Diversified chemicals company Omnia Group CEO Seelan Gobalsamy has been announced as the winner of the CEO Today Africa Awards 2022. This is the second year in a row that Gobalsamy has received the accolade.

The award, hosted by CEO Today Magazine, celebrates CEOs who excel in leadership and entrepreneurship, with a special emphasis on leaders who are agile and innovative forward-thinkers.

Each year, a select number of business leaders across several sectors in Africa are chosen for the awards, following a robust vetting, nomination and voting process. Winners are selected by a panel of judges who are experts in their respective fields.

“Decisive leadership is critical for socioeconomic revival, especially in difficult, unprecedented times. Business leaders must act as economic pioneers, demonstrating commitment to paving a new way for businesses to not only survive but thrive,” Gobalsamy said upon receiving the award.

He has served in senior leadership roles across emerging markets for almost 20 years and joined Omnia as a nonexecutive director in 2018 before being appointed group FD and then later CEO.

Gobalsamy spearheaded the company’s turnaround strategy during the pandemic.

He said that receiving this award amid such an unpredictable macro-climate was welcome recognition of the steps Omnia has taken to become more agile and resilient.

“The ability to be agile in turbulent times is the key to building business resilience. That same agility also enables the organisation to drive value and take advantage of opportunities in more advantageous environments,” Gobalsamy said, adding that his immediate focus was on driving growth and further deepening the group’s resilience.

“Omnia’s short-term focus is to grow the business through process, product, service and technology enhancements, supported by a strengthened supply and distribution network. Our growth strategy is linked to our environmental strategy. We . . . have ambitious sustainability and competitive goals,” he said.

Omnia’s most recent financial results showed strong growth, with revenue from continuing operations having increased by 30% year-on-year to R21.4-billion, profit after tax by 80% to R1.1-billion and headline earnings a share from continuing operations by 86%.

“Our renewed and integrated operating model, manufacturing excellence and optimised supply chain enabled increased agility and responsiveness to achieve increased sales volumes, while disciplined cost and working capital management further supported cash generation and enhanced profitability in a challenging macroeconomic environment,” Gobalsamy said.

Omnia will continue to explore organic and inorganic growth opportunities in key identified markets, while targeting partnerships to reduce risk and complement the core business and its capabilities, he said.