Modupe Gbadeyanka
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
For those who very close to serial entrepreneur and advocate of Africapitalism, Mr Tony Elumelu, one thing he loves and hold very dear to his heart is his love for women.
Most of them are not surprised at this because the handsome business mogul holds his mother, wife and five charming and intelligent daughters in high esteem.
This, he has extended to workplace, giving women who work with him a chance to fly without limitations. He is not in the school of thoughts of those who say women belong to the kitchen or the ‘other room.’
To him, whatever good and brilliant thing a man can do, a woman do better and recently, he handed over the leadership of Transcorp Plc, where he is the Chairman, to a woman, Owen Omogiafo, because of his strong believe in her ability to take the company to greater heights.
Omogiafo was appointed as President/GCEO of Transcorp with effect from March 25, 2020, succeeding Mr Valentine Ozigbo, who is retiring to pursue a career in public service, having served Transcorp for close to a decade.
Omogiafo is currently the MD/CEO of Transcorp Hotels Plc and has over two decades of corporate experience in organisational development, human capital management, banking, change management and hospitality. She holds a B.Sc. in Sociology & Anthropology from the University of Benin, an M.Sc. in Human Resource Management from the London School of Economics and Political Science and is an alumnus of the Lagos Business School and IESE Business School, Spain.
She is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, UK and a Certified Change Manager with the Prosci Institute, USA. She has received multiple awards and been named as one of Africa’s top 100 Female CEOs.
Furthermore, in his characteristic self, Mr Elumelu, impressed with the exploits of Omogiafo at Transcorp Hotels, worked towards the appointment of another woman to take charge of the hospitality firm, leading to the appointment of Dupe Olusola as the new MD/CEO of Transcorp Hotels Plc.
Olusola is currently the Group Head, Marketing, at United Bank for Africa Plc and has over 21 years of corporate experience including being the former MD/CEO of Teragro Juice Concentrate Plant, while Helen Iwuchukwu, currently the Group Company Secretary of Transcorp Plc, has been appointed as an Executive Director/Chief Operating Officer of the company.
Another woman that was recently appointed was Okaima Ohizua, who will be an Executive Director/Chief Operating Officer of Transcorp Power Ltd. She is currently Executive Director, Customer Services at Transcorp Hotels Plc and has over 25 years working experience and has been key to the continued service transformation at Transcorp Hilton Hotel, since joining the Board and Management in 2013.
A graduate of law from the University of Benin and the Nigerian Law School, Okaima also holds an Advanced Management Program certificate from the Pan-African University – Lagos Business School.
According to The Capital, these gender-sensitive appointments are not peculiar to just Transcorp.
At UBA and other companies that Mr Elumelu has controlling or considerable stakes, the story is the same. Women like Foluke K. Abdul-Razaq, Owanari Duke, Erelu Angela Adebayo and Angela Aneke serve as non-executive directors at UBA, while Noellie Tiendrebeogo, Sarata Kone, Chioma Mang, Nkechi Arizor and Adesola Yomi-Ajayi serve as chief executive officer, UBA in Burkina Faso, Cote D’Ivoire, Gabon, Liberia and New York respectively. Amie Ndiaye Sow and Abiola Bawuah are the Regional CEO 1 and 2, West Africa.
Back home, Bola Atta, Dupe Olusola and Patricia Aderibigbe are Group Heads, Corporate Communication, Marketing and Human Resources respectively. Emem Usoro is the Directorate Head Abuja & North Central Bank.
At Africa Prudential, Mrs Eniola Fadayomi, MFR, serves as Chairman while Uzoamaka Oshogwe, is the Managing Director/CEO, Afriland Properties. Likewise, at Avon Healthcare Limited, Dr Awele Vivien Elumelu, his beautiful wife, is the chairperson while Adesimbo Ukiri is the Chief Executive Officer.
At the Tony Elumelu Foundation, the leading African philanthropy committed to empowering African entrepreneurs, Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu serves as CEO. Appointed in 2018, Ugochukwu is the first African to become the Chief Executive Officer of the Foundation.
According to Mr Elumelu, “These appointments demonstrate our commitment to nurturing talent and rewarding success. We have a deep pool of highly qualified and dedicated employees, who can be challenged with more responsibility in attaining our corporate vision.”
“We remain committed to diversity and inclusion; are delighted by the depth and quality of experience that this leadership team brings to our group. These appointments further indicate our internal succession capacity and strong corporate governance practices,” he further said.
