Bayo Dotun

While in the college, Elizabeth was very popular because she was a good athlete. She recorded many success stories on the tracks, which fetched her fame and considerable fortunes. But when she was choosing a career, she did not hesitate to join her father’s growing business empire in spite of her success and fame on the tracks. Her choice of career was not informed by fame neither by easy fortunes that she could easily make on the tracks but by her childhood dream. When she was growing up, her only ambition was to become a member of one of the many rich business conglomerates around. She wanted to be known as a creative business woman, respected and admired by all and sundry.
The journey was tough and rough in the beginning but she was now a woman of substance and accomplishment. From her humble beginning as a junior manager, she had risen to become the director of planning and production, a position which made her the most powerful woman at Derby Chemical Company. The post was a coveted trophy for her doggedness and loyalty to the company. It took her twelve painstaking years to earn it. Being a woman, it was her own little achievement here. None of her predecessors were women and they were all white, driven by good ideals and robust ideas.
The intrigues involved in the selection process were not lost on her. In fact, there was another cruel twist to the story. Twelve years ago, nobody was willing to consider her for her present job because of her relationship with the founder and chairman of Derby Chemical Company. Being a hot seat, the occupant of the post must be brilliant and versatile. It was unethical to trivialize such an exalted position. Such sentiment could jeopardize the bright future of the company. The company had made such costly mistake in the past and had paid dearly for it.
Everything that could go wrong had gone wrong before the situation was rectified. Even the company’s profit margins were not spared. Then, it was as though the company would crumble and would be liquidated. But common sense prevailed and sanity was restored. How this was achieved was the tapestry around which this interesting story is woven.