As a young accountant, my objective was to work for an organisation with an enabling environment for career growth and where I could see how my output contributes to the bottom line. I found that opportunity with the Honeywell Group.

My journey actually began in 2004 when I applied for the 18-month Honeywell Excellence Programme (HEP). HEP is the Group’s management trainee programme, where successful candidates are presented with the opportunity to hone their business management skills. With personal drive and hard work, I qualified as one of the top 12 candidates selected for the programme from over 5,000 applicants. The HEP experience was most rewarding. Structured like a business school, it offered candidates holistic, theoretical and on-the-job training in finance, marketing, strategy development and execution, among other enterprise management skills. 

At the end of the training period, I commenced my career in the Honeywell Group as a process analyst in the portfolio management department at the corporate headquarters. In this capacity, I was responsible for championing process restructuring, systems improvement and business culture changes, among others. These initiatives were developed and implemented for the operating companies of the Group to promote efficiency, enhanced value creation, profitability and sustainability. In what I believe was a reward for my devotion to duty, I was promoted Deputy Manager, Portfolio Management in 2009. 

Honeywell Group provides other avenues for personal development and growth beyond the HEP. While working at the corporate headquarters, I was encouraged and supported towards my qualification as a chartered accountant. I was also nominated for other professional training programmes. The mutually-rewarding relationship between the employee and the organisation remains a unique point in my Honeywell journey. The organisation has invested in me and I continue to discharge my duty with the highest sense of responsibility. 

A fresh challenge came in 2011 when I was transferred to Radisson Blu Anchorage Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos (owned by Anchorage Leisures Limited, a member of Honeywell Group). I joined the Hotel as financial accountant and, not too long after, I was to promoted Chief Accountant. I am now Financial Controller of the Hotel, following another promotion. Transfer to the hospitality industry remains a cherished moment of my career. My time here has been very eventful. I have had to learn a lot about the hospitality industry and how to run a hotel business beyond my knowledge of finance. The opportunity is one I will always be grateful for. And this is another special experience about working for Honeywell Group. The diversity of the Group’s business portfolio provides career advancement opportunities for staff and the Group will always encourage you to take up these challenges while supporting you with what is required to succeed. In fact, my transfer to the hospitality business of the Group was championed by the Group Executive Director and Executive Director of Anchorage Leisures. I remain grateful for the confidence placed in me by the transfer, particularly given my lack of previous experience in the hospitality industry.

I believe that Honeywell Group is one of the leading indigenous businesses in Nigeria today because of sustained investment in development of talent. Many of my colleagues in our HEP set have also grown through the system to lead key business functions today while those who moved on to other places have also done well in their careers. The HEP and other talent development initiatives have generated huge returns on investment for Honeywell Group and I am confident that the Group will ensure its sustainability if it continues investing in its human capital. 

I love being part of a company that lives out its mission and I get to experience this every day. The Group mission ‘We use enterprise to make our world better’ has really changed the perception of businesses in Nigeria and globally. For example, the Radisson Hotel Group brand was brought into West Africa by the Honeywell Group, over a decade ago. Seeing the success of the business and brand in Sub Saharan Africa, many other businesses have associated and partnered with the Radisson Hotel Group and its brands. This also led to the Group’s contribution to the reduction of the unemployment rate and increase in tax income for the economy, which draws from one of our core values “Responsibility beyond ourselves”.

Today, I look back to my decision to join Honeywell Group with pride. I have developed personally and professionally. I have grown from an ordinary accountant to a business manager with experience in hospitality, business incubation, portfolio management, change management, franchise management, corporate restructuring, financial reporting, and even event planning. 

Indeed, it has been a truly rewarding 14 years with Honeywell Group and I am forever grateful to be part of building this enduring legacy.