Dr Omobola Johnson
Dr Omobola Johnson is one of Nigeria’s senior boardroom executives breaking new grounds with several remarkable achievements. She recently took over the leadership of the Board of Guinness Nigeria Plc as its first female chairman, having served as an Independent Non-Executive Director. A member of its Finance and Risk Committee as well as the Governance and Remunerations Committee, she brings to the Board over 30 years of experience from both the private and public sectors of the Nigerian economy. Dr Omobola Johnson leads the pack of outstanding women driving impacts in their careers.
An alumna of the University of Manchester United Kingdom where she gained a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, she also obtained a Master of Science degree in Digital Electronics from King’s College London and a Doctorate in Business Administration from Cranfield University.
Dr Omobola currently serves as Senior Partner at TLCom Capital LLP, a venture capital firm with a recent focus on deal flow generation, investment and value generation in technology companies in sub-Saharan Africa.
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Before TLcom, she was Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) under the administration of former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan between 2011 and 2015. During her four-year tenure in the ministry, she led the launch and execution of the National Broadband Plan and the pioneering involvement of the government in a local venture capital fund and a network of startup incubators. Dr Omobola’s tenure saw Nigeria become the first African country to join the Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI) – a global movement led by the Web Foundation, an NGO working to make broadband affordable for all. Between 2015 and 2018, she served as A4AI’s Honourary Chair, where she provided strategic policies and led high-level advocacy to reduce the cost of internet services.
Before serving in the Nigerian government, she gained over 25 years of consulting experience with a management consulting firm – in the London office of Arthur Andersen/Andersen Consulting (now Accenture Limited) including five years as Country Managing Director, working with companies in a variety of industries and transforming them into more competitive and dynamic organizations. She became a partner in September 2000 and assumed responsibilities for financial services practice from 2000 to 2007.
Dr Omobola’s name resonates with the Boards of several leading local and multinational corporations including the World Bank, Oxford Business Group and Bloomberg. She is a Member of the Board of MTN Nigeria Communications, a Trustee of the World Economic Forum’s Future of the Internet Initiative and a founding Chairperson and Trustee of Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ) – a non-governmental organization she co-founded in 2001. She currently sits on the Advisory Board of the Lagos Business School (LBS) and the International Advisory Board of the United Nations – University Institute of Computing and Society in Macau, having previously served as an Independent Director of the defunct Diamond Bank Plc between 2010 to 2011 and as Director of Custodian and Allied Insurance Plc in 2011.
Dr Omobola is a Fellow of Aspen Global Leadership Network and the recipient of the Distinguished Alumna award from Cranfield University and the Lagos Business School.
Connect with Dr Omobola Johnson on LinkedIn and Twitter @OmobolaJohnson.