Guess what is happening today? It’s a day for women! Also known as the International Working Women’s Day, March 8 is a special day set aside for the call for the equality and freedom for the women, as well as their contribution to society.
Today at the Concept Group, we are going to celebrate women who have done phenomenal exploits in the area of Finance and Technology (Two core areas in the existence of all humans). These women who are from all around the world have contributed hugely to the two sectors we are talking about.
Janet Yellen
Born August 13, 1946, Janet Louise Yellen is an American economist and the Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. She was sworn in on February 3, 2014, making her the first woman to hold the position and the 3rd most powerful woman.
Before that, she was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco; Chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers under President Bill Clinton; and business professor at the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business.
Yellen has written on a wide variety of macroeconomic issues, while specializing in the causes, mechanisms, and implications of unemployment.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
Okonjo-Iwela is a Nigerian and a highly respected and influential global leader, economist, policy maker and thinker on Finance and Economic Development. Five years in a row, she has been listed as one of the 100 Most Powerful Women in the World by Forbes Magazine and in 2013 was listed as one of the Most Influential People in the World by TIME Magazine. In 2015, she was also listed as one of the 50 Greatest World Leaders by Fortune.
She served two terms as Finance Minister of Nigeria (2003-2006, 2011-2015) and was previously Managing Director of the World Bank (2007-2011).
Okonjo-Iweala is renowned as the first female and black candidate to contest for the presidency of the World Bank Group in 2012.
Ibukun Awosika
Awosika is the Chairman, First Bank of Nigeria and she happens to be the first woman to take up this position ever since the bank was established. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife and holds an MBA from IESE Business School, Barcelona, Spain.
She is an alumna of the Lagos Business School Chief Executive Programme and also a board member of the Women in Management and Business (WIMBIZ) and Convention on Business Integrity.
Sola David-Borha
Sola David-Bortha is the CEO of Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC. She is fondly described as a woman with a strong personality and a high IQ. She holds a B.Sc Economics degree from the University of Ibadan and an MBA from Manchester Business School, UK.
Sola is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers and Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group. She previously served as Deputy CEO Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC, among other appointments before her appointment as CEO.
Sheryl Sandberg
For the fifth time in a row, Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook COO has been named the most powerful woman in technology on the Forbes’ 100 Most Powerful Women list, placing at No. 7 on the list overall.
She is an American technology executive, activist, author and also the founder of Leanin.org.
With a personal fortune of $1.4 billion, Sandberg is powerful not only as a billionaire and top executive at the world’s fifth most valuable brand, she is also known as a strong advocate for female empowerment in the workplace and shared responsibilities at home.
Omobola Johnson
Dr. Omobola Johnson is a Nigerian technocrat and the pioneer Minister of Communication Technology, a position she occupied following her appointment as part of the transformation Agenda of the Goodluck Jonathan government. Before this, she was the Country manager for Accenture Nigeria.
One notable achievement of her ministry is the launch of the NigComSat-IR Satellite which has in many ways complemented the country’s efforts at fiber connectivity and the provision of greater bandwidth.
Funke Opeke
Funke Opeke is an experienced telecommunications executive who founded Main Street Technologies and is the C.E.O. of MainOne.
She got a degree in Electronics & Electrical Engineering from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife in 1981 before she proceeded to New York for a Master’s degree at Columbia University.
Before this, she was the Chief Technical Officer in MTN Nigeria and also served as adviser to Transcorp and Chief Operating Officer of NITEL for a brief period before launching Main Street Technologies in 2007. Since her inception as the M.D, the company has raised over $240 Million to build the pioneer private submarine cable system in West Africa.
