Group CEO of Hollard Ghana, Patience Akyianu, has been named the Outstanding Woman CEO of the Decade at the just ended 12th Ghana Entrepreneur and Corporate Executive Awards 2022 held at Movenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra last Saturday.

The annual awards ceremony held under the theme: ‘Entrepreneurship in the Digital Era’ sought to honour corporate and businesspeople for their significant and positive impact on society.

Patience is an award-winning Chief Executive, currently the Group Chief Executive Officer of Hollard Ghana Holdings, a subsidiary of Hollard International - South Africa, and a director on both boards of the subsidiaries, Hollard Insurance Ghana, and Hollard Life Assurance Ghana.

Before this, she was the first Ghanaian woman to be the Managing Director of Barclays in Ghana, now Absa Bank Ghana. Patience is also a solid finance professional and banker with over 26 years of experience in finance, banking, and insurance.

Commenting on the recognition, the Group CEO of Hollard Ghana, Patience Akyianu, expressed her gratitude to God and the jury of the Ghana Entrepreneur and Corporate Executive Awards board for the honour done to her.

She said: “I am excited to be acknowledged at this prestigious awards ceremony. It’s been a remarkable journey for me. Thank you to the Almighty God for the opportunity to serve great companies. I owe who I am, to God, my family, especially my husband, Lawyer Kwame Akyianu for his immense support of my career growth. I do not take your support for granted”.

“To thrive as a successful female leader, you need to have a team that forges on with a binding purpose. To my able management and staff of Hollard Ghana, I say thank you.

"It is because of you that Hollard Ghana is an award-winning and vibrant insurance company. Your resilience is so infectious, and it's that spark that sets us apart as the country’s favourite insurer".

“Insurance is a social enabler, and as a leader in this industry, we pledge to continue to lead the good fight by propagating insurance awareness in the country.

"This, we believe, will help increase insurance penetration in the country. I dedicate this win to my family and the entire staff of Hollard Ghana, affectionately called Hollardites, she added.”

Patience is known for her tremendous leadership skills and execution capabilities. She has been recognized with prestigious awards like African Female Business Leader of the Year-2021, Marketing Woman of the Year -2019, Outstanding Group CEO of the Year- 2019, etc.

She is a certified professional accountant and a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana.

She is also on the board of Ecobank Ghana Limited and Hubtel Ghana and a founding member of both the Executive Women Network and the International Women’s Forum, Ghana.