Jobs/Appointments
Fezoua Becomes GE Africa CEO as Ireland Retires
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
General Electric (GE) has announced the appointment of Farid Fezoua as the President and CEO of GE Africa.
This followed the retirement of the former occupier of the position, Mr Jay Ireland, effective September 30, 2018, after 38 years of service.
“It has been a great honour to build GE Africa” said Jay Ireland. “The past 7 years in Sub-Saharan Africa have been the most rewarding of my 38 years in GE. The opportunities across many sectors, the optimism, the energy and entrepreneurial nature of the people have all contributed to a wonderful experience.
“I am extremely proud of the value we have created together with our customers and partners. I want to thank all 2600 employees in the region for their support and commitment to making GE a valued partner for the development of infrastructure in Africa.”
Over the course of his career, Ireland held several leadership positions in GE. He led GE Asset Management (GEAM), a global investment firm with about US$120 billion in assets under management at the time.
He was President of NBC Universal Television Stations and Network Operations where he had overall executive responsibility for NBC Universal’s 10 television stations, the Telemundo network and its 16 Spanish language television stations.
Before joining NBC in 1999, he had been the CFO of GE Plastics. Ireland started his career with General Electric in 1980 in its Financial Management Program after 3 years as a US Army Officer.
Ireland plays a significant external role advocating for investment in Africa. He is the Chair of the US President’s Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa.
He is also Co-Chair of the US Africa Business Centre – launched in 2015 to lead the U.S. business community’s engagement with Africa’s regional economic communities, the private sector, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Ireland was a member of the African Development Bank’s special panel on accelerating the implementation of its ten-year strategy. He was a recipient of the Africa investor Magazine’s ‘International Business Leader of the Year’ award in 2012 and 2013 and in October 2017, he was awarded the ‘Princeton in Africa’ medal for his innovative leadership and dedication to high-impact investments and growth opportunities across Africa.
“Jay has been an inspiring leader, colleague and role model over the course of a remarkable 38 years with the Company” said Alex Dimitrief, President and CEO GE Global. “He has had a spectacular career. Under Jay’s leadership, GE has tripled its annual revenues in Sub-Saharan Africa and established a strong bench of African executives leading the company’s businesses on the continent. GE remains firmly committed to Africa. Farid’s excellent track record of leading GE Healthcare across Africa makes him the right choice to lead the next phase of GE’s strategy and growth in the region.”
With a career spanning almost 28 years, Farid Fezoua has been leading GE Healthcare’s business growth in Africa since 2012. He has led the development of major large-scale modernization programs with public and private sector project development/partnerships across Africa.
Farid joined GE in 2003 to lead customer financing efforts for GE Healthcare’s Middle East, Africa and Turkey Region. In 2005, he was appointed Regional Executive for GE Capital Markets Corporate, leading customer and project finance for all GE businesses in the Middle East and Africa.
Prior to joining GE, he held several senior positions in international banks. He started his career at BCEN-Eurobank, Paris (subsidiary of the Russian foreign trade Bank). He then went on to serve as Deputy Head of Commodity and Trade Finance at B.A.I.I. (Banque Arabe et Internationale d’Investissement, a subsidiary of BNP specialized in trade and investment in the MENA region). He was also the Assistant General Manager & Head of Correspondent Banking and Trade Finance at the Arab Banking Corporation, Paris Branch.
Farid has extensive experience in the financing of trade and investment flows across the Middle East, Africa and Europe. He has developed a strong track record of infrastructure project development & financing in the field of power, transportation & healthcare as well as business operations & management.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Aradel Holdings Plc has appointed Ms Nnoli Akpedeye as an Independent Non-Executive Director, effective February 2, 2026, following a resolution passed at the company’s board meeting held on January 28, 2026.
In a notice to shareholders, Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, and the investing public, the company disclosed that the appointment is subject to ratification by shareholders at its next Annual General Meeting (AGM). The board also authorised the Company Secretary, Mrs Titiola Omisore, to notify relevant regulators and take all necessary steps to give effect to the decision.
Ms Akpedeye brings more than 36 years of multi-disciplinary experience spanning oil and gas, engineering, legal and arbitration services, and management consulting. Her career reflects a strong blend of technical expertise and strategic leadership, with competencies in management and strategy, business process engineering, organisational development and change management, as well as entrepreneurship development.
Until 2014, she served as Technical Planning Manager for Shell Exploration and Production Companies in Nigeria, where she led the execution of high-impact, mission-critical projects. Over the course of her career at Shell, she held roles across civil engineering design, planning and construction, project management, facility management, technical audit, and business planning and strategy, gaining extensive local and international exposure.
Beyond her corporate career, Ms Akpedeye is an entrepreneur and advocate for capacity building in engineering and energy. She runs Contego Servo Limited and Perfectus Laundi Limited, and in 2013, she launched the “Introduce a Girl to Engineering” programme aimed at encouraging secondary school girls in Nigeria to pursue careers in engineering and related STEM fields.
She is a Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN)-registered engineer, a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (FNSE), and a past President of the Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria (APWEN). She is also a founding member of the Women in Energy Network (WIEN) and serves as a passionate ambassador for science, technology, engineering and mathematics education.
In addition, Ms Akpedeye is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Compos Mentis Legal Practitioners and the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Compos Mentis Foundation.
Her appointment further strengthens Aradel Holdings’ board with deep industry knowledge, governance experience, and a strong track record in leadership and institutional development, as the company continues to pursue its strategic objectives within Nigeria’s energy landscape.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
An interim chief executive has been appointed by Geregu Power Plc and he is Mr Sean Manley, with his appointment to take effect from Monday, February 2, 2026.
A statement from the power generating firm disclosed that his appointment is subject to the approval of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and the shareholders of the company at the next general meeting.
In the notice, the organisation expressed confidence that the appointee would use his wealth of experience and leadership to “add significant value to the company.”
Mr Manley is said to be “a seasoned power-sector professional with a proven track record in delivering complex energy projects in developing markets.”
He is armed with more than 30 years’ experience spanning sales, business development, project implementation, supply-chain management, and OEM-led delivery within the power sector.
Over the course of his career with Siemens, Mr Manley has developed deep technical and operational expertise in thermal power generation, covering plant construction, commissioning, major overhauls, and long-term operational support.
He is widely regarded as a practical problem-solver, with a demonstrated ability to close projects in challenging operating environments and brings extensive international experience and strong intercultural skills acquired across multi-jurisdictional engagements.
His areas of expertise include the delivery of large, complex infrastructure projects, management of multi-million-dollar business units, client and stakeholder relationship management, business and market development, as well as logistics and procurement analysis critical to successful project execution.
The appointment of Mr Manley comes after Mr Femi Otedola divested his stake in the energy firm last month to support the recapitalisation of First Bank of Nigeria, a subsidiary of FBN Holdings Plc, which he chairs.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Dangote Industries has appointed the chief executive of MTN Group Limited, Mr Ralph Mupita, to the board of its fertilizer business as it prepares to expand and list the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
The chief executive of Dangote Fertiliser Limited, Mr Vishwajit Sinha, confirmed this development on Wednesday ahead of the company’s initial public offering (IPO) on NGX this year.
Mr Mupita spearheaded the listing of MTN Nigeria’s on the Nigerian bourse in 2019, making it the second most valued company on NGX after BUA Foods Limited.
The South African engineer has headed Africa’s largest telco for more than five years after joining the group in 2017 as chief financial officer (CFO). Before that, he held senior positions at South African financial services group Old Mutual Limited.
Dangote Fertiliser produces about 3 million tons of granulated urea annually and plans to be the largest maker globally by 2028. To do this, it needs to expand its $2.5 billion complex in Lagos, and will start building a facility in Ethiopia this year.
Last year, the owner of the organisation, Mr Aliko Dangote, assured that the fertiliser business would list its shares on the local bourse like its sister companies, Dangote Cement, Dangote Sugar, and NASCON Allied Industries.
“In the next 40 months, our fertiliser business should generate $20 million in revenue per day. We are pushing hard. We expect to reach over $70 billion in revenue and possibly pay dividends of $3 to $4 billion. Our philosophy is to always think big,” he said when he welcomed some stakeholders in the Nigerian capital market to his $20 billion Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals in Lagos in June 2025.
Expanding regional trade could see agriculture grow to beyond $1 trillion by 2030, according to the African Development Bank (AfDB) and this creates a huge market for fertilizer firms on the continent, although the majority of farmers still struggle with limited access to finance, infrastructure and markets.
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