Before I even say anything, let us go straight to the financials. Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO) is nothing short of intimidating.
Its third-quarter and half-year results show the following: total assets increased to N16.66 trillion, up from N14.80 trillion. Its PBT (9 months – Q3) recorded N900.8 billion, while PAT at Q3 2025 stood at N600.9 billion, with profit at N449.01 billion.
With these figures, one cannot help but admire this person. He has not only seized the institution by its collar but has aggressively driven it to a point where competitors are tired of chasing it and just bend down to look at them with mouths open and spittle dripping as GTCO continues to rev in performances that are more than human.
There are a lot of myths surrounding the person of Segun Agbaje—some say he is eccentric; others say he has ADHD, hence his impatience; others call him “wicked.” But what you cannot deny the young man is his Formula One–type drive for performance excellence.
The other day, a group of “miscreants” called a press conference and threw a lot of “dirty water” at his bank and his person.
Some observers thought that this was the end, but he elegantly sidestepped it and continued to push in his quest to make his firm a world-beater.
I have never met him, don’t know him, and don’t really like him. I don’t like the fact that he has been in that driving seat for close to 20 years, if not over.
I don’t like the fact that, from what I am hearing, he drives a hard leadership style.
I don’t like the fact that he just may not be giving his founders their true recognition.
But what I cannot deny at this point is his supercharged push toward performance excellence and, by extension, placing on the global stage an excellent Nigerian institution.
Watching him speak at the late Herbert Wigwe’s tribute, I marvelled.
His voice was squeaky, high-pitched, and he spoke with an accent—I could not quite place it, but it definitely wasn’t African, a cross between Indian, British, and Guyanese—but he delivered an excellent and very powerful speech.
His speech evoked emotion, laughter, and deep thought.
He delivered it extempore, showing the human side that a lot of people rarely see. I felt like hugging him but immediately pulled myself together and walked very proudly out of the venue, my pride intact, almost failing the “I Don’t Like Segun” fan club, of which I am an ex-officio member.
Segun has immortalized himself in the annals of Nigerian banking—nay, financial markets. He has taken the dreams of the founders to the stratosphere and, with his team, built a superstructure that has not only overtaken the seeming champions but has given them such a wide berth that there is really little hope of catching up.
He is supercharged to take it to the next level, which is a global leadership posture, and whether you like him or not, you really have no choice but to kneel at his feet in total obedience to the ruler.
Kai.
Segun Julius Agbaje is a Nigerian banker and entrepreneur, best known as the Group Chief Executive Officer of Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO), one of Africa’s leading financial services groups.
He was born in July 1964 in Lagos State, Nigeria. He attended St. Gregory’s College, Lagos, and St. Augustine Academy, Kent, England.
For his tertiary education, he attended the University of San Francisco, where he obtained a B.Sc. in Accountancy.
He joined Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) in 1991 as one of its pioneer staff and rose through the ranks to become Managing Director/CEO of GTBank in 2011.
He also serves on the Board of PepsiCo and is a member of the Mastercard Advisory Board for the Middle East and Africa.
He is the son of Chief Julius Kosebinu Agbaje, a banker, and Mrs. Margaret Olabisi Agbaje, and is married to Derin Agbaje.
Duke of Shomolu
Mr Agbaje’s entry into the Maddtimes power list Coffee table
Last modified: February 19, 2026
