Managing Director of the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB), Edward Ato Sarpong, has revealed his strict personal policy against receiving money, stating he only accepts cash from two individuals.
Addressing the 2026 Jospong Leadership Conference, Ato Sarpong made a disclosure about personal integrity and leadership culture, saying his commitment to contentedness and focus on his assignment over personal gain forms a bedrock of his leadership approach.
“I sit in my office and people bring me cash,” he told the audience. “And I told them that I only take cash from two people, Mr. Jospong [Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong] and Richard. That’s all. I don’t take money from any other person.”
Edward Ato Sarpong framed this discipline as non-negotiable.
“I told them that I take money from only two people. If somebody says he’s giving me money, it’s easy. If somebody says that I have given him money and he took, it is two people. One is our executive chairman. The other person is my friend Richard… Apart from these two people, it’s as simple as that. I would never take it.”
Ato Sarpong, who took over ADB in February 2025, linked this principle directly to his philosophy that leadership is about fulfilling an assignment, not pursuing ambition.
“Because I am very content. It is about the assignment, not the ambition,” he stated.
He extended this ethos of personal sacrifice to other aspects of his work life, disclosing that he uses his personal vehicle for bank duties and does not claim personal expenses from the bank.
“I used my own car. I was telling them the thing that my wife, my family, and myself, we don’t go to hospital, we go… I’ve never come to the bank to claim anything. I told them all I need from the bank is salary,” he said.
Ato Sarpong argued that such denial of self is central to genuine leadership, which he described as a “very complicated” and “lonely” exercise.
“Leadership is denial of self. Denial of self,” he emphasized.
“When the food is served and they call the king first and the king says, I will eat last. Let my servants lead first. Do you see it anywhere? The high table people are called. They go and eat, take their food… That is not leadership.”
He urged the next generation of leaders to build their legitimacy on accomplishment, not position.
“Leadership is conferred based on the task accomplished. Or leadership is conferred when you identify a purpose that gives meaning to people.”
The ADB MD also announced a personal commitment to fostering future leaders within the Jospong Group, proposing a free mentorship session in February for young professionals under 40 and suggesting a mid-year refresher conference.
“We need to build, we need these young people below 40… Let’s spend time on them. Let’s invest in them. Let’s pump them. Let’s make them great leaders. Because this company has a future,” Ato Sarpong noted.
