My Honeywell Group journey has been a most eventful one. I cannot even believe I have been at Honeywell Group for 20+ years. But I guess when an organisation has continued to provide you with the opportunity to actualise your potential, then you can only feel fulfilled and accomplished. 

My educational and professional background 

I studied law at the University of Lagos – first and master’s degrees. But before then, I had obtained a degree in English from the University of Ilorin. I also have an MBA from the Lagos Business School. After I was called to the bar, I was ready to go on to conquer the world armed with my qualification as a lawyer. I began my law career at the prestigious Irving and Bonnar/ Bentley Edu Law Firm in Lagos. I honed my skills at the firm and rose to become a senior associate. It was from Irving and Bonnar/ Bentley Edu that I was headhunted by Honeywell Group. 

Joining Honeywell Group

I joined Honeywell Group in 1999 with a bag of mixed feelings. One major apprehension then was: “can an indigenous company offer opportunities to attain the pinnacle of one’s career?” I look back now and all I can say is, Alhamdullilah. 

When I joined Honeywell Group, I immediately assumed the responsibility for entrenching and expanding the Legal Department, which was still in infancy. In fact, the only resource I met was a secretary for the Department. Today, I am proud to have built an enviable Group Legal and Regulatory Affairs Department manned by brilliant and resourceful people. I had to develop and implement structures and processes for management of legal issues of the Group and its member companies, while also serving as the Group’s primary interface with various regulatory institutions. Indeed, I have worked on the legal aspect of several strategic transactions involving pivotal capital raising activities. Particularly, I led all legal and regulatory compliance activities towards the listing of Honeywell Flour Mills Plc on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, where I have since continued as Company Secretary. At various times, I also led the Human Resource Management, Corporate Services and Corporate Communication functions at Honeywell Group. 

The beauty of being Company Secretary and Legal Adviser at Honeywell Group is that you get to handle legal issues across varied sectors of the economy. Honeywell Group is a highly diversified conglomerate. The Group has businesses in multiple sectors of the economy, including: foods and agro-allied, real estate, infrastructure, energy and services. My multifaceted role at Honeywell Group has definitely helped me to become a stronger, robust and more experienced commercial lawyer. Not many companies in Nigeria will provide you with such a unique opportunity; most of them only operate in a single sector.

The doors don’t open automatically 

But there is an important lesson I have learnt in my eventful career at Honeywell Group, which I think is worth sharing. This important lesson is that, the doors don’t open automatically, especially for a woman. In the journey to becoming Group Head of Legal and Regulatory Affairs, I had to constantly demonstrate my competence and commitment at every defining stage along the way, coupled with the challenging demands of being a wife and mother. I joined Honeywell Group in the early years of my marriage, and I was nursing a 13-month old daughter; but I never wavered in my official duties. 

On many occasions, I had to demonstrate my resourcefulness even beyond what the organisation expected. There were many late-nights. I vividly remember an occasion when I was to travel out of town with my husband for a family commitment. The plan was to close from work early and join my husband for the scheduled trip. Suddenly, there was an emergency meeting which I had to be part of – and that was how my husband and I could not travel that day again. While I had to apologise to my husband, the Head of HR also sent an apology note to my husband. 

I am very much aware of the challenges involved in maintaining that delicate balance among competing responsibilities of a wife, mother and career woman. It is such a demanding task. But I also had the right support system. My husband is extremely supportive. A career woman needs a supportive husband and she must always reciprocate her husband’s support with love, affection and general well-being of the home. She will also need to invest in support staff for the home to ensure domestic affairs are not affected while pursuing professional duties. When you are able to court the support of your husband, then you can mutually agree on priorities, so the family is not affected. 

Paying attention to the well-being of the children is of great importance, despite the demands of work. This is one area I had to focus on. I constantly found creative ways of making sure one did not affect the other.  There is an occasion I would never forget; my daughter was participating in a school play and I also had to be part of an important meeting via conference call that day. So, I made sure to arrive at my daughter’s school early so I could sit in front of the stage. I made sure she saw me, and I cheered her on when the play started. In the middle of the play, I went to the back of the hall for my conference call and I was able to conclude the conference call in good time to see the end of the play and continue to cheer my daughter on. Work must not stop you from being your children’s confidant and Number 1 cheerleader on their special occasions. 

I can say that my industry and commitment have not gone unnoticed. You earn the trust and confidence of your employers when you are resourceful. A clear demonstration of that in my case is that I was nominated to represent the interest of the business on the board of Zain Nigeria (now Airtel Nigeria) and I remain proud of that unique privilege. 

By working for Honeywell Group, I have seen that women can attain business leadership positions, but I also know that the doors do not open to those positions automatically. Doors will only open for women prepared and ready to take a seat at the table. 

A shot at public service

As someone passionate about good governance, I contested for the office of the deputy governor of Lagos State in 2019. 

While I did not win, I was grateful for the opportunity to run. It was a rewarding experience. I was able to personally engage Lagosians. I visited all local governments in Lagos State where I met people who freely and genuinely shared their plight as well as challenges of daily living. My experience reinvigorated my resolve and commitment to social impact initiatives, which I will continue to implement in private capacity.

Let me state though that as an apolitical organisation, the Honeywell Group was not in any way involved in my campaigns. But I am grateful that the company still valued my contributions, as I was able to return to work after expiration of my leave of absence when campaigns ended. 

There are no regrets 

After three decades in the legal profession, I can confidently say that the hallmark of my career is the richness of my practice experience spanning secretarial, corporate governance, litigation and commercial law practices, stakeholder management as well as corporate finance and business management. I have no regrets working for Honeywell Group and I will encourage any young, budding talent to see Honeywell Group as a platform for honing your business management skills and becoming a comprehensive manager of men and resources.

I am grateful to Honeywell Group for allowing me to be part of its storied history. I want to specially appreciate the Chairman and Group Executive Director, who continue to trust me with responsibilities critical to the growth and sustainability of the business. Finally, I want to thank my husband, Mr. Tunde Busari, SAN and my three wonderful children for their psychological support, which has also been vital to the success of my career at Honeywell Group.