NKECHI NAECHE- ESEZOBOR– The Board of Directors, Royal Exchange Prudential Life Plc, a specialist Life Assurance company, has officially announced the appointments of Polycarp Didam, as its new Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer.
The company also announced the appointment of Dr. Agboola Omoniyi Oladipupo, as its Executive Director, Commerical.
According to the company both appointments have since been approved by the National Insurance Commission, (NAICOM).
Polycarp is a seasoned Chartered Insurer with over 35 years of experience in technical, broking, marketing, and management within the insurance industry.
He began his career at Afribank Insurance Brokers in the 1990s as Regional Manager, Northeast, before joining IGI Kaduna as Branch Manager in 1993.
He later became Regional Director, North, overseeing operations across the northern region and Abuja from 1993 to 2004.
He then joined Guaranty Trust Assurance as Regional Director, North, rising to Assistant General Manager before leaving in 2013 to become MD/CEO of Guinea Insurance PLC.
He later served as MD/CEO at Fin Insurance Co. Ltd until 2017 and at Veritas Kapital Assurance PLC from 2017 to 2019.
He has now been appointed MD/CEO of Royal Exchange Prudential Life PLC by the company’s new board. Having obtained the necessary “No Objection” approval from NAICOM, he has assumed office, bringing his extensive expertise to drive transformation and reposition the company for growth.
Polycarp is an alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, the University of Lagos, and the prestigious Lagos Business School.
While Dr. Agboola is a Chartered Insurance Practitioner, Registered Insurance Broker, Certified Microfinance Banker, Chartered Company Secretary, and Corporate Governance Professional.
With 27 years of industry experience, he has worked in three insurance companies and three registered insurance brokers, excelling in underwriting, branch operations, and leadership roles.
As MD/CEO of Armstrong Insurance Brokers, he recapitalized the company, reversed financial losses, and established new business units, leaving a legacy of profitability and stability.
Prior to this, he was COO at Golden Shield Insurance Brokers, a subsidiary of ASCON Oil, where he drove significant revenue growth and operational expansion.
He also pioneered innovative credit life insurance products while serving on the loan and credit committee of Chase Microfinance Bank.
He has made notable contributions to insurance education, serving as a Subject Matter Expert with the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM), a lead faculty member at NCRIB, a facilitator at Lagos Business School, and an examiner at various institutions.
He was awarded Best Male Participant at the 2016 International Reinsurance Seminar and currently leads a Pan-African reinsurance group.
In 2019, he joined Linkage Assurance PLC as National Branch Marketing Coordinator, overseeing 13 branches and achieving a 200% growth in Gross Premium Written within his first year.
His tenure led to sustained branch-wide transformation, improved customer satisfaction, and increased professional certifications among staff.
He holds a PhD specializing in Microinsurance for MSMEs, two master’s degrees, and three undergraduate degrees from institutions including Yaba College of Technology, the University of Lagos, and Ladoke Akintola University of Technology.
A transformational leader, he has spearheaded three major business turnarounds in the insurance sector.
He is the author of Microinsurance, Entrepreneurship, and National Development, an award-winning textbook, and a contributing author to Modern Insurance Practice.
His academic research is widely published in high-ranking journals. In recognition of his contributions, he was the second runner-up in the 2023 African Insurance Organization (AIO) Book Award Competition.
Agboola currently serves as the Executive Director (Commercial) at Royal Exchange Prudential Life Plc.
