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Running an electricity distribution company means answering for every blackout, every wrong bill and every customer who waits for a meter. Folake Soetan did that job for six years as chief executive of Ikeja Electric, the largest electricity distributor in Nigeria by customer base. She began her career in aviation, moved into oil and gas and then took charge of a power company with more than a million customers. This Folake Soetan biography follows her path across three industries and explains what she changed, what she leads now and what her career shows about business management in Nigeria’s energy sector.
Who Is Folake Soetan?
Folake Soetan is a Nigerian business executive with more than two decades of experience in aviation, oil and gas, and power. She led Ikeja Electric Plc as CEO from 2020 until mid-2026, overseeing more than 3,200 employees.
On July 1, 2026, Sahara Group appointed her Managing Director of Arahas Global Oilfield Services, its oilfield services subsidiary. The appointment also expanded her responsibilities within Sahara Power Group.
Folake Soetan’s Education
Soetan holds a degree in Banking and Finance from the University of Lagos. In 2018, she completed the Advanced Management Programme at Harvard Business School Executive Education, a programme for senior leaders whom their organisations see as central to succession plans.
Her finance training suits the work she later did. Electricity distribution depends on collecting revenue from customers and managing losses, and a leader who understands money can steer both.
Early Career in Aviation
Soetan began in the aviation industry, where she worked at British Airways and then at Virgin Nigeria Airways as Head of Sales. In those roles, she led revenue optimisation efforts that expanded market share. Airline sales is a demanding school for managers. Prices change daily, competition is fierce and a leader must find ways to fill seats profitably.
Joining Sahara Group
In 2009, Soetan left aviation to join Sahara Group, the Nigerian energy and infrastructure conglomerate. She worked at SO Aviation, the group’s aviation fuel business, where she helped build the company into one of West Africa’s leading players. She helped raise it from seventh to third position in the market within a short time.
In 2012, she became Vice President for Downstream West Africa, based in Accra, Ghana. She led the expansion of the downstream market share beyond Nigeria into Ghana, one of Africa’s fastest-growing economies. The move gave her cross-border management experience, which she later brought to her work in power.
Moving Into Power at Ikeja Electric
In 2015, Soetan joined Ikeja Electric, which serves a large part of Lagos, as Deputy Chief Commercial Officer, and she rose to Chief Commercial Officer. She then became Chief Operating Officer. In that role, she and her team introduced initiatives that improved the quality of power supply in the company’s franchise areas.
Her most notable achievement was leading the Bilateral Power initiative. It enabled customers in Nigeria to receive at least 20 hours of electricity daily through the national grid. This was a significant milestone for the country’s power sector.
The initiative showed how a distribution company could improve electricity supply. It did this by strengthening coordination between power generators and customers.
Becoming CEO
Ikeja Electric appointed her Acting Chief Executive Officer on March 2, 2020. She succeeded Dr Anthony Youdeowei, who had led the company for four years. The company cited her operational leadership and experience in aviation, oil and gas, and power. She later became the company’s substantive CEO.
She led a company that serves more than a million customers, which makes it the largest electricity distributor in Nigeria by customer base, and she managed a workforce of more than 3,200 people.
Her Leadership Approach
Soetan summed up her vision for the company in four words: “customer first, technology now, sustainability always.” The first part reflects her commercial background. A distribution company earns money only when customers pay accurate bills, so she put service quality and billing at the centre of her strategy. The second part signals her push toward digital tools, and the third reflects Sahara Group’s focus on cleaner energy.
She also describes how she prepared for the top job. She credits continuous learning, a strong network of trusted advisers, years of operational experience, work on her communication skills and a deeper understanding of the power sector. Soetan said she put competence, consistency and courage at the centre of her approach, especially at a time when few women held leadership roles in energy.
Mentoring Women in Energy
Soetan advocates for women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and she mentors several young men and women who want careers in power and oil and gas. She speaks often about leading with empathy and about creating pathways for women in a male-dominated industry. When asked about running for public office, she said she was passionate about her work as CEO of Ikeja Electric and wanted to stay focused there.
Handing Over Ikeja Electric
At the end of June 2026, Soetan left Ikeja Electric. Ogochukwu Onyelucheya, the company’s Chief Commercial Officer, took over as Acting Chief Executive Officer from July 1. The handover followed a planned succession in which Sahara Group moved Soetan to a larger role across its energy businesses.
The Arahas Global Appointment
On July 1, 2026, Sahara Group appointed Soetan as the founding Managing Director of Arahas Global Oilfield Services. The group said the appointment forms part of its strategy to expand its impact across the energy sector in Africa through operational growth and long-term development. Sahara’s executive director said it reflects the group’s focus on strengthening leadership across its energy and infrastructure businesses.
The timing matters. Sahara has acquired a set of drilling rigs for its upstream operations on two oil mining leases in the onshore eastern Niger Delta, and Arahas is meant to deliver oilfield services across the value chain with an emphasis on innovation, efficiency and sustainability. The group said it picked Soetan partly because of her experience managing businesses across different sectors. She also takes on wider responsibilities within Sahara Power Group, where she applies what she learned at Ikeja Electric.
Why Folake Soetan Draws Attention
Her profile combines unusual elements: a senior woman executive in a sector with few of them, a record across three industries and a move from running a power utility to launching an oilfield services company. Readers who search for a Folake Soetan biography want to understand how an airline sales leader became a power sector chief executive and what she plans to do in her new role.
What Her Career Teaches
Three lessons stand out. First, commercial skills transfer between industries. Revenue management in aviation prepared her for billing and collections in electricity. Second, operational wins build credibility. The Bilateral Power initiative gave her a visible result that helped lead to the top job. Third, internal mobility rewards loyalty and learning. Sahara Group moved her across aviation fuel, regional management, power and now oilfield services, and each move added to her range as a leader.
