About Heirs General

Non-Executive Director

Niyi Onifade is a seasoned Chartered Insurer with over three decades of experience in the financial services industry.

He has held several leadership roles across the insurance and pension sectors, including serving as General Manager at African Alliance Insurance Limited; Vice President at Pensions Alliance Limited; and ADIC Life Assurance Limited (Now NSIA Insurance) where he served as the company’s pioneer CEO. Niyi went on to serve as Group Deputy Managing Director at Capital Express Assurance, overseeing operations in Nigeria and other five African countries. He later became MD/CEO of Wapic Life (now Coronation Life) before joining Heirs Insurance Limited (then in formation) in 2015 as the pioneer MD/CEO.

In 2020, he was appointed as the first MD/CEO of Heirs Life Assurance Limited, a subsidiary of Heirs Holdings Group. In August 2024, Niyi became the Sector Head of Heirs Insurance Group comprising Heirs Life Assurance, Heirs General Insurance and Heirs Insurance Brokers. In this capacity, he provides leadership, working with other Heirs Insurance CEOs, in driving the execution of the strategic initiatives and transformation plans for the member companies, ensuring that all intra-group synergies are fully harnessed, and ultimately delivering on the performance target for the Group.

Niyi has served as company representative in various industry committees both locally and internationally. In July 2024, he was elected to the Governing Council of the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA), where he contributes to shaping the future of the Nigerian insurance industry. He is also the Chairman of the Advisory Board of Heirs Academy, which was launched to reinforce Heirs Holdings' commitment to institutionalizing leadership and equipping future leaders.

A recognised thought leader in the field, Niyi has authored different publications and he is a visiting lecturer at the West African Insurance Institute (WAII) in Banjul, The Gambia.

He is an alumnus of the Lagos Business School and the Swiss Insurance Academy, Zurich, Switzerland. He is a Fellow of both the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) of London and Nigeria. His academic achievements include winning the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria and Femi Johnson Prizes for Overall Best Student in 1990. In 2003, he became the first Nigerian, and the second African, to receive the prestigious Rutter Medal Award from the Chartered Insurance Institute, London, for his outstanding performance in the Institute’s Fellowship examinations and research studies, a feat that earned him global recognition.