Following over eleven (11) years of exceptional achievements and outstanding strides, the pioneer Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) of FMDQ Group PLC (“FMDQ Group” or the “Group”), Mr. Bola Onadele. Koko, is set to retire from the Group next year. Effective December 31, 2024, Koko would have served a term of five (5) years as the Group Managing Director/CEO, after serving as the pioneer Managing Director/CEO of FMDQ Securities Exchange PLC (erstwhile FMDQ OTC PLC) for almost six and a half years.
In June 2024, Koko notified the Board of Directors of FMDQ Group of his intention to retire as CEO at the end of his tenure, however, to enable a smooth transition to a suitable successor, and as part of the FMDQ Group Board’s governance approach to succession planning, Koko will carry on in his role as CEO of FMDQ Group until next year.
Koko has successfully led and grown the FMDQ franchise as CEO since its inception in 2013 from when it commenced as an OTC platform for the inter-bank markets, the erstwhile FMDQ OTC PLC, to
becoming Africa’s first vertically integrated financial market infrastructure group, FMDQ Group PLC, with five (5) wholly owned subsidiaries – three (3) Securities and Exchange Commission-registered
Exchange, Central Counterparty and Depository subsidiaries, a Private Markets Information Repository and a technology company – collectively referred to as “FMDQ”. FMDQ Group has also achieved associate company status with a 22.66% equity stake in Central Securities Clearing System PLC.
Throughout Koko’s tenure leading FMDQ, outstanding achievements have been recorded across the markets, franchise and financial parameters, amongst others. Some of these include, but are by no means limited to the establishment of Africa’s first vertically integrated financial market infrastructure group, achievement of financial resilience with Shareholders’ Funds’ growth from ₦585.00mm in 2013 to ₦70.28bn as at September 2024 (unaudited), activation of pre- and post-trading transparency, straight-through-processing, central clearing, central counterparty and depository structures, and the launch of much-needed risk management products, including the Cleared Naira-Settled Non-Deliverable Forwards and Exchange-Traded Derivatives.
The Group, under Koko’s leadership, also spearheaded key sustainability initiatives, including the establishment of Africa’s premier Green Exchange, FMDQ Green Exchange and the Financial Center for Sustainability, Lagos, with the support of the United Nations Environment Programme and other stakeholders in the financial market ecosystem, making Lagos the 23rd member of the International Network of Financial Centres (FC4S Network) headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
Other significant achievements during his tenure include the rejuvenation of the Nigerian Commercial Paper (“CP”) market; with CP Programme registrations and CP issuances growing from zero to ₦6.90trn and ₦5.85trn respectively over the period, activation of the first-ever and continuous publication of comprehensive data & information in the Nigerian fixed income, derivatives and foreign exchange markets and the administration of credible and globally accepted benchmarks, the establishment of the FMDQ brand as the Nigerian Financial Markets Diplomat, and the launch of the hugely successful flagship corporate social responsibility programme for the promotion of financial markets literacy and development among primary, secondary and tertiary students, the FMDQ Next Generation Financial Markets Empowerment Programme (“FMDQ-Next”).
After over a decade of incredible dedication, resilience, passion and innovation, Koko’s visionary leadership has undoubtedly been instrumental in the successes and strides recorded by FMDQ and indeed, in the positive and significant evolution of the nation’s financial markets.
In November 2023, FMDQ marked its 10th Anniversary, celebrating a decade-long of dedicated service to the Nigerian financial markets, and launched its agenda for its next decade, “Born Local…Going Global”.
As Koko ready’s himself for retirement as CEO of FMDQ Group in the coming months, he has doggedly commenced the establishment of the relevant building blocks towards the realisation of the “Born Local…Going Global” agenda, which seeks to leverage FMDQ’s success achieved locally to scale global heights, championing Nigerian expertise, facilitating cross-border market opportunities, and contributing to sustainable global economic development, ensuring FMDQ’s lasting impact both within Nigeria and across the global financial markets; while also fostering a reinforced solid foundation as he sets himself to seamlessly pass on the baton to his successor.
About FMDQ
FMDQ Group is Africa’s first vertically integrated financial market infrastructure (“FMI”) group, strategically positioned to provide registration, listing, quotation and noting services; integrated trading platform, clearing & central counterparty, and settlement services for financial markets transactions; depository of securities, as well as data and information services, across the debt capital, foreign exchange, derivatives and equity markets, through its wholly owned subsidiaries – FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited, FMDQ Clear Limited, FMDQ Depository Limited and FMDQ Private Markets Limited. As a sustainability-focused FMI group, FMDQ Group, through FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited, operates Africa’s premier Green Exchange – FMDQ Green Exchange – positioned to lead the transition towards a sustainable future.
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