Tony Elumelu, the Chairman, Transcorp Group and Heirs Holdings, has approved the appointments of four women to top positions at Transcorp.

The four female officials who were elevated are Owen Omogiafo, Dupe Olusola, Okaima Ohizua, and Helen Iwuchukwu. In the same vein, Christopher Ezeafulukwe also got a new appointment.

Owen Omogiafo

Owen Omogiafo has been appointed as President/GCEO of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc with effect from March 25, 2020. She succeeds 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 and 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 one of Africa’s top 100 female CEOs.

Dupe Olusola

Dupe Olusola has been appointed as the MD/CEO of Transcorp Hotels Plc, effective from March 25, 2020. She is currently the Group Head, Marketing at United Bank for Africa Plc. She has over 21 years of corporate experience including MD/CEO of Teragro Juice Concentrate Plant. She holds a BA in Economics from the University of Leicester and a Masters in Development Economics from the University of Kent. She is a certified Project Manager, with qualifications in PMP and Prince 2. Olusola has received numerous awards and was named by Ventures Africa as one of the 10 most influential Nigerian CEOs of 2015.

Helen Iwuchukwu

The board of Transcorp Hotels Plc has also approved the appointment of Helen Iwuchukwu as an Executive Director/Chief Operating Officer of the company. She is currently the Group Company Secretary of Transcorp Plc. She holds an LL. B. (Hons) degree in Law and was enrolled as a Solicitor and Advocate of the Supreme Court in 1993 (BL Hons) and holds a Master of Laws degree (LL. M.) from Middlesex University Business School, London.
Iwuchukwu is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association, with over 25 years in legal advisory, corporate law, corporate governance, administration, human capital management, and government relationship management.

Okaima Ohizua

The board of Transcorp Power Ltd also approved the appointment of Okaima Ohizua as Executive Director/Chief Operating Officer of Transcorp Power Ltd. Ohizua is currently Executive Director, Customer Services at Transcorp Hotels Plc. She 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, Ohizua also holds an Advanced Management Program certificate from the Pan-African University – Lagos Business School. Mr Elumelu, a father of five girls, pays special attention to identifying and promoting women to leadership positions through succession planning.

Christopher Ezeafulukwe

The board also appointed Christopher Ezeafulukwe as the MD/CEO of Transcorp Power Plant Limited. He was the Executive Director, Business Development and Legal, Transcorp Plc. He has over 21 years’ experience in business development, legal advisory and company secretarial roles.

Ezeafulukwe holds an LL.B from the University of Lagos, a B.L from the Nigerian Law School, an LL.M from the University of Lagos and further LL.M in Energy, Environmental and Natural Resources Law from the University of Houston, Texas. He is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association, the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria, the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators and was a member of the Executive Council of Association of Power Generation Companies of Nigeria.

In addition, the board of Transcorp Plc has appointed Valentine Ozigbo as a Non-Executive Director following his resignation as MD/CEO of Transcorp Plc.

Elumelu expresses confidence in new appointees

Speaking on these appointments, Elumelu expressed his confidence that the newly appointed chief executives and non-executive directors will further strengthen Transcorp’s mission of improving lives across Nigeria.

“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 said.

Elumelu thanked Valentine Ozigbo for his achievements as CEO. He highlighted that the board of Transcorp would continue to implement its defined strategy which has led its investee companies being leaders in their chosen sectors to see significant transformation since Elumelu’s holding company, Heirs Holdings, invested in 2011.

Elumelu continues to drive his agenda for women empowerment with most of his companies having women at the helm of affairs.

UBA has five women as Non-Executive Directors – Foluke Abdul-Razaq, Owanari Duke, Angela Adebayo, Angela Aneke and Uju Hassan Baba.

Other women in high positions include Noellie Tiendrebeogo, CEO, UBA Burkina Faso; Sarata Kone, CEO, UBA Cote D’Ivoire; Chioma Mang; CEO, UBA Gabon; Nkechi Arizor; CEO, UBA Liberia; Adesola Yomi-Ajayi, CEO, UBA New York; Bola Atta, Group Head, Corporate Communications; Dupe Olusola, Group Head, Marketing; Amie Ndiaye Sow, Regional CEO, West Africa 2; Abiola Bawuah, Regional CEO, West Africa 1; Patricia Aderibigbe, Group Head, Human Resources; Emem Usoro, Directorate Head Abuja and North Central Bank; and

Others are Eniola Fadayomi, Chairman, Africa Prudential; Uzoamaka Oshogwe, Managing Director/CEO, Afriland Properties; and Agatha Obiekwugo as board member at Afriland.

At Transcorp Plc, the women in top positions include Oluwatoyin Sanni, Non-Executive Director; Obi Ibekwe, Non-Executive Director; Helen Iwuchukwu, Group Company Secretary; Chinweugo Nwafor, Head – Internal Audit.

Those at Transcorp Hotel are Saratu Umar, Independent Non-Executive Director; alongside Omogiafo and Ohizua.

Elumelu’s wife, Dr. Awele Elumelu, is the chairperson of Avon Healthcare Limited (and CEO of AVON Medial Practice) while Adesimbo Ukiri is the chief executive officer.

Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu manages the affairs of Tony Elumelu Foundation as chief executive officer.

Transcorp’s interests include Transcorp Power, Transcorp Hotels, owner of the iconic Transcorp Hilton, with significant upstream oil and gas assets.