I relocated from Nigeria after my 1st degree in Computer science in 1992. Even though I finished with a second class lower and despite the fierce competition and many rejections, I was tenacious, hardworking and determined to secure myself a graduate training role. I succeeded with the Royal Borough of Greenwich in 1995 and trained to be a chartered accountant. After qualifying in 1999, I joined PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as a senior associate and speedily rose to an audit manager post after 6 months in the firm. Having had enough of auditing and governance experience, I went on to Transport for London (TfL) where I held various roles including Head of Finance (Corporate IT) and managed a team of 15 staff. In my 9 year stint with TfL in several roles, I was able to deliver various transformation projects , saving to the tune of £10m. Currently, I work as the Assistant Director of Finance and Procurement at a London Housing Association, where I continue to make transformational changes and contributions to the organisation. I currently have responsibility for a team of 13 people including head of procurement, head of financial operations and head of treasury services.
In addition to my day job, I am passionate about developing and seeing others excel in their chosen career. I believe everyone has the potential to advance, if given the right nurturing and mentoring. Having mentored several candidates, I recognised that many are being held back from higher aspirations, largely due to a negative mind-set and ineffective work ethics. Identifying the gap in the marketplace has compelled me to create “Career Nuggets” a social enterprise aiming to bridge this gap.
I am married to Kenny Ajayi and we have a year old son “David”.