Patrick Utomi

Patrick Okedinachi Utomi (born 6 February 1956 ) is a Nigerian professor of political economy and management expert.

He is a Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants of Nigeria and a former presidential candidate.

He is the founder of Centre for Value in Leadership (CVL) and the African Democratic Congress.

He is a professor at Lagos Business School, and has served in senior positions in government, as an adviser to the president of Nigeria, the private sector, as Chief Operating Officer of Volkswagen Nigeria.

Patrick Utomi was born in Kaduna, he is a descent of Igbuzo in Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta State.

He had his primary education at St. Thomas, Kano 1960 - 1962; Our Lady of Fatima, Gusau 1962 - 1966; Christ the King College, Onitsha and Loyola College, Ibadan, finishing his secondary education at the age of 15.

The entry age for university education was 17, so he enrolled at the Federal School of Arts and Science in the interim.

He later got admission into the University of Nigeria, Nsukka in 1973 to study Mass Communication.

Patrick Utomi graduated from University of Nigeria Nsukka in 1977, He attended Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA, where he got his Ph.D. MPA, MA. He was appointed Professor of Social and Political Economy Environment of Business and Entrepreneurship at Lagos Business School in 2003.

he has been a scholar-in-residence at the Harvard Business School and the American University in Washington, D.C.

Within a few months of his return to Nigeria from Bloomington, Indiana, United States, Pat got enlisted by the former Vice President Alex Ekwueme to provide consultancy services on some public policy papers.

Soon after, he was appointed Special Assistant by former President Shehu Shagari a position he lost following the military coup of December 1983, which terminated the Second Republic.

Following the end of the Second Republic, he became Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Utomapp Holdings Limited, 1984 – 1986, and Assistant General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Volkswagen Nigeria Lagos, 1983 - 1993.

(Lagos Business school started operating in 1991.)

Utomi also belongs to many professional bodies.

He is a member of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, NIPR, Institute of Directors, IOD, Nigeria Economic Summit Group and Nigeria Economic Society.

Utomi coordinated the establishment of several civil society groups on good governance and accountability such as Transparency in Nigeria, the Centre for Values in Leadership, the Concerned Professionals, and the Restoration Group.

In the business sphere, Utomi was the Vice Chairman of Platinum–Habib Bank.

He is a columnist and chairman.

Utomi has served in various private sector associations including the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), the National Council of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, he is also the Chairman of Poise Nigeria Limited, and the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA).

He has spoken on issues in the following areas on various international platforms; growth economics, comparative development, leadership, oil, and China’s economic surge and growing influence in Africa.

He has collaborated frequently with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, and Chatham House, in the UK.

He has also written commissioned papers for the UK's DFID including the latest collaboration with Colleagues from Oxford on the Political Economy of growth in Nigeria.

Utomi was Scholar-in-Residence, American University, Washington DC, USA, 1996 and Research Associate, the Harvard Business School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, 1996.

(2006). Utomi also ran a failed attempt for presidency of Nigeria in 2011.

In 2021, Pat and other political stakeholders pioneered the formation of a new political opposition ahead of the 2023 Nigerian general elections.

Pat Utomi was declared as the governorship candidate of the All Progressive Congress for the 2019 general election in Delta State by a faction of the All Progressive Congress.

The national working Committee of the All Progressive Congress overturned the factional declaration and declared Chief Great Ogboru as its Delta state gubernatorial Candidate for the 2019 general Elections.

Keynote speaker at the Annual Conferences of the following:

Has been guest speaker at the annual Business Club meetings of the Africa Business Club at the Harvard Business School, Wharton, Kellogg School and the TedxEuston at the University of London.