THE H.C. BONUM CHRONICLE
A Decade of Purpose, Partnerships and People Development
PREFACE — THE JOURNEY OF BECOMING
Every journey begins with a question.
Ours began with what if?
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What if leadership could be more than hierarchy — what if it became a catalyst for growth, humanity, and excellence across Africa?
What if culture could be measured not by slogans on walls but by energy in teams?
What if learning could move from classrooms to boardrooms, from compliance to transformation?
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In the decade since we first asked those questions, H.C. Bonum has become both an answer and a continuing inquiry.
We have walked with leaders as they reimagined what it means to lead.
We have stood with organizations as they redefined what it means to thrive.
And we have learned — always — that the human capacity to grow, adapt, and inspire remains our greatest resource.
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From a single conversation between two visionaries to over a hundred organizations across industries and borders, our story is one of partnership and purpose.
Each year taught us something new — about courage, creativity, systems, influence, and the quiet power of trust.
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And as we celebrate ten years of building leaders and shaping organizations, we know this is not an ending, but a deep breath before the next ascent.
This is our chronicle — the story of how questions became conviction, and conviction became change.
This is The H.C. Bonum Chronicle: A Decade of Purpose, Partnerships and People Development.
2012-2014
SEEDS OF POSSIBILITY
Before there was a company, there was a conviction.
Between 2012 and 2014, two visionaries — Lanre and Tayo — began shaping a shared dream: to build leaders who could transform organizations from the inside out.
Those early years were filled with collaboration and courage — pilot workshops, creative retreats, and experiments that fused insight with imagination. They weren’t just exploring what leadership meant; they were redefining how it could feel.
They supported clients such as Sahara Group, Fidson, Access Bank, First Bank of Nigeria, Nigerian Bottling Company, Egbin Power and CfCStanbic (Kenya & Uganda), Interactive CT and InfoWARE in developing self and people leaders through their flagship programs - Self-Management, Emerging Leaders, Achieving Higher Levels of Productivity and Business Productivity Tools (Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Outlook).
They partnered with Fidson Healthcare in 2013 to launch their Emerging Leaders Program and to facilitate their Sales Conference in Dubai in 2014. That year, they also worked with Promasidor Nigeria to launch their Annual Sales Conference.
Here, the Bonum philosophy took root: that growth is not an event, but a journey — and leadership is its most powerful expression.
Here we laid the foundation for relationships that would span the decade.
2015
BIRTH OF A VISION
2015 was the year of beginnings, when “They” became “We”.
The dream found form as H.C. Bonum and officially came to life — not as a training firm, but as a movement for leadership transformation.
We deepened relationships with our existing clients and added new clients such as Sanofi, APM Terminals and UAP (Kenya). We expanded into integrated Graduate Management Trainee and Leadership Development programs, and we created bespoke programs like HR Analytics and Clinical Execution to meet the unique needs of clients.
Our immersive corporate retreat experience gained popularity and resulted in interdepartmental referrals that helped to cement our reputation as world-class meeting facilitators.
We didn’t set out to be the biggest; we set out to be meaningful.
And from the start, that made all the difference.
2016
PARTNERSHIPS THAT SHAPE TOMORROW
2016 was the year of partnership and expansion.
We grew beyond facilitation into strategic capability-building, working across sectors — energy, finance, healthcare, FMCG, and telecoms — with existing clients and new clients such as Seplat, Asharami, ATC, FrieslandCampina WAMCO, Mainstream Energy Solutions Ltd, Stanbic IBTC, NSIA and Airfrance KLM.
Signature programs like Discovering Leadership Effectiveness, Personal Effectiveness, Achieving Higher Levels of Productivity and Strategic Meeting Facilitation — became vehicles for mindset change, goal alignment, and organizational cohesion.
We launched a major coaching program for FrieslandCampina WAMCO, designed a multi-level leadership program for Seplat, and laid the foundation for our Team Effectiveness Program.
2016 marked our shift from being a training provider to becoming a strategic capability partner — shaping culture, performance, and leadership readiness for the future.
2017
CREATIVITY IN MOTION
2017 was a year of momentum and imagination.
We learned that transformation doesn’t have to feel heavy — that creativity could make learning memorable and meaningful.
We served 42 unique clients, deepening ties with Fidson, Sahara Group, Seplat, Promasidor,— creating leadership journeys that moved beyond skill-building to behavioral and cultural transformation. We also supported HR Teams in UAP Old Mutual in Kenya and Standard Bank Malawi.
Besides our flagship programs, we delivered an iconic Airline Themed Sales Conference, a Young Engineers Program for early career professionals, a 360 Degree Feedback Survey for Managers, a Trusted Business Partner Program to support post-merger integration and a Quarterly Business Accountability Review to enable organizations define and track their corporate goals.
By making learning come alive, we began to unlock what would become our enduring advantage — our ability to connect hearts and systems in equal measure.
On a lighter note, we won the Dancing and CEO competitions at the Unofficial Christmas Party.
2018
BUILDING TEAMS, BUILDING FUTURES
2018 was the year of scale — deeper partnerships, powerful programs. New clients joined through referrals - ENYO, Coronation Merchant Bank, Diageo, Enyo, Bank of Industry, Lafarge, Lekoil, Merristem and Enabling Business Environment Secretariat (EBES).
We rolled out 13 cohorts of a Driving Effective Productivity and Business Results Program for StanbicIBTC, 4 cohorts of our Self-Leadership Program for Seplat and 3 cohorts of Enhancing Personal Awareness & Relationship Building Skills Program for Coronation Merchant Bank.
We delivered a multi-session leadership development program ENYO and Sales Excellence Programs for Digital Jewels Limited and AxaMansard. Our Team Effectiveness Program became more sought after and extended into Leadership Team Effectiveness.
2018 was the year we moved from teaching leadership to building organizational futures. We were no longer just a voice in the room — we were becoming part of the room itself.
2019
RAISING THE BAR IN LEADERSHIP
By 2019, trust became our greatest currency.
We developed leaders at all levels — from front-line managers to executives — through programs like MESL’s Extended Leadership Development Program, LATC’s Advanced Leadership Program, MTN’s Transformational Leadership Program and Enyo’s Analyst Development Program.
New partnerships included First Hydrocarbon, Google, NISL, Prudential Zenith Insurance, TGI, TSL and Zenith Insurance.
2019 became the year of alignment — where leadership bridged ambition and achievement, and where purpose met performance.
2020
RESILIENCE AND REINVENTION
Then came the storm.
The pandemic tested everything — our clients, our courage, our craft.
But adversity revealed agility.
We pivoted within weeks to a 100% virtual team, leveraging virtual collaboration platforms, strengthening virtual facilitation capabilities and launching the widely lauded Work From Home Survey.
Despite the global standstill, we ran MESL’s inaugural Graduate Management Trainee Program, Fidson’s Emerging Leaders Program 2, the second cohort of Enyo Analyst Program and a CEO Transition Strategy Management Program.
New partnerships included Tigerlogic, Swipha, Schneider Electric, UREL, AA&R, AIM, Janssen and WAGL, as well as our first US client, Transmedics.
We added another Insights Licensed Practitioner to the team and we helped organizations stay human, resilient, and effective — turning crisis into opportunity through leadership, empathy, and reinvention.
2021
LAUNCHING NEW FRONTIERS
2021 was the bridge between survival and strength.
Clients focused on rebuilding culture and capability in a hybrid world.
We expanded our portfolio with Central Bank of Nigeria, FanMilk Plc, Ikeja Marriot Hotel, Oake Legal, Sunlink Energy and Uhuru Investment Partners.
We launched self-paced e-Learning programs: Emotional Intelligence- Key to Personal Effectiveness and Maximizing Your Value Through Teamwork and Collaboration.
We also created and introduced our PERI Performance Management Framework— a model that supports leaders and their team members in having performance focused conversations routinely throughout the year.
2021 reminder us that purpose is the most renewable source of energy there is.
2022
ANCHORED IN TRUST
By 2022, H.C. Bonum stood on the strength of trusted partnerships.
We deepened relationships and welcomed new clients such as AGPC, Coronation Insurance, Cornerstone Insurance, Ecobank, Elektron, Ardova, IHS, Lekki Freeport Terminal, ROAM Africa, Shell, Taxaide, Unilever and United Capital.
We facilitated Vision Alignment Workshops for Ecobank and Ardova, launched Sahara’s Line Manager Capability Program, and delivered major coaching engagements for Unilever. Each engagement was more than a project — it was a shared journey toward culture, clarity, and connection.
2022 proved that impact grows not from reach, but from relationship.
2023
INVESTING IN THE NEXT GENERATION
2023 turned our gaze toward the future.
We continued developing the young leaders — through initiatives like the global 12-month ISAP Accelerate Program, Fidson’s 9-month Generation Next Leadership Program and Mainstream Energy Solution’s Management Trainee Program. By shaping tomorrow’s workforce, we invested in the enduring impact of leadership that multiplies over decades.
We rolled out the Optimizing Performance Management Program for Managers in IHS in Lagos and Cameroon and welcomed clients like Japan Tobacco International (JTI), Newcross Petroleum Ltd, Pan Ocean, So Energy, Sterling Bank, Trojan Estates Ltd, ExxonMobil Grand Cereal to our client portfolio.
2023 was the year we stopped preparing for the future — and started building it.
2024
EXPANDING ACROSS BORDERS
2024 marked expansion — in geography, influence, and purpose.
We took our voice across Africa, facilitating self-discovery programs in Ghana, Kenya, and Côte d’Ivoire, Benin and Cameroon. We continued to partner with long-term clients like ARM, ATC, Fidson, EBES, MESL, Sahara Group, Seplat Energy and StanbicIBTC.
Referrals brought new relationships with Africa Global Logistics, Elcrest E&P, Golden Fertilizer, Heifer, HEOSL, Kuker Holdings, Leadway Assurance, Prudent Energy, Skystone, Tangerine and WWCVL.
Notable engagements included Competency Management Program for Managers and facilitating Development Centres for clients in Lagos and Cameroon.
2024 was proof that our philosophy travels well — because people everywhere seek meaning, mastery, and connection.
2025
A DECADE OF STRENGTH
Ten years — and the story continues.
2025 marks not an ending, but the beginning of our next ascent. A new era of convergence — leadership, culture, data, and humanity woven into one fabric of transformation.
With partners like MESL, Sahara Group, Seplat Energy, Africa Global Logistics, First Independent Power Limited, HEOSL, Leadway Assurance and others, we are helping organizations embed leadership and culture as daily disciplines — not events.
A decade in, we remain students of possibility — learning, listening, and leading with humility and hope.
2025 is the year of convergence — where purpose, partnership, and performance meet.
And as we look to the next decade, we know: the best is yet to build.
EPILOGUE - THE NEXT HORIZON
Our story is not about growth alone; it is about becoming.
Ten years have shown us that transformation is not a product — it is a promise, renewed with every leader we develop and every culture we help shape.
We remain what we have always been: students of leadership, believers in people, and architects of possibility.
The next decade will demand more courage, creativity, and connection than ever before.
But we know this much: the future belongs to those who lead with purpose and build with heart.
Here’s to the next chapter — to purpose that endures, partnerships that multiply, and leaders yet to rise.
Here’s to H.C. Bonum — and to the journey still unfolding.