The CIoD Nigeria 2024 Annual Directors Conference convened distinguished leaders, board members, and governance experts from across the public and private sectors to share insights on effective leadership in uncertain times, the evolving role of digitalisation in governance, the adoption of ESG best practices for national development, and the importance of strong governance in building sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems in Nigeria.
Speakers
Kadaria Ahmed is an award-winning journalist and media executive, serving as Executive Director of Daria Media and Managing Director of Radio Now 95.3 FM, where she leads factual, Nigeria-focused public service journalism. Widely recognised as the country’s leading broadcast interviewer, she has anchored presidential town halls, produced influential documentaries, and interviewed top national leaders, with work published locally and internationally.
Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN is a distinguished legal practitioner and public servant who began his career after being called to the Nigerian Bar in 1988, rising to become a Senior Advocate of Nigeria in 2004, a rare and notable achievement. He has been widely recognised for excellence in advocacy, public service, and governance, earning local and international accolades for his leadership, infrastructure reforms, and crisis management, including his role in containing the Ebola outbreak in Nigeria. He is a respected member and patron of several professional bodies and is married to Dame Emmanuella Abimbola Fashola, with whom he has children.
Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, MFR is Special Adviser to the President on PEBEC and Investment in the Office of the Vice President, with extensive experience in public sector reform, having delivered over 180 verifiable ease-of-doing-business reforms during her service in the Buhari Administration. A legal scholar and governance expert, she has served on key national reform committees, held senior fellow and advisory roles at Harvard Kennedy School and MIT, worked in corporate and investment banking, and is a senior lecturer in International Economic Law at the University of Lagos with advanced degrees from Cambridge and Stanford.
Mr. Olaniyi Yusuf is the Managing Partner and Lead of the Social Sector practice at Verraki Partners, with over 30 years of experience advising senior leaders on strategic change and digital transformation across the public and private sectors. Formerly Country Managing Director of Accenture Nigeria, he has played a key role in shaping Nigeria’s financial and digital infrastructure, serves as a facilitator at Lagos Business School and FATE Foundation, sits on several boards, and is an active contributor to leadership, governance, and youth development initiatives.
Frank Aigbogun is a veteran journalist and publisher, founder of BusinessDay newspaper, with a career spanning roles at The Guardian, Vanguard—where he served as editor—and as Lagos correspondent for the Associated Press. An alumnus of Lagos Business School in Mass Communication, he has contributed to national initiatives including Nigeria’s Vision 2010 committee and the National Competitiveness Council, and currently chairs the Constitutional Rights Project while serving as a director of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group.
Mr. John Obaro is the founder and CEO of SystemSpecs, the Nigerian software company behind Remita and other fintech solutions, and a pioneer of online banking in Nigeria. With over three decades in software development and IT, he has championed local software innovation, youth empowerment, and IT entrepreneurship, serving on key national ICT boards. His contributions have earned him numerous awards, including Software Personality of the Year, Nigeria’s IT Personality of the Year, and recognition for leadership in technology both locally and internationally.
Funke Opeke is the Managing Director of MainOne, a leading digital infrastructure company that built West Africa’s first open-access submarine cable system and the region’s largest Tier III data center in Lagos, with additional presence in Accra and Abidjan. She chaired the 2019 Presidential Committee to develop Nigeria’s National Broadband Plan (2020–2025), and under her leadership, MainOne was acquired by Equinix in 2022 as its entry point into Africa.
Olatomiwa Williams is the CEO of Microsoft Nigeria and Ghana, leading digital transformation across sectors through cloud and AI solutions. With over 20 years of experience, she is recognized for building high-performing teams, mentoring future female tech leaders, and driving innovation. She founded the Uzemi Technology Empowerment Initiative to support women in STEM, serves on multiple boards including the Chartered Institute of Directors, and has received awards such as the Platinum Club and JCI Leaders That Inspire for her contributions to technology and leadership.
Dr. Lucy Surhyel Newman is a Nigerian-born international consultant, policy advisor, and author with nearly four decades of experience across the private, public, and nonprofit sectors in Nigeria, Africa, and globally. She has held executive and advisory roles in development finance, commercial banking, and consulting, and served over ten years as CEO of a professional services firm engaging over 1,750 stakeholders locally and internationally. Lucy is CEO of the Africa Private Sector Summit, serves on boards and think tanks, and has authored professional works including African Leaders’ Tete A Tete. She holds a Doctorate in Business Administration, an MBA, and a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, along with an International Director Certification in Corporate Governance from INSEAD. She has received numerous awards, including the 2019 Thomas F. Gilbert Distinguished Professional Achievement Award.
Ivana I. Osagie is the Founder and CEO of PWR Advisory, an Africa-focused ESG, sustainability, and inclusion consulting firm, and co-founder of Rising Tide Africa, supporting female investors in early-stage African businesses. She advises corporate boards on ESG strategy, governance, and business integration, and chairs or serves on several boards, including Amayi Foods Ltd and The Infrastructure Bank PLC. With over 30 years of multi-sector experience, including executive roles at PA Consulting, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, and HSBC in the UK, she also served as Director of Corporate Development and Strategy at Notore Chemical Industries in Nigeria. She holds an M.Sc from the University of the West of England, an MBA from the University of Liverpool, and certifications in ESG, board direction, and diversity and inclusion from INSEAD, IOD UK, Corporate Finance Institute, and Cornell University.
Professor Chris Ogbechie is the 4th Dean of Lagos Business School and a Professor of Strategic Management, with a distinguished career spanning academia, corporate leadership, and governance. He previously served as Deputy Dean of LBS and pioneer Director of the LBS Sustainability Centre, and is a visiting professor at Strathmore Business School, Kenya. Before academia, he held senior marketing and business development roles at Nestle, Ecobank Transnational Inc, and other multinationals across Africa and Asia. Professor Ogbechie serves on multiple corporate boards, advises governments and multilateral organizations, and has held leadership roles including Chairman of Diamond Bank. His research focuses on strategy, strategic leadership, board effectiveness, and corporate sustainability. He holds a Ph.D. in Business Administration from Brunel University, an MBA from Manchester Business School, and a 1st class B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Manchester. He has received numerous awards for teaching, research, and governance, including being knighted by Pope John Paul II in 1999.
Mrs. Omobolanle Victor-Laniyan is a seasoned Sustainability and Communications expert with over 17 years of experience, currently heading the Sustainability Unit at Access Bank. Since establishing the bank’s Sustainability function in 2008, she has driven initiatives like the Nigeria Sustainable Finance Week and the development of the Nigeria Sustainable Banking Principles, shaping sustainability practices across the financial sector. She leads stakeholder engagement, mentors sustainability champions in African financial institutions, and is widely recognized as a key authority on sustainability strategy, communications, and implementation.
Dr. Franklin Nnaemeka Ngwu is an Economist and Associate Professor in Strategy, Governance, and Risk Management at Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University, with over 20 years of experience in teaching, advisory, and policy research across Africa and the UK. He has held leadership roles including Director of LBS Public Sector Initiative and Senior Policy and Research Consultant at the African Development Bank, and has worked in Barclays Bank UK and lectured at multiple UK universities. Dr. Ngwu holds a PhD in Law and Economics of Banking Regulation, multiple MSc degrees, and a B.Sc in Sociology. He is a prolific author of peer-reviewed journals and books on corporate governance, CSR, and sustainable development, including works published by Routledge and Cambridge University Press, with a fifth book on African banking forthcoming.
Dr. Cosmas Maduka, born December 24, 1958, in Jos, is the founder and CEO of Coscharis Group, a diversified Nigerian conglomerate with interests spanning automotive, logistics, IT, agro-allied, healthcare, property, and food & beverages, including exclusive franchises for brands like BMW, MINI, Jaguar Land Rover, Ford, and Renault. Starting Coscharis Motors as a one-man business, he built it into a benchmark for the Nigerian automobile industry and a model of entrepreneurial success, while actively supporting youth empowerment initiatives. He has served on multiple corporate boards, including Access Bank Plc., and holds honorary doctorates in Business Administration from the University of Nigeria and Afe Babalola University. An alumnus of Harvard Business School’s Executive Program, he was awarded CON (Commander of the Order of the Niger) in 2012 and named EY West Africa Entrepreneur of the Year 2020, representing the region globally. In 2024, he was recognized as an Honorary Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Directors (CIoD). He was married to the late Mrs. Charity Maduka, co-founder of Coscharis Group, and they had four sons and a daughter.
Mrs. Oluyemisi Iranloye is a pioneering entrepreneur and advocate for sustainable farming and community development, founder of Psaltery International Company Limited, a leading African food processing firm specializing in cassava products. She has transformed smallholder farming in Nigeria, benefiting over 100,000 families and creating jobs in Iseyin LGA, while producing innovative cassava-based products including starch, flour, glucose, and Africa’s first cassava sorbitol. With a B.Tech in Biochemistry from Federal University of Technology, Minna and an M.Sc. from University of Ibadan, she has held leadership roles at EKHA Agro Farms and Nigerian Breweries, and serves on boards including IITA-BIP and as president of LSSDPA. She has contributed to national and international agricultural initiatives, including the Presidential Committee on Cassava Development, received government recognition for her impact on Nigeria’s Agriculture Transformation Agenda, and is an alumna of Stanford University’s Seed Transformation Programme and the U.S. African Women Entrepreneurship Program (AWEP).
Charles Odii is the CEO/Director General of SMEDAN, a leading advocate for small and medium enterprises in Nigeria, with over a decade of experience in entrepreneurship development and enterprise growth. He holds a Master’s in Media Communications from Pan-Atlantic University and a B.Sc in Management and Information Systems from Covenant University. Charles founded SME100Africa and leads initiatives including 100Talks, the National Small Business Summit, N-Yelp (25 under 25), 100 Women, and 100 Club Africa, fostering youth, women, and small business empowerment across Nigeria and beyond. He has created over 30,000 jobs and facilitated more than ₦11 billion in SME funding, and also serves as Managing Director of Global Entrepreneurship Network, Entrepreneurs World Cup in Tanzania. Charles has held senior roles at Elephant Healthcare and Softcom, and is a certified business development and enterprise software expert, mentor in the U.S. Young African Leaders’ Initiative, and active member of several professional bodies in management, marketing, and public relations.