Mr. Samson Olaleye can easily be described as an accounting and financial management guru. He is a corporate finance executive with sound professional and management background, offering over 25 years of experience building, leading and advising organizations through complex restructurings and business expansion within Nigeria and across West Africa.

He has strong experience with multinational corporations in the global foods business, oil and gas, property development and FMCG, just to mention a few. He possesses Securities and Exchange Commission expertise with good knowledge of mergers and acquisitions. He also has a good track record in structuring and negotiating transactions at favourable terms with commercial and investment banks.

Olaleye is the current Finance Director of Hello Products Ltd which is a member of the Jagal Group and which is based in Lagos. He has been in this role since October, 2016.

As Finance Director, he is saddled with the responsibility of leading the finance function of the company and he is a central resource for tax and treasury functions for the group. He also leads the strategic re-positioning of the group’s FMCG division for efficient cash flow management, brands profitability and significant portfolio expansion to new channels and markets with a view to achieving strategic fit for the overall group.

Effective March 2019, he was given the additional responsibility to lead the Procurement and Logistics function with emphasis on operational efficiency by engaging the right people and deploying appropriate technology. In all, Olaleye is responsible for Treasury, Risk and Governance, IT and Accounting functions at Hello Products Ltd.

Between February 2015 and July 2016, Mr. Samson Olaleye worked as Chief Finance Officer of the Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics Free Zone Enterprises.

Olaleye had a reasonably long and engaging professional career at Unilever Nigeria Plc from 1992 to 2010. Between 1992 and 2006, he worked as Credit Control Manager, Management Accountant, Factory Accountant (Soaps), Category Accountant (Home Care) and Category Accountant (Foods).

He was appointed to the position of Commercial Manager of Unilever Nigeria Plc in 2006 and in the year 2008, he was made the Financial Controller of this first–rate multinational in Nigeria.

On July 6, 2010, Samson Olaleye joined the services of Stanmark Cocoa Processing Company Ltd, a member of Cadbury West Africa (itself a subsidiary of Mondelez International USA) as Head of Finance. In this position, he was Director Designate reporting to the Managing Director.

At Stanmark, he was a member of the top management team which successfully turned around the fortune of the company. He led the Stanmark finance team in the merger with Cadbury Nigeria Plc as part of the West African Strategy to address efficiency improved liquidity and to position Cadbury West Africa for the next phase of its development and growth agenda. This was part of the parent company, Mondalez International’s strategic agenda for the region.

Samson Olaleye earned a Higher National Diploma in Accountancy from The Polytechnic Ibadan in 1987. In 2000, he was awarded an MBA in Marketing by Delta State University Abraka. He also had a Diploma in Computer/Information Systems Auditing from Enugu State University, Enugu.

He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and a Member of the Institute of Taxation of Nigeria. He is a Certified Information Systems Auditor – ISACA (CISA) 2001 and a Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) 2006. He is also a member of the Institute of Directors of Nigeria.

Olaleye’s career engagements have taken him outside the shores of Nigeria. For instance, he was on the International Management Exchange of Unilever between August and September 2003. He participated in the international audit of Unilever South East Africa comprising Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi. He has attended professional workshops in the UK and South Africa.

It is in recognition of his contribution to national development in the field of Accounting and Financial Management that Mr. Samson Olaleye was deemed worthy to be conferred with the Development in Nigeria Merit Award which is part of the 21st PSR National Awards.