ABBALY JOHNSON
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF LIGHTFIELD HOUSE INTERNATIONAL
Abbaly, Johnson is the Chief Executive of LightField House International and lead consultant for Abbaly 1540 Consulting that provides bespoke workforce training for firms that hire millennials.
He is the President of Successor Generation Consortium. The SGC is a community of young professionals who collaborate and share resources to help raise the next generation of leaders in Africa across 15 sectors
He is the founder and coordinator of the Elite Smartan Programme. The programme is a talent pipeline accelerator that identifies exceptional talent from high school, aggregate them in ecosystems and support their growths until they achieve future ready skills at graduation from high institutions.
Johnson Abbaly is a fellow of the prestigious Mount Pelerin Society established since 1947 in Switzerland.. He is the author of Unleashed, an extraordinary book that focuses on unlocking the next generation. He also co-authored a book with Professor Akinsola Olowu for the Department of Psychology in the Faculty of Social Sciences, Obafemi Awolowo University titled “MENTORING: A KEY ISSUE IN HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT, which is published
by the Ife Centre for Psychological Studies/Services. He is an inspirational speaker, strategist, conceptual theorist, and convener of the House of Daniel.
He has represented in events in Nairobi, Kenya. He is also a fellow of African Institute of Entrepreneurs. He is a member of the Human Capital Policy Commission of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group that covers the Health, Education and Youth Development sectors. He is the chairperson of the Youth Development Sub-Committee of the Policy Commission.
Abbaly is an Expert level Trainer with the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) and a core skills facilitator with British Council Nigeria for Connecting Classroom Programme. He is a facilitator for Fate Foundation and has managed several events including Business on Radio, Samsung Real Dream Programme and the Aspiring Entrepreneur Programme. He serves on the board of the Education Burden Bearers Group, an arm of the Apostles in the Market Place. He was a consultant with the Federal government of Nigeria’s Youth Enterprise and Innovation programme YOUWIN.
He is the deputy chairman board of Governors Inspiration Schools in Ogun State and he is also the chairman of Imagin Media Communications, publishers of Home and Office magazine.. Abbaly has been severally recognized for his contribution to human capital development. Some of his awards include FutureAwards 2006, Pronaija Awards from University of Port Harcourt, Two time Alumni Awards recipient from University of Benin, Business Management Conference Awards 2012, Award of Excellence from Faculty of Medicine, Obafemi Awolowo University Ile Ife among others.
Johnson Abbaly is an alumnus of the United States Government prestigious annual International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP) in Washington DC.
Abbaly is an author and continues to be a much sought-after speaker in both corporate events and youth conferences locally and internationally. Some of his prominent speaking engagements include;
- Facilitated a 4 Day Leadership training for First Bank Corporate Transformation Department retreat , Benin Republic
- Facilitated Oando Treasury Department Retreat, Lagos
- Facilitated the Education Syndicate Session of the DayStar Excellence in Leadership Conference 2011
- Facilitated MTN Graduate Training workshops in Abuja, Owerri and Lagos 2014
- Milwaukee School of Languages, Wisconsin, USA
- World Learning, Small Business Administration, Washington DC
- National Federation of Independent Business, Washington DC
- Wisconsin Manufacture and Commerce, Madison Wisconsin, USA
- Ideas Village, New Orleans, USA
- Micro-enterprise Development, USAID, Washington DC
- Mont Pelerin Regional Conference, Nairobi Kenya
Trains MTN scholars annually
PROFESSOR. OYEDUNNI SOLA ARULOGUN
HEALTH PROMOTION AND EDUCATION SPECIALIST
Professor Oyedunni Sola ARULOGUN is a foremost health promotion and education specialist with over 20 years of experience at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria the leading Nigerian academic institution teaching students from various social and cultural backgrounds.
She has a broad background in speech pathology/audiology and health promotion and education with specific training and expertise in speech rehabilitation after stroke, delayed speech development in children, qualitative studies, community engagement activities, capacity building, and mentoring. She has carried out research using the mix methods.
As a trailblazer, she is the first female Professor of Health Promotion and Education, at the University of Ibadan and the first female to become the Dean of the Faculty of Public Health, at the University of Ibadan. She has received training in addition to her basic academic degrees (BEd, MEd, MPH, Ph.D.) at the Margaret Sanger Institute South Africa, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Galilee International Management Institute Israel and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, USA. Her research interests include the reproductive health of adolescents with a bias for the disabled, gender, stroke studies, child survival strategies, tropical diseases, and health promotion through a health system approach all of which embrace community-based interventions to influence behavior change as well as creating a supportive environment for small and medium enterprises.
Professor Arulogun belongs to many professional bodies such as the Speech Pathology and Audiology Association of Nigeria (SPAAN), the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP), the International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE). She is a Licentiate of the Nigerian Medical Rehabilitation Therapists Board. Professor Oyedunni Arulogun is a Fellow Royal Society of Public Health UK, a Fellow of the African Institute of Public Health, and a Fellow Institute of Classical Entrepreneurship, Nigeria. Professor Arulogun is an avid researcher of international repute. She has served as Principal Investigator, Co-Principal Investigator, or Co-Investigator on several internally and externally funded projects and grants including MacArthur Foundation, World Health Organization, Unilever, National Institute of Health (NIH), National Agency for Control of AIDS (NACA), World Bank, University of Ibadan Senate Research Grant and Bill and Melinda Gates supported University of Ibadan Centre for Reproductive Health. She possesses excellent administrative, verbal communication, and writing skills along with constructive and effective teaching methods that promote a stimulating learning environment. She is the Chairperson Oyo State Advisory Committee on Neglected Tropical Diseases (OYSACON) (2016 – Date). She assumed office as the Director of the University of Ibadan Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation on May 20, 2019, for a term of three years. She was re-appointed for a second term of three years starting from May 20, 2022. In her tenure as the Director, the Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation has witnessed tremendous growth in infrastructure and value creation and addition through capacity strengthening of social entrepreneurs.
OLUWASEYI ADEOYE
BUSINESS LEADER AND FORMER CLIENT SERVICES DIRECTOR WITH TNS NIGERIA
Seyi is a seasoned business leader with well honed expertise spanning strategy, business development, business growth advisory, marketing and international expansion dynamics.
Former Client Services Director with TNS Nigeria, Seyi managed market research teams across diverse sectors and clients like MTN, NBL, MasterCard, Interswitch, banks, Google, Arla Foods, Total, PZ, Lagos State Government, RTI, World Bank, DfID and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
He was also Head of Strategy & Business Development for RMS Group (with operations across Asia, Europe and Africa), where he developed group operational policies, strategy road maps and was instrumental to eventual merger with Kantar Global.
Prior to this, he was head of Product Research and Deployment for Access Bank Group; covering Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Rwanda and Cote’ D’Voire.
Seyi is a graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University, alumnus of Lagos Business School, a ISEB UK certified Business Analyst, ESOMAR Insight250 award winner and ESOMAR Insight250 2022- 2023 international judge.
He is currently the CEO of Pierrine Consulting with offices across Africa, the program director of MRA Lagos ,the convener of What-Is-New International Conference and WINx Nigeria.
DR. SILVA OPUALA-CHARLES
PRESIDENT AND CHAIRMAN, GOVERNING COUNCIL OF GARDEN CITY PREMIER BUSINESS SCHOOL
Dr. Silva Opuala-Charles is the President and Chairman, Governing Council of Garden City Premier Business School. Dr. Silva Opuala-Charles is a broadly skilled individual with thirty-two years of multi-industry experience spanned as follows: nineteen years of experience in the banking industry, over five years in the public service as commissioner of finance/budget/economy, Bayelsa state, and over thirteen years in the private business development with subsidiaries focused on paint manufacturing, real estate, oil and gas, strategy and consulting.
As a banker, he displayed a significant record of performance with his sterling career in key institutions such as United Bank for Africa Plc., Equatorial Trust Bank (Sterling Bank Plc), Fidelity Bank Plc, Comet Merchant Bank Ltd, Finbank Plc (now First City Monument Bank Plc). As a consummate banker, he was a turnaround manager that made all businesses profitable under his watch.
Dr Opuala-Charles grew to the General Manager’s cadre before his appointment as the Honourable Commissioner of Finance/Budget/Economy in 2007, where he played a leading role in public sector institution building.
Dr. Opuala-Charles as a commissioner spearheaded a lot of reforms. His stint in government led to the establishment of the Bayelsa State Economic Management Team which he served as a vice-chairman with the Governor as Chairman. He pioneered the domestication of the legislations in public procurement, fiscal responsibility, public private partnership, infrastructure concessioning, microcredit management as well as landmark policies in recurrent and capital expenditure approval processes, scholarship policy, budget and treasury operations policies. Silva Opuala-Charles has PhD in
Economics specializing in Monetary Economics with a Master’s degree in Economics with specialty in Money and Banking.
In September 2016, Dr. Opuala-Charles was awarded the prestigious Global Executive MBA degree from the three affiliate Universities of London School of Economics and Political Science, London; New York University, Stern Business School, New York; HEC Business School, Paris. He is an alumnus of Lagos Business School and a graduate of the Breakthrough Program for Senior Executives (BPSE) and an Alumnus of IMD Business School, Lausanne, Switzerland. He is an Alumnus of the London Business School, London; London School of Economics and Political Science, London; New York University, Stern School of Business, New York and HEC Management School, Paris.
He is also a distinguished Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Management (FNIM), and also Fellow of the Association of Certified Commercial Diplomats (FCCdipl), Fellow of the Institute of Strategic Management of Nigeria (FSM), Fellow, the Chartered Institute of Administration (FCIA), and Fellow, Institute of Chartered Economists of Nigeria (FCEN).
NNEKA OKEKEARU
DIRECTOR AND HEAD OF GENDER, ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT CENTRE OF THE PAN-ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY.
Nneka Okekearu is the Director and Head of Gender at the Enterprise Development Centre of the Pan-Atlantic University.
She is a leading expert in enterprise development with over 20 years’ of experience in entrepreneurship, gender, economic inclusion, and leadership and has worked with institutions such as United Bank for Africa and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. Nneka is passionate about creating pathways for process improvement for entrepreneurs through sustainable and innovative solutions that promote inclusive business development that generates decent employment opportunities for all.
She is chair of Learning and Development Africa, a network that seeks to harness
knowledge from emerging trends to provide impactful L&D solutions in Africa. She also sits on the West Africa Steering Committee of the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs.
STEPHEN OLUWATOBI
CO-FOUNDER AND CEO, QUANTA AFRICA
Stephen Oluwatobi is the Co-founder and CEO, Quanta Africa, an innovation platform aimed at transforming Africa through innovation. Over the years, he amassed experiences in academia and the industry. His teachings, research and service covers economics, entrepreneurship and innovation. He earned his PhD in Innovation Economics, where he studied how Sub-Saharan African countries could achieve innovation-driven growth.
At Covenant University, he led the Centre for Entrepreneurship and revamped the curriculum and education model to “make entrepreneurs” instead of “inform about entrepreneurship.” He also led the commercialisation arm of Covenant University’s Innovation Centre to re-engineer the University’s ecosystem to support innovation, take research beyond the shelf and make innovation happen.
Stephen is also the founder and Chairman of Hebron Startup Lab, Covenant University, the first University Startup Accelerator in Nigeria from which great African entrepreneurs have emerged, who have started high-growth companies, such as PiggyVest, Kora Pay, Thrive Agric, Mobile Waiters, and Keza.
Stephen founded Edustart Global to cultivate high-growth entrepreneurs to create transformational businesses to solve Africa’s problems. Via this platform, he consults and supports Education Institutions on the subject of Entrepreneurship Education, Innovation as well as Innovation Ecosystem Development in order to make them factories for great innovators and innovations.
Beyond academia, Stephen has been very active in the industry. He served as the Group CEO of Pertinence Group, an enterprise development group of companies committed to People Development and Innovation. Presently, he leads Quanta, an innovation-based company, which he co-founded to transform Africa through innovation. He is the author of 3 books and a number of research-based publications.
Stephen, thus, engages this complete blend of experiences in both the industry and the academia, to see the clear gaps, advise and provide the needed support to scale better outcomes. He is married with 3 children.
