Biographies, Profiles of Business, Tech and Influential Leaders
Boardrooms in Nigerian banking have long been male territory, and many women who reached the chair came from outside the industry’s operating ranks. Amaka Onwughalu took a different route. She started at the bottom of a bank’s operations department, worked her way through credit and treasury, ran one bank and then became deputy head of … Read more
Few Nigerian executives have worked in as many industries as Omoboyede Oyebolanle Olusanya, widely known as Boye. He trained as a civil engineer, spent years building mobile phone networks, steered a struggling telecom company through a sale, worked in private equity and now runs one of the country’s biggest food companies. On July 30, 2026, … Read more
Nigeria’s oil industry was long dominated by foreign companies. A smaller group of Nigerian entrepreneurs spent decades trying to change that, and few have come as far as Abdulrazaq Isa. A former banker with a sociology degree, he co-founded Waltersmith, turned a small oil field into a producing asset, added a refinery and helped lead … Read more
Few African executives have worked in as many different industries as Segun Ogunsanya. He started as an engineer, qualified as a chartered accountant, ran soft drink bottling businesses in three countries, led retail banking across a continent and then spent twelve years at Airtel, the last three as group chief executive. On October 9, 2026, … Read more
Mergers and acquisitions rarely make headlines for the people who do the quiet work behind them: valuing a company, testing its numbers and advising on a price. Ijeoma Emezie-Ezigbo has done that work for more than 20 years. On October 2, 2026, VFD Group announced her as its Deputy Managing Director and Executive Director, effective … Read more
Banking careers are usually told as a list of titles. Obeahon Ohiwerei’s is better read as a pattern: build a business unit, take over a struggling institution, then do it again somewhere else. In July 2026, Coronation Merchant Bank named him Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, giving him the top job at a bank … Read more
Every year, millions of students across West Africa sit exams that decide where they study and what jobs they can apply for. The body that sets, secures, marks and certifies many of those exams now has a new chief executive. Dr Amos Josiah Dangut took office as Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of the West … Read more
Many founders build one business and stay inside it. Paul Onwuanibe has used a single property company as a platform to move into hospitality, leisure, housing and now finance. As of October 1, 2026, he is also Chairman of the Board of Sync Finance, a role that adds a financial services seat to a career … Read more
Fintech coverage usually celebrates founders. This story is about the person who made the founder’s plan run every day. Opeyemi Oyinloye, known as Ope, spent seven years at Paga managing customer experience and business operations. In April 2026, as the company marked 17 years, he was named Group Chief Operating Officer and CEO of Paga … Read more
Many corporate promotions come from outside the building. This one came from the commercial desk. Ogochukwu Onyelucheya became Acting Chief Executive Officer of Ikeja Electric on July 1, 2026, after spending nearly six years as the company’s Chief Commercial Officer and more than two decades in banking, finance and energy. Her appointment matters because the … Read more