Mr. Olutayo Ayodeji Phillips is a seasoned and resourceful Chartered Accountant, Financial Expert, Certified Forensic Auditor, Management Consultant, and industrialist with over 38 years of post-qualification experience. His expertise spans diverse sectors of the economy, including both private and public sectors, information technology, manufacturing and business advisory services. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN). He is also a member of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) and the Nigerian Institute of Management (Chartered).
He is an alumnus of the Polytechnic, Ibadan, where he studied accountancy, and the University of Lagos, where he received his Master’s degree in Business Administration.
Mr. Phillips began his rewarding career in both external and internal audits, working as a Senior Internal Audit Manager with UTC Plc, a Swiss multinational conglomerate with a presence in all major sectors of the economy and branches in all states of the federation.
He then joined Rank Xerox (now Xerox H.S. Nigeria), a British-American multinational, as a Senior Accountant. Through hard work and dedication, he rose to become the Financial Controller and Executive Director of Finance and Administration. He retired as the Acting Managing Director/CEO of the company, overseeing operations in Nigeria and Ghana after nearly two decades of service.
Mr. Phillips subsequently became the pioneer Managing Director/CEO of Systems Derivatives Limited, an information technology-based company with a strong presence in educational software, where he also served as Vice Chairman of the Board.
He served on the Governing Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) for 12 years and amongst others held the position of Honorary Treasurer of the institute. He chaired and implemented the World Bank Grant Twinning arrangement and the harmonization of the Accounting Technician Scheme in West Africa. He also served on the Governing Board of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN).
Mr. Phillips currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ajila Value Adding Ventures.