The founding Chief Executive Officer of Precise Financial
Systems (PFS) Limited, Dr. Yele Okeremi has been named the Information
Technology (IT) Personality of the Year 2017 by the Nigeria Computer Society
(NCS), at its National Information Technology Merit Awards (NITMA), reports ITRealms.
Okeremi emerged via an online voting across NCS
membership and was unveiled the Honourable Minister of Communications, Barr.
Adebayo Shittu, accompanied by the President, Nigeria Computer Society (NCS),
Prof. Adesola Aderounmu, at the MUSON Centre, Onikan Lagos, Thursday night.
ITRealms gathered that while all the
nominee in the IT Personality of the Year 2017, including the Chief Software
Architect and Chairman, Programos Software Group, Mr. Amos Emmanuel,
Commissioner for Telecommunications & Information Technologies at ECOWAS, Dr.
Isaias Barreto da Rosa, Group Chief Executive Officer, eTranzact Global, Mr.
Valentine Obi, and Chief Strategy Officer & Cyber Security Leader, Deloitte
West Africa, Mr. Tope Aladenusi, were honoured for outstanding performances in
their careers among equals.
Also, ITRealms reports that Dr. Okeremi is a Microsoft
Certified Systems Engineer and holds a Doctor of Business Administration degree
from the Swiss Business School, Zurich, Switzerland having previously obtained
a Masters of Applied Business Research from the same institution. He also has a
Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science (With Economics) from the
Obafemi Awolowo University and a Masters in Business Administration. He is an
alumnus of the Wits Business School, Johannesburg South Africa and the
prestigious Harvard Business School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA where he
completed the Owner President Management Programme.
Prior to PFS, he had a
successful professional career at Inlaks Computers before he proceeded to
Industrial Bank Limited (Merchant Bankers) as a Programmer/Analyst. He was the
Chief Information Officer of Industrial Bank as at the time he left for Ventura
Savings and Loans Limited as the Head, Systems and Logistics department. He
held this position until 1994 when he founded PFS with Philip Ayeni, a
Chartered Accountant.
As a leading icon in
software development in Nigeria, Okeremi is also a member of the Presidential
Initiative for developing the software industry in Nigeria and has previously
served on the board of the Nigeria Information Technology Development Agency
(NITDA). He is the first Vice President of the Institute of Software
Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON) having previously served as Second Vice
President and Chairman Legal and Legislative Committee of the Institute.
As a technology startup
advocate supporting the promotion and funding of indigenous entrepreneurs,
twice, he served as the chairman of the Local Organizing Committee [LOC] for
Demo Africa in 2014 and 2015. Demo Africa is an initiative of the United States
Department of State and Lions@frica to promote innovation in the technology
field globally and connecting startup companies with investors.
Dr. Okeremi has a passion
for the development of intellectual capital of the black race and continues to
advocate his position that irrespective of the conditions of the black man, the
black man is by no means inferior in intelligence to anyone else in the world.
Chuks Egbune/GEE
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