Mr. Lawal is a 1976 graduate of Yaba College of Technology and a Fellow of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants, UK. He is also an Associate member of both the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and the Nigerian Institute of Taxation. He started his career in 1977 with Messrs Akintola Williams & Co. (Chartered Accountants) from where he was seconded to the International firm of Touche Ross & Co. New York (now Deloitte International) between 1981 and 1983. He was subsequently admitted into the partnership of the firm in 1989, in reward for his meritorious service.
In 1991, Bolaji was appointed a director of A. W. Consultants Limited (consulting arm of Akintola Williams Group) with focus on the banking and financial services sector. He resigned from the partnership in 1993 to begin a new career in banking at Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (GTB) as General Manager, Operations, with supervisory responsibility for domestic banking operations, international banking services and information technology unit of the Bank. Mr. Lawal was later appointed the division Director, Systems and Control Group of GTB, a position he held until he resigned in 1998 to join Bolmus International Group as the Group Financial Controller, where he successfully undertook a restructuring assignment of the Group under a 4-year contract which terminated in 2003.
He is presently engaged in the provision of management consulting services for banking institutions and other corporate concerns with focus on Corporate Restructuring, Financial Re-engineering and Training and Capacity Building. Mr. Lawal had previously attended several management development programs in renowned business schools, both in Nigeria and aborad, amongst which are IMD, Lausanne, Switzerland, Barry Frolinger in the United States and the Lagos Business School, Nigeria (now Pan African University).
A former guest lecturer at the CBN training school and Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC), Lagos, Mr. Lawal is also a former Board member of the West African Bankers Association (WABA), Nigeria Inter-bank Settlement System and Committee of Chief Inspectors of Banks in Nigeria. He is also a director in a number of educational institutions and commercial concerns.
