Blessed from the Womb – Atinuke Kolade’s Story

By Bolanle Omisore

When she breezed into Heirs Holdings last October, Atinuke Kolade was clearly no stranger to the nuances of working closely the Chairman – she hit the ground running. But she had an advantage.

HOW THEY MET

“Caxton-Martins and Adepetun, I managed Boards, so I would request to meet my Chairman before a meeting and I would prep them,” Atinuke said. “I would tell you that these are the action items that arose from the last meeting, these are the questions that I would like for you to ask – not because it hasn’t been followed through on, but because I want your Board to understand that nothing gets past you.”

And that was how Atinuke and TOE crossed paths as she had been prepping him for two and a half years for Board meetings for a company on whose board he sits.

Today, as the Special Assistant to the Chairman, Atinuke maintains the same functional focus, helping manage governance and company secretarial issues.

“I wear two caps – governance for group integration, and company secretarial to ensure the continuity of the institution,” she said. “The vision of the principal should survive him so, we’re institutionalizing that vision to solidify it on here at HH and drive it across the Group.”

As a lawyer, it’s a natural fit for her, but it also matches her personality.

“I see things in grids, it’s the way I am, it’s me,” she said. “I can identify detail, I see details very clearly and I’m patient, persistent, and anal enough to follow-through on those details to make sure everything gets closed.”

Sometimes closing things means pushing people and she’s experienced with that too. She’s consistent in her follow-throughs, sometimes to the chagrin of those on the receiving end of her emails.

But while Atinuke is a woman to reckon with, she isn’t your typical pit bull.

“She is such an interesting contradiction,” said Bola Atta, Head of MCC for UBA Africa. “Because while on one hand she gives these infinite, endless hugs and is always cheerful and sweet and so helpful, on the other, she is a person that refuses to take no for an answer and can be very dogged in delivering.”

Atinuke recognizes the potential impact of that dogged determination.

“To be a person that is able to draw the line and is able to bark when necessary and then still fix the relationship when necessary, is to be conscious about your interpersonal relationships in the workplace and the need to keep them good,’ said Atinuke. “You have to get people comfortable with you first; so that when you come back to fix it, they are okay.”

She tries to get people comfortable through her endless show of affection which actually got Maryamu Aminu uncomfortable enough to report her to HR(albeit playfully) for being too caring.

“I really love people. I like to hug people. I hug Maryamu every morning even though she initially didn’t like it, she is now very used to it. Bola Atta was also initially skeptical of my constant hugs and actually told me once to decist from hugging her, to which my response was to poke at her instead. This made her laugh and warm up. She now hugs me every time I see her, before I even get to do so’

THE FUTURE

Atinuke is here for the long haul. “I have lots of energy. I am motivated and unstoppable’ she says, brimming with enthusiasm and warmth.