- Nigerian women are spearheading the growth of many companies as board members
- They serve in various capacities as executive or non-executive directors
- TheRadar spotlights 10 of them across various sectors
Nigerian women are increasingly taking the lead like their male counterparts in many companies, working their way to the top, and making major decisions that have led to the success of most companies in Nigeria.
Whether in executive or non-executive capacities, women have made their mark and left footprints of excellence in their trail.
As the world celebrates women on the occasion of the 2025 International Women’s Day (IWD) with the theme, ‘For ALL Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment,’ TheRadar spotlights 10 women who are directors of Nigerian companies across various sectors.
10 female directors of Nigerian companies
1. Ada Chukwudozie
Ada Chukwudozie is the Chairman of the Board of Directors at Keystone Bank Limited.
Before her appointment in September 2024, Chukwudozie served as Group Executive Director for Dozzy Group of Companies.
She has over 29 years of expertise in corporate governance, business strategy, management, and administration across the oil and gas, energy, and manufacturing sectors.
Her professional career began at DeEndy Industrial Co Ltd, Taipei, Taiwan, where she worked as a supervisor before advancing to General Manager at Specialty Oil Company Nigeria Ltd, a subsidiary of Dozzy Group. She later rose to the position of Executive Director at Dozzy Oil and Gas.
Chukwudozie holds an HND in Chemical Engineering from the Institute of Management and Technology Enugu, a PGD in Business Administration from Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, a diploma in law from Lagos State University, and a diploma in Mandarin from Chinese Cultural University Taipei.
In addition to her academic achievements, she is a Fellow of the Institute of Directors of Nigeria (IOD) and an Executive Committee member of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) in the Southeast overseeing 150+ companies.
She is also a member of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, the Institute of Industrialists and Corporate Administrators, and the Onitsha Chambers of Commerce, in addition to serving as a Council Member of the Nigerian-British Chambers of Commerce.
Chukwudozie is also the Publisher of Vogue Afrique Magazine and the founder of the Association of Professional Women on Rural Development (PWORD).
2. Edirin Gloria Essiet
Edirin Gloria Essiet serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Tsur Oil & Gas Company Limited, a position she was appointed into in 2020.
She started as a legal counsel at Tsur Oil & Gas Limited, an indigenous oil servicing company based in Lagos State, Nigeria, where she provided legal support for their global operations.
Essiet was then elevated to top director, where she oversees the legal department and offers strategic legal counsel to the company’s top management team and board of directors.
She has played critical roles in establishing and executing the company’s legal strategy, which includes improving corporate governance standards, managing regulatory compliance, and minimising legal risks.
In her role at Tsur Oil & Gas, Essiet led the legal team in the negotiation of complicated business agreements, the resolution of disputes, and the management of litigation.
She holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) degree from the University of Benin and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2007.
Essiet is a member of the Nigerian Institute of Chartered Arbitrators and an active member of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) and its women’s forum, as well as the International Bar Association (IBA).
She has over 17 years of experience in the legal profession with expertise in business law, governance, and arbitration.
3. Oluwayemisi Olorunshola
Dr Oluwayemisi Olorunshola is the Chairman, Board of Directors of Wema Bank Plc.
She joined the bank as a Non-Executive Director in 2022 and was the Chairman of the Board’s Nomination and Governance Committee before her appointment as Chairman of the Board in June 2023.
Dr Olorunshola is a business professional with over 15 years’ experience and training in Unilever Nigeria Plc spanning supply chain, business re-engineering and process management.
She has over 20 years’ experience in business management and entrepreneurship, as well as over 10 years of boardroom experience.
Olorunshola possesses a B.Sc. in Education and Economics from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU).
She also obtained a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the University of Liverpool, United Kingdom, and a doctorate in Business Administration from the Walden University, USA.
Olorunshola has attended leadership, corporate governance, banking and management training programmes across several reputable institutions like INSEAD in France, the Leishton Academy, Imperial College in London, IMD Business School in Lausanne, Switzerland, FITC in Lagos, Nigeria, Chartered Institute of Director (CIoD), H. Pierson in Ikoyi, Lagos, Emmanuel University in North Carolina, USA, Chartered Institute of Personnel Management, where she received a Membership Certification, Institute of Management Consultants, Nigeria, where she is a Fellow and a certified management consultant.
As a lover of education, Olorunshola has many publications to her name, including her widely read article on small business sustainability strategies in the Journal of Functional Education (JFEAcademia), Proquest.com, and Academia.edu, which has been cited by many scholars.
4. Rachel Akhuetie
Rachel Akhuetie is the Executive Director, Finance, Commercial and Services, SunTrust Atlantic Energies, ensuring the delivery of strategic finance operations, joint venture coordination, asset acquisitions, asset management and development, stakeholder engagement, and implementation and alignment of the company’s growth objectives.
She also serves as a director on the board of four other companies in the energy/oil and gas industry where SunTrust Atlantic holds interest.
The Harvard Business School-trained management executive and director has over 24 years of experience in finance, oil and gas operations, corporate services, strategic innovation, consulting, human resources, and banking.
Akhuetie joined SunTrust in 2003 and has worked in various capacities and numerous leadership positions.
She previously worked with UBA Capital & Trust, an asset management company, Century Media Ltd and GoodWorks International LLC before joining SunTrust Atlantic Energies Limited.
5. Rose Nat Eshiett
Rose Nat Eshiett is an Independent Non-Executive Director with United Capital Plc, a position she was appointed into on February 8, 2024.
Eshiett has over 35 years' experience with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), where she retired as the Group General Manager, Crude Oil Marketing Division.
At NNPCL, she worked and held top management positions in various commercial, project financing and investments, financial accounting and auditing.
She is currently an honorary adviser on oil and gas to the Akwa Ibom State government.
Eshiett holds a Bachelor's of Science degree in Finance from the University of Calabar, Cross River State.
She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers and Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, as well as a member of the Institute of Directors of Nigeria and the Nigerian Institute of Management, respectively.
6. Patricia Simon-Hart
Patricia Simon-Hart was appointed as an Independent Non-Executive Director on the board of Aradel Holdings Plc, Nigeria’s first integrated oil and gas investment company, in 2022.
She also serves on Executive Board of the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), a Council member for WEConnect International, and a member of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board’s (NCDMB’s), Nigerian Content Consultative Forum (NCCF), Sectoral Working Group (SWG) for Diversity.
Simon-Hart is a tri-sector professional with over 30 years of experience in the private, public, and non-profit sectors. She has expertise in ICT, oil and gas, water, public policy and development, and is passionate about providing solutions to improve the operational efficiency and institutional strengthening of organisations through the introduction of technology, reforms, and capacity building.
She started her career in the ICT sector before transitioning to the oil and gas industry where she established Aftrac Limited, an ISO 9001:2015 certified oil and gas service company that began operations in 1998.
Between 2009 and 2015, Simon-Hart served as Commissioner for Water Resources and Rural Development, in Rivers State.
During her tenure, she championed the State Water Sector Reforms, introducing the first Rivers State water policy, updating state water laws, creating new water institutions, and developing a statewide water sector development plan.
She also secured international development assistance from the World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB) for the rehabilitation and upgrade of the Port Harcourt urban water supply scheme, designed to deliver water to over 1.2 million people.
Simon-Hart has a Master’s in Public Administration (MPA) from Harvard, Kennedy School of Government, a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics/Computer Science & Statistics from the University of Port Harcourt, and is an alumnus of London Business School.
7. Cecilia Akintomide
Cecilia Akintomide is a member of the Board of Directors of Parthian Partners, an interdealer brokering company, following her appointment in April 2024.
She is also an Independent Director on the Boards of CcHUB Growth Capital, Nigeria’s first social innovation fund, supporting high potential early-stage businesses; SWAgCo, an agricultural sector investment company; and Ondo State Development and Investment Promotion Agency (ONDIPA), a state government agency focused on promoting development and investments.
Akintomide is the Special Executive Adviser to the Group CEO, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated.
She has a demonstrated history of working in the financial services industry and development finance, skilled in strategy, development finance, international law, project finance, and corporate governance.
Akintomide is a member of the Board of Regents of Covenant University and the Board of Trustees of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), and served as an Independent Non-Executive Director on the Board of FBN Holdings Plc.
She has also served as the Vice President Secretary General of the African Development Bank (AfDB), where she provided leadership for the dynamic relationship between the AfDB and its then 80-member states, and served as secretary to the 80-member ministerial Boards of governors and 20-member resident Boards of Directors.
Before the AfDB, Akintomide practiced law in Lagos, Washington D.C., and New York, at the law firms of O. Thomas & Co.; Thompson & Co.; and Weil, Gotshal & Manges, with a focus on business reorganisations, corporate law and commercial law.
8. Jennifer Obayuwana
Jennifer Obayuwana is a gemologist, watch specialist and collector of object d’arts.
She serves as the Executive Director of Polo Luxury Group, a family enterprise established in 1987 by her father, John Obayuwana.
As the first luxury company in Nigeria, Polo Luxury Group pioneered the rise of luxury retail in the country.
The company is the official maison of high-end Swiss watch-making and fine jewelry brands with a portfolio that includes Rolex, Cartier, Breguet, Chopard, Piaget, Omega, Longines, Messika, among others.
Polo Luxury Group under Obayuwana has expanded to include a subsidiary Polo Avenue, the foremost fashion destination in Nigeria with a brand portfolio including Gucci, Valentino, Bottega Veneta, Berluti and Alexander McQueen.
Obayuwana is an alumnus of The American University of Paris and Franklin University, Switzerland and has taken several management courses at prestigious institutions such as INSEAD, Columbia Business School, Lagos Business School, The Wharton School of Business, Cranfield School of Management and the Gemological Institute of America.
9. Amina A. Salihu
Amina A. Salihu is the Deputy Director, On Nigeria at MacArthur Foundation, and she is responsible for inclusive grant-making and communication, programme idea generation, and networking with the On Nigeria team.
She is also an Independent Non-Executive Director on the Board of GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria Plc, the Chair of the Board of Trustees of Hadis Foundation for Voice, Accountability, and Safe Spaces, and a member of the governing council of Ekiti State University.
Salihu was formerly a lecturer in the Political Science Department of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; Senior Special Assistant to the Minister of Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory, and Coordinator, DFID/UKAid’s Coalitions for Change (C4C) Programme.
She is an honorary adviser to numerous government, private sector, and civil society organisations on gender, equity, inclusion, and policy, including a member of the International Political Science Association, Chartered Management Consultants, and the African Feminist Forum.
Salihu was a past chair of the Kaduna State Rehabilitation Board for Persons with Disabilities, pioneer co-chair of the Board of Directors, and now chair of the advisory team of the Nigerian Women’s Trust Fund, and technical advisor to the EU RoLAC programme on a web-based sexual offender database for Nigeria.
She received her B.Sc and M.Sc from Ahmadu Bello University Zaria and PhD from the University of Abuja. She has also spent time at Aspen, the Universities of Cape Town, Sussex, and Liverpool.
10. Yewande Akinola
Yewande Akinola is a Non-Executive Director, Co-creation Hub and has experience working in various sectors like education, engineering, technology, and innovation for a sustainable built environment.
She has worked on projects in the U.K., Africa, the Middle East and in East Asia, deploying her engineering experience in responsibilities that include design and construction, sustainability, strategy, innovation and manufacturing of products and systems.
Akinola used engineering as a tool for creativity and has developed strategies towards the effective operation of business functions and set clear visions for the development of people within organisations.
Akinola holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering Design and Appropriate Technology from the University of Warwick and a Master's in Innovation and Design for Sustainability from Cranfield University.
She has been awarded an MBE for services to engineering innovation and diversity in STEM, and is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.
IWD: 10 Nigerian women making waves in tech
Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier celebrated 10 women who are solving society’s needs through their innovative tech startups.
Men dominate Nigeria’s tech space due to reasons like gender inequality and limited access to opportunities. However, some women have broken these barriers and are making waves in the Nigerian tech space.
