New dawn at Mandilas as CEO David Edwards retires
Ola Debayo-Doherty, the new group chief executive officer (GCEO) of Mandillas group has assured its corporate and individual customers that the Mandilas group are committed to taking the company to its zenith in the years ahead.
Ola Debayo-Doherty who made this declaration at the formal send-forth ceremony of David Edwards, the former group general manager and chief executive officer of Mandilas group recently also assured that the solid foundation laid by the outgone managing director will be sustained and advanced to achieve greater heights.
Edwrads joined Mandilas in 2005 as finance development manager, and later, in 2007, became the group general manager, which was equivalent to the position of Managing Director which he occupied till his retirement.
She told friends, associates and customers present at the event that, the retiring Edwards deserved to be celebrated for his commendable leadership which spanned a total of 13 years and recalled his contribution to reinforcing the reputation of the group as the provider of quality service to customers, which she said, had become the foundation upon which its core value stands.
On his part, Gregory Ezeokafor, a director with the Mandilas group, recalled that Edwards considered tie and long-sleeve shirts “distractions,” describing him as a man who set goals and worked with his subordinates to ensure the goals were achieved.
In Gregory Ezeokafor’s submission,: “With solid international experience and knowledge, he reinforced the age-old policy of excellence and customer satisfaction established by the visionary founder of the company, John B. Mandilas. With his financial background, he made some innovations, especially as regards Information Technology. Under Edwards’ charge, the company won laurels within the industry despite the challenging times.”
Among the awards that came up for mention were those earned repeatedly by one of the group’s most popular divisions, Mandilas Motors, as the best marketer and after-sales provider at the annual Toyota Nigeria Limited awards ceremony.
For over 70 years, the Mandilas group has become a household name in Nigeria, and comprises of airconditioning, automotive, leasing and property divisions.
After many years of being one of the auto sector’s foremost marketers and after-sales providers following years of making Peugeot and Volkswagen {particularly the Beetle}, Mandilas Motors became an accredited Toyota dealer in 2003.
The conglomerate is one of the Toyota accredited dealers in 2003 and presently one of the frontline dealers in the country that has won consistently several awards in various dealership categories of the annual Toyota Nigeria Awards in the past 11 years.
Among the guests that present at the send-off get-together for David Edwards and his wife are Kunle Ade-Ojo, managing director, Henry Ojuoko; Head of Dealer Development and Bukunola Ogunnusi, public relations/advert manager, all of Toyota Nigeria Limited (TNL).
It would be recalled that recently, Kemi Koyejo, was appointed operations manager as part of a move to further strengthen the automotive division. Company sources who spoke on the basis of hidden identity said, the group is excited to have the new operations manager as she would bring her wealth of experience in driving the auto sales and marketing activities for its auto division.