. This will begin an incredible journey as the Head of Marketing who had to report directly to an awesome boss, Ms. Sheila Azuntaba. Sheila is the reason why I moved to my current location, where I have been living for the past 2 and half years. She gave me my rare opportunity to experiment marketing communications in critical sectors, including health care, education, restaurants and others.
Her Role as CEO
As Chief Executive Officer, Sheila managed more than seven entities that were in the business portfolio. Personally, I was amazed at the exceptional grace and sympathy she brought to bear on this far-reaching and demanding role. Together, Sheila, led a team of young, vibrant and creative management to achieved incredible successes that had never been registered in the annals of those entities. A stickler of structure and systems, she instituted and personally supervised many ground breaking reforms in the operations, marketing and reporting in all these businesses. Through her positive and human-centred leadership approach, we reached incredible administrative, operational, financial and marketing milestones for these businesses which had hitherto never experienced anything marketing.
What to Expect
Having worked directly under Sheila, as the Head of Marketing, I can promise the kind people of CBG that they should expect nothing but an exceptionally affable, likeable and personable professional with mastery over getting the best out of employees without making them feel undervalued. At the time of my appointment, never did I ever feel inadequate, incapable or incompetent. Sheila was a shield who never compromised on standards. Sheila will not hold back your praise nor be quiet about your performance. As head of Marketing, I lost count on the number of times she used the word ‘’awesome’’ to describe my work. Sheila will give you feedback and trust me; it will be fair and kind. Sheila is a people-centred professional who carries her people along and listen to them. Our brainstorming sessions were lively, thought-provoking, and creatively stimulating and I do not expect any different. You will walk out of meetings with Sheila feeling empowered and emboldened to achieve more amidst every turbulence. As a leader, she will be the last to throw any of her team member under the bus. I have no doubt that her excellent roles in leading investment banking operations and internationally-wide exposure could equally be leveraged. As a champion and advocate for gender empowerment and work-life balance, I have no doubt that this will be the best time to work at CBG as a staff, regardless of your role, level or position.
Conclusion
As CBG works to reset and consolidate its footprints in Ghana’s banking sector, I am without doubt that Sheila will bring her tested personal and professional expertise to bear in assisting her Managing Director towards this transformational agenda. From what I personally know about Sheila, I have no doubt that being in this coveted deputy Chief Executive position will inure to the benefit of the bank’s transformational drive across all its businesses. Already, I have told the few friends who work at CBG of what to expect from Sheila’s leadership and I have no qualms about her ability to deliver at the highest level, exceeding my expectations and reckoning.
Disclaimers:
I am not one who is given to flattery or any form of sycophancy. Personally, I do not even like to be flattered even at my highest performance. This notwithstanding, I equally do not burry my head in the sand when I have to pass comment on persons that I have had personal encounters with. I always feel obliged and personally responsible to pass comments, especially on people that I have personally encountered. Take this as a personal testimony of the newly appointed deputy CEO of Consolidated Bank Ghana, Ms. Sheila Azuntaba. Her tenure will NEVER go unnoticed.
Samuel Boateng Osarfo
Marketing Communications Consultant/Researcher.
@kingofcomms