Winner. Business Leader of the Year 2021

Walton Ekundayo Gilpin

Position: CEO/Managing Director
Organization: Rokel Commercial Bank
Country: Sierra Leone
Economic/Business Sector: Financials / Banking & Investment Services

Dr. Walton Ekundayo Gilpin holds graduate degrees and professional qualifications in economics, international relations, finance, public policy and debt management. He is well-known for his profound contribution to the business world and the leadership role that he has been playing in several institutions in the academic, business, humanitarian and religious fields. He is a seasoned and internationally recognized financial expert with over 30 years of experience managing business houses, complex policies and processes in banking and banking-related institutions in Africa, Europe, South Pacific, Caribbean, and USA.

Previously, Dr. Gilpin was an economist at the Bank of Sierra Leone, then a team leader and advisor to the Commonwealth Secretariat in the United Kingdom, where he served as an international civil servant leading in-country missions and managing significant financial initiatives that formed the basis of effective and sustainable reform strategies in more than 38 countries. In this capacity, Dr. Ekundayo Gilpin led technical and budget impacting missions that helped strengthen the technical and management capacity of business leaders, financial and banking sector professionals by emphasizing approaches and skillsets that bode well for profit orientation, institutional transformation and enduring change.

Dr. Gilpin's goal-oriented philosophy has been a critical hallmark of his career and this has benefitted many countries, particularly his home country, Sierra Leone in diverse ways – in leadership, business, finance, and private banking, education, humanitarian work, religion, as well as in public sector support. He has provided technical input into complex interactions with national and international players, such as the Bank of Sierra Leone, Ministry of Finance, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Crown Agents, UNDP, but to name a few. Dr. Gilpin has been instrumental in financial research analysis having worked in Research and International Financial Departments of reputable institutions. His capacity building skills were significantly useful in designing and implementing training modules in financial analysis for public sector officials in government and private sector.

In private practice, Dr. Gilpin has served as a profit-oriented result-based consultant in public finance, risk management, liquidity management, bank-sovereign analysis, fiscal risk and financial programming. He has worked on projects for reputable organizations such as the IMF, World Bank, African Development Bank, West African Institute for Finance and Economic Management, Macroeconomic and Financial Management Institute, Crown Agents, and the United Nations Development Program.

Furthermore, Dr. Gilpin contributed to critical thinking and intellectual development in Sierra Leone’s banking, public finance and social sector through proactive work, reports and publications. His commitment to capacity building is to mentorship and professional development in Sierra Leone. He is also a motivational speaker and Ambassador for several initiatives to develop young adults and professionals.

Dr. Gilpin continues to be a modern-day inspiration for Sierra Leone in particular and Africa in general. His contribution to leadership and capacity building through the educational TV program, Economic Forum and humanitarian work have not gone unnoticed. Dr. Gilpin has been working towards breaking the vicious cycle of debt and deficit by taking a proactive and scientific approach to banking and finance in Sierra Leone and proving a leadership role through this effort.

Having over 30 years of international professional experience, Dr. Walton Ekundayo Gilpin returned to Sierra Leone and managed to change the landscape of banking and increase the profitability of the industry, thereby triggering economic growth. In November 2017, he joined the Afro Champions Initiative, led by notable African leaders in politics and business. Since taking over the reins of office at Rokel Commercial Bank (RCBank) in July 2017, Dr. Gilpin turned the Bank into a profitmaking, resilient and viable institution, which is now enviably within the top profitable banks. Prior to his taking up the post of CEO, the Bank had a financial loss position, and was about to be liquidated. In 3 years, the profit grew by over two thousand (2000) %, from Le 1.5 billion to Le 60 billion in two years. Since his assumption, RCBank has won several international and local awards on a wide range of excellence platforms.

Among other recent achievements:

• Introduced a Digitization concept for the Bank, through a land-breaking mobile application called Rokel Sim Korpor

• Introduced Saturday Banking in the community at large and taking banking to the rural poor through community initiatives

• Championed SME intervention through RCBank

• Conducted Financial Literacy Campaigns all over the country

• Introduced innovative Banking and enhanced customer experience

• Conducted Motivational and Inspirational talks on local TV channels

• Carried out humanitarian work in less advantaged communities in Sierra Leone

• Board Chairman in a leading academic institution called the Prince of Wales Secondary School - the premier Government Secondary School in Sierra Leone

• Winner of several national and international awards, including one of the highest national awards, Commander of the Order of the Rokel.