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Adebayosoye Awonaike, Head of Data, Legal and General Capital

Adebayosoye Awonaike, Head of Data, Legal and General Capital

What has been your path to power?

I have had quite a journey with a National Diploma in Electrical Electronics Engineering, bachelors in Geology, masters in Geographical Information Systems with Remote Sensing and awaiting the conferment of my doctorate in Data Science degree later in 2022. Beyond the academic qualifications and as a teenager, I launched my working life as an electrical engineering associate in downstream oil and gas, then moved on to a sales and marketing role in telecommunications, banking associate in financial services, GIS technician in renewable energy, GIS analyst in highways asset management, and then asset data leader in highways asset management in a local authority.

At this point, I decided to focus on the “data” end of my skillset and became a data consultant in utilities, started my Doctorate in Data Science, became head of data service, then head of data and analytics, and now head of data in my current role at Legal and General Capital. However, outside of work and career, I am a community leader, I run a local job club to help long-term unemployed get back into work and I am an entrepreneur. My journey wouldn’t have been the same with the support of my family as a single and now, my wife and children.

What impact has the pandemic had on the role of data in your company/organisation?

Legal and General Capital has been successful year-on-year since its start-up as a division of L&G, and this is predicated by the capacity to make business decisions based on data-led insights. However, the pandemic is an accelerator elevating the value that we place on data and how we manage, store, and analyse it. The fact that team members are not just sitting next to each other in a traditional way and had to work remotely to deliver same services meant that we couldn’t continue to work the way we did.

Does data now have a seat at the table during strategic discussions? If not, what will it take to get it there?

Having a seat at the table is not really enough, at Legal and General Capital, data has always had a seat at the table during strategic discussions, however that has scaled over the past year and I’ll say data has an active seat at the table.

What are your key areas of focus for data and analytics in 2022?

In 2022, our areas of focus include automation of data-centric processes, developing a single view of data, creating accurate and clear reporting, providing our teams with actionable insights, upskilling our teams in preparation for self-service reporting and advanced analytics to support our investment teams.

Tell us what leadership means to you in the context of your role as a senior data leader.

In the context of my role as a senior data leader, leadership is service to people and this can be individuals, teams or organisations. More so, service here is not about what I think people need or want but what they have found a way to communicate as a need or want. When you understand what people need or want and practically provide solutions to those, you are a leader. This simply what I do and live for.

What key skills or attributes do you consider have contributed to your success in this role?

Number one for me is having a vision and a clear purpose which formed through a clear understanding of business priorities. Beyond that, is the courage to take the organisation on a journey through unexplored paths. I am also a thinker and dreamer and I really think these have made a significant contribution to my success in my current role as head of data at Legal and General Capital. Finally, building relationships is essential as it is required to unlock some doors.

How did you develop – and continue to develop – these skills or attributes?

As stated in “my path to power”, my journey shows continuous learning to sharpen my technical know-how and relevance. I am quite a shy person and to overcome that as a leader I now accept invitations to speak at conferences, record podcasts and literally put myself forward more than I have ever done. I also believe in mentorship, so I ensure that I engage with my professional mentor as frequently as possible as this is critical to my continuous development. Every second I invest in speaking and listening to what my mentor has to say is invaluable because they correct, challenge, encourage, enlighten and build me.

Is the data tech you have keeping pace with your goals and requirements? Are your providers leading or lagging behind your demands?

We have deployed industry standard data technologies at Legal and General Capital that wholly enable our ambitions as leaders in our industry. Our providers are leaders in their own right and have made it their business to enable the fulfillment of our ambitious goals as an organisation.

Adebayosoye Awonaike
has been included in:

100 Brands 2022 (EMEA)

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Adebayosoye Awonaike, Head of Data, Legal and General Capital

Join our membership network of over 250 global senior data and AI leaders.

The trusted global collaboration and intelligence platform for data leaders.

Join our membership network of over 250
global senior data and AI leaders.