Meet the Nigerian business leader who applied to be monarch’s footman

Chuka Mordi is still amazed by the overwhelming popularity which the royal family enjoys in the United Kingdom. Mordi’s interest in the British Royal family dates back to his days as a student in London.

“It is fascinating that they have been so protean, that they can find a way for people to still tolerate them. That kind of longevity, I find fascinating. Other than that, nothing else,” he told the BBC.

Mordi had just landed in London to study. He was studying Philosophy at King’s College, University of London when he decided to apply for a position as “First footman to the Queen.”

According to Wikipedia, “a footman is a male domestic worker employed mainly to wait at table or attend a coach or carriage. First footman was the designation given to the highest-ranking servant of this class in a given household. The first footman would serve as deputy butler and act as butler in the latter’s absence, although some larger houses also had an under-butler above the first footman.”

Although Mordi did not get the job, one thing that still fascinates him is the majestically polite letter of rejection he received from the palace. “I think I might have done something silly like ask for a stupendous salary because of my ‘over-qualified’ status,” he told the BBC.

The Queen died on Wednesday aged 96, Buckingham Palace announced in a short press release. According to Sky News, “the Queen’s death ends the longest reign in British history.” She also died as the world’s oldest head of state.

“The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The King and the Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow,” Buckingham Palace said on Thursday.

After his studies in London, Mordi returned to Nigeria, initially as Head of Infrastructure Financing at First City Monument Bank prior to launching CBO in Lagos. Today, he serves as a Managing Partner and Co-Founder at CBO Investment Management where he is responsible for oversight of the firm’s management and investment activities.

Mordi started his career as an Equities Analyst at SBC Warburg, before moving to Hardman & Co. Ltd. where he focused on UK AIM stocks. He also worked at InterSec Research Corp where he led the Global Investment Management Research Team for Europe (UK) & the Far East (Japan & Singapore).

He also worked Societe Generale Asset Management (SGAM) UK prior to returning to Nigeria. At SGAM, covered European Emerging Market Equities and worked on Asset Allocation and Economic analysis.