Tayo Aderinokun
Birdslip
Tayo was born in 1955. His father was a technician with the Nigerian Railway Corporation. Tayo attended the Baptist Day School in Kano. Due to the Civil War in Nigeria however, His parents had to relocate to Lagos.
In Lagos, Tayo continued his education at Surulere Baptist School and later, St. Gregory’s Boys College. As a teenager, Tayo became friends with Fola Adeola. A friendship that will prove vital to his successful career.
Tayo studied Business Administration at the University of Lagos. He then proceeded to obtain his MBA from the University of California, Los Angeles. On arrival back in Nigeria, Tayo joined Continental Merchant Bank, where he would once again team up with his childhood friend, Fola Adeola. This time, as a colleague in Continental Merchant Bank.
In 1986, Fola lived in Ikoyi. Ikoyi, at the time, had very few barbing salons. Almost everyone who wanted to have a haircut had to drive to the mainland. Fola and Tayo decided to set up one of the first barbing salons in Ikoyi, Finishing Touches Barbing Salon, Ikoyi. This would mark the beginning of their partnerships.
On the 1st of August, 1990, Fola and Tayo obtained from the Federal Ministry of Finance a license to operate a commercial bank in Nigeria.
Guaranty Trust Bank was born.
GTBank is currently Nigeria's second largest bank with a market capitalization of nearly N800 Billion.
Tayo Aderinokun was considered a genius. As the managing director of Gtbank for 21 years, Tayo was responsible for most of Nigeria’s banking innovations that we take for granted today.
Tayo was often compared to Steve Jobs because of his creativity, eye for design and winning ideas. Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, a bank established in 1990, remains one of Nigeria’s biggest and most innovative banks.
Unfortunately, Tayo Aderinokun passed on suddenly in 2011, at the age of 56, due to an illness caused by cancer. Interestingly, Steve Jobs was also born in the year 1955, he died in the year 2011, and his cause of death was also cancer.
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