Introducing Alitam chairman, Sir Ken Olisa.
He is Lord Lieutenant of London, the Queen’s eyes and ears in the capital, and a shining light of business brilliance and philanthropy in the UK – for which he earnt a knighthood in 2018. The hiring of Sir Ken is a real coup for Alitam founder Feisal Nahaboo. “If one needs confirmation of our future success, look no further than Sir Ken,” says Feisal. “He has so much integrity, a phenomenal work ethic and a deep experience of the AIM and FTSE worlds.”
Outstanding achievements
From humble beginnings, Sir Ken quickly rose to outrank many others in his career. He founded two technology merchant banks, including the AIM-listed Interregnum. Sir Ken brings unparalleled AIM experience to the Alitam Board, having been involved with AIM since its inception in 1995. As Sir Ken says, “Feisal’s vision for Alitam hit the AIM bullseye! The Alitam business model is made for AIM and AIM is made for Alitam.”
As Director of Reuters he was the first British-born black man to serve as a Director of a FTSE100 company. Sir Ken’s experience at Reuters (and before that at IBM and Wang Laboratories) is instrumental in helping Alitam deploy cutting-edge technologies to meet business and customer challenges. In 2016 he was named Number 1 in the Powerlist’s roster of the UK’s most influential black people. Sir Ken is currently a non-exec board member of Huawei, a business that’s been challenging Apple in global smartphone sales.
A businessman who goes beyond
A passionate believer in social inclusion, Sir Ken is uniquely placed to preside over the Alitam multidisciplinary management team. He is a firm advocate of community cohesion, and keenly supports a wide array of charities and initiatives. He is President of Thames Reach, a charity working to shelter and resettle the homeless; Chair of the Shaw Trust, supporting the disabled and chronically unemployed to find work; founding Chair of the Aleto Foundation, supporting future leaders from tough reality backgrounds; a former Governor of the Peabody Trust; and a former Non-Executive Director of the West Lambeth NHS Trust. In 2019 he became President of London Youth, a member network of 450+ community youth organisations working across London, supporting tens of thousands of young Londoners each year.
In 2015, Her Majesty the Queen appointed Sir Ken as Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant for Greater London. His explicit remit is to help those who don’t feel they belong in London and the UK to feel included. Sir Ken works tirelessly to implement strategies aimed at achieving this. He was knighted in the 2018 New Year’s Honours List for services to business and philanthropy.
‘Inspiring our board beyond belief.’
As Chairman, Sir Ken takes the lead on corporate governance and heads an incredibly talented and diverse management team. Feisal Nahaboo, Alitam founder says, “With Sir Ken at the helm, all of our UK and Ireland Alitam members can have absolute faith in achieving the ‘Pharmacy of the Future’ vision; to reposition pharmacies as the healthcare and well-being hub at the heart of the community. He is inspiring our board beyond belief.”
‘Very good news for investors’
Sir Ken is candid about his popularity, “As you can imagine I receive a lot of approaches, but the Feisal/ Alitam combination stands out,” says Sir Ken. “Proven entrepreneurs and experts in the field, rather than hired managers, are pooling their talents and experience for common advantage. And this is very good news for investors. However, there is a very important result for society as a whole, because in the Alitam model, Pharmacists as trusted professionals are enabled to deliver a higher standard of healthcare to more customers and patients. Communities can become more resilient in the face of fresh challenges. And the entire healthcare model can be reconfigured for the greater good of all.”
