Demola Aladekomo
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Sir Demola Aladekomo (born 31 December 1957 in Port Harcourt, Nigeria) is a computer engineer by training. He is a Nigerian technology expert, entrepreneur and philanthropist. Aladekomo is the Chairman of SmartCity Resorts Plc,[1] Card Centre Nigeria Limited,[2] Treasure-nest Limited, Crops Nigeria Limited, Chams Consortium Limited,[3] Insider Concepts Limited and the founder of Chams Plc.[4] He is a Fellow of the Nigeria Computer Society (FNCS)[5] and the Computer Professional Registration Council (CPN); a member of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), and the immediate past President of the Lagos Business School Alumni Association (LBSAA)[6] and the Nigeria Computer Society, respectively. Aladekomo has also served as the Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of SmartCard Society of Nigeria. He is the founder of DATA Foundation[7] and Volunteer Corps,[8] non-governmental organisations engaged in corporate social investments in Nigeria.
Early life and family
Sir Aladekomo graduated from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) in 1982 with a degree in Computer Engineering, followed by an MBA from the University of Lagos in 1984. He was part of the first Chief Executive Program at the Lagos Business School (LBS) in 1991-1992, and an alumnus of the Lagos Business School. He is married to Titi Aladekomo, an entrepreneur and philanthropist. They have four children and a grand daughter.
Career
Sir Aladekomo founded Chams Limited (now Chams Plc, and listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange) as the first indigenous computer maintenance outfit in Nigeria in September 1985, almost 30 years ago. Working as the Chief Engineer, he led Chams to deploy Nigeria’s first Wide-Area-Network (WAN) on PCs, and to deploy the country’s pioneer card technology. Sir Aladekomo is also acknowledged as the brain behind the success of the first e-payment card in Nigeria birthed by the Valucard[9] project, working with a consortium of five indigenous Banks.
Under his watch, Chams transformed from a privately held company to public liability company listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, differentiating itself in the Nigerian market by focusing on the business of identity management, ceding the increasingly cluttered card technology and transaction payments segments to its subsidiaries, ChamAccess Limited[10] and Card Centre Nigeria Limited. Chams Plc is also the parent company of ChamsSwitch Limited, and ChamsConsortium Limited, and has substantial interest in ChamsMobile[11].
Philanthropy
Sir Aladekomo is the founder and immediate past Chairman, Board of Trustees: Volunteer Corps, Chairman, DATA Foundation; a non-governmental organization committed to professional volunteerism for public school education. He established Volunteer Corps in 1992 out of the need to offer world class educational opportunities to less privileged members of the society. He later founded DATA Foundation which has repeatedly awarded scholarships to students in public schools, while Volunteer Corps continues to bring alive his vision of using professionals as volunteers teachers to train students in order to prepare them for university and polytechnic education.
Other non-profits
Council Member, Osun State University
Board Member, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAUTECHEXCEL), the Foundation implementing knowledge park at the university
Patron, Lagos City Chorale Group
Member, Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) from inception/Vision 2010 and Vision2020
Founder: Joint Christian Cemetery Council Ltd
References
- ↑ Kokumo, Goodie (10 June 2015). "Germans, SmartCity Innovation Hub promoters meet". Biztech Africa. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
- ↑ Uzebu, Christie. "Card Centre Invests in SIM Card plant in Nigeria" (April 2015). CP Africa. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
- ↑ Abayomi, Olabisi. "How National Identification Management System Will Stimulate Development" (28 October 2012). Osun Defender. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
- ↑ Salako, Taofeek (1 April 2015). "Chams grows profit by 145% as Aladekomo retires". The Nation Newspaper. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
- ↑ Nweke, Remmy (29 July 2011). "Aladekomo emerges as NCS President". Retrieved 11 June 2015.
- ↑ Sunrise, Channels TV. "LBS Alumni Association Set To Hold 20th President's Dinner". Channels Television. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
- ↑ Utor, Florence (4 April 2015). "How To Ensure Sustainable Water Supply, By DATA Foundation Boss". The Guardian Newspaper. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
- ↑ Ugwu, Peter (28 August 2014). "Chams Hosts Volunteer Corps @ ChamsCity". Nigeria Communications Weekly. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
- ↑ Bloomberg, Business. "Executive Profile, Demola Aladekomo". Retrieved 11 June 2015.
- ↑ Bellanaija (17 March 2014). "ChamsAccess Introduces Debit & Credit Card Solution to Eco, Fidelity, Stanbic IBTC & More Banks at Industry Event". Retrieved 11 June 2015.
- ↑ "ChamsMobile, Skye Bank to launch virtual Visa card in Nigeria". Vanguard Newspaper. 16 February 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2015.