Richard Ikiebe is a distinguished scholar specializing in Contemporary Media History and Leadership at Pan-Atlantic University’s School of Media and Communication (SMC) in Lagos, Nigeria. He has been a Senior Fellow and Director of the Centre for Leadership in Journalism (CLeJ) since 2009.
In addition to his academic roles at SMC, Ikiebe was a Doctoral Researcher at the University of Westminster, London, UK where he took his PhD. He has demonstrated his commitment to advancing the communication profession by serving as a member of the Global Communication Certification Council of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) in 2012/13, contributing to the creation of a syllabus and implementation of a certification scheme to ISO standards.
His illustrious career includes notable positions such as Special Adviser to the Chief of General Staff (1998-99) and Senior Policy Adviser to the Minister of Information (1986-1990).
Frank Aigbogun a seasoned journalist and co- founder of BusinessDay newspaper where he has been publisher since 2001. He commenced his journalism journey at the Guardian. Progressing to Vanguard at which he ascended to the role of editor for all newspaper’s titles. Frank’s career includes a tenure as the Lagos correspondent for the Associated Press (AP).
Frank first studied Mass Communication and is the immediate past president of the Lagos Business School’s alumni association. Mr. Aigbogun was a member of the vision 2010 committee, assigned by the government to formulate a long-term economic vision for Nigeria. Notably, he served as the alternate rapporteur for the sub-committee on competition and deregulation.
Olayinka David-West a seasoned Professor of Information Systems with over three decades of experience in IT and financial services, is the Associate Dean at Lagos Business School (LBS). She leads the Sustainable and Inclusive Digital Financial Services (SIDFS) initiative at LBS. Beyond her academic and professional achievements, she mentors’ young women in STEM and has received recognition, including features on the Tech Women of Lagos exhibition.
Olayinka is listed among the Leading Women in Nigeria’s Financial Technology Industry and profiled as a prominent expert in financial inclusion in Africa by FintechTimes. Prof David-West holds a Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) from Manchester Business School and an MSc in Business Systems Analysis and Design from City University, London.
Dr. Nkiru Balonwu Founder of The Africa Soft Power Group, is a leader in harnessing African creative industries globally. Renowned for initiatives like Africa Soft Power Summit and African Women on Board, she has presented at prestigious forums like the UN General Assembly. Former CEO of Spinlet, with a diverse background, she’s a legal professional with qualifications from England, Nigeria, and New York, holding a Doctorate from UC Berkeley and a Masters from UCL. As a Senior Research Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, she concentrates on the private sector’s impact on gender policy.
Ms Olaniyan is Principal Consultant at Dalberg, the development focused global research firm. Before joining Dalberg, she worked for PwC Lagos as well as Oracle. She studied at Headington Girls’ school, Oxford, Duke University and received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics from Edinburgh University and gained another master’s in business consulting from Warwick University Business School. She was chosen in a group of four students to represent Headington School at the Bank of England’s annual Inflation Rate Challenge, a competition targeted at A Level Economics students and was elected by her colleagues to answer the questions after she had made the power point presentation during the challenge. Ms. Olaniyan has interned at African Finance Corporation and at Afrinvest and chairs BusinessDay’s board committee on Channels and Technology.
Dr. Anthony Osunde serves as the Head of Sales and Service at GEA West Africa Ltd. Previously, he held the position of Market Manager for Africa & the Middle East at GEA Process Engineering in the UK. Over the last 2.5 years, Dr. Osunde has excelled as a regional manager for GEA West Africa, actively contributing to the development of the After Sales and Service Organization for the GEA group.
As a co-founder of the GEA Nigeria Palm Oil Initiative, Dr. Osunde is deeply committed to advancing small- scale CPO production through innovative approaches like sludge de-oiling and palm oil purification stations. With a background in Chemical Engineering, he holds a degree, Masters, and a PhD in the same field, completing his doctoral studies at Imperial College London.
Mr. Obayomi an Independent Director on the Board of Accion Microfinance Bank, also serves as a Corporate Value Optimization consultant. Following a distinguished career of over 30 years in the public sector, commercial and corporate banking, and more than 17 years in private equity investment with African Capital Alliance (ACA), he transitioned into private practice and agriculture. During his tenure with ACA, Mr. Obayomi played a key role in managing a Nigeria-based SME Fund. He holds the esteemed titles of Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Associate of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, and Associate of the Nigerian Institute of Management.