Funmi Ekundayo is an Alumna of the Harvard Business School. Funmi holds a Bachelor of Law degree and Master of Laws degree from the University of Lagos Nigeria. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN) where she also serves as a member of the Governing Council. Funmi is the Immediate Past President and Chairman of the Governing Council of ICSAN (2023-2025), the first female to hold the position in over 57 years of the Institute’s history. During her tenure as President, Funmi laid a solid foundation of unprecedented growth, impact and enduring legacies for ICSAN.
With over 29 years working experience, Funmi began her career with the Law Firm of Bentley, Edu & Co (in association with IRVING & BONNAR), where she spent close to a decade in Law practice. Thereafter, she progressed her career in the capital markets and financial services sector, working at different times at Sterling Asset Management & Trustees Limited, United Capital Trustees Limited and STL Trustees Limited from where she was head-hunted as Assistant General Manager, Business Development to reposition STL Trustees’ business development trajectory, and rose through the ranks to become the MD/CEO of the Company.
Funmi has distinguished herself in her area of core competence as a seasoned capital market practitioner and Trust specialist engaging in the structuring of complex Legal, Financial and Trust instruments. Under Funmi’s leadership, STL Trustees has been repositioned into one of the leading Trust Companies in Nigeria. Currently, the Company has successfully evolved into a full-fledged Investment Banking Firm comprising of Trusteeship, Asset Management and Investment Banking businesses and Funmi serves as the Group Managing Director of the group entity, STL Capital Group Limited.
Funmi is a Past President of the Association of Corporate Trustees of Nigeria. At different times, Funmi served as the Honorary Treasurer and Vice President of the Corporate Secretaries International Association (CSIA). Funmi is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria; Chartered Institute of Directors; Institute of Investment Advisers and Portfolio Managers; Association of Enterprise Risk Management Professionals. She is an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers and the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI), the global professional body for Securities & Investment practitioners.
Funmi is an Alumna of the Lagos Business School (Chief Executive Programme) and the IESE Business School, Barcelona, Spain. At the national level, Funmi served as a Non-Executive Board member of the National Investor Protection Fund; she also served as a member of the National Savings Strategy Scheme; while at the Sub-National level, Funmi served on the Technical Committee of the Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority. Funmi is the Publicity Director of the Women in Finance Nigeria (WIFng), an association focused on promoting financial empowerment and financial literacy for women. Funmi currently sits on the Board of some reputable Corporate Entities in Non-Executive capacity.
As far as laurels go, Funmi has been widely recognized as a CEO who has managed the STL Trustees brand admirably to the point of industry reputation as a first-ranking leader in the Trusteeship industry in Nigeria with several industry validations and awards. Funmi champions excellence amongst CEOs in the corporate Trust business in Nigeria and promotes high professional and Corporate Governance standards in her industry and beyond. She has attended several impactful training courses locally and internationally on leadership, finance, innovation, corporate governance, and strategy.