CBN deputy governor leads Etisalat’s new board

A Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Dr.
Joseph Nnanna was Tuesday appointed Chairman, Etisalat Nigeria’s
new board of directors.

The constitution of the board, which was jointly brokered by the
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Central Bank of
Nigeria (CBN), marked the end of a long drawn battle between the
telco and a consortium of 13 local lenders over breach of repayment
terms of $1.2billion loan raised for the telco about five years
ago.

Also appointed Managing Director/CEO of the telco is Mr. Boye
Olusanya, a former Deputy Chief Executive Officer and subsequently
Acting Chief Executive Officer, Econet Wireless. When the telco
metamorphosed to Celtel Nigeria Limited, Boye assumed the role of
Deputy Chief Executive Officer and led the business strategy
initiative for data services as well as key strategic operational
changes in the business.

Boye who replaces Mathew Wilshere, has handled high level
responsibilities at Dangote Industries Limited where he served as
Chief Business Transformation Officer responsible for management of
all enterprise-wide projects in the Group. He was also MD at Dancom
Technologies Limited with responsibility for managing all the
telecom assets and the IT infrastructure. He oversaw the sale of
the 3G subsidiary as well as managed the rollout of the fibre
backbone network covering 4400km across the country.

Unconfirmed sources said Wilshere will still stay around to
contribute his wealth of experience to the stability of the telco.
He is expected to be around till December this year when his
contract with the telco would have elapsed.

Appointed Executive Director, Finance, is Mrs. Funke Ighodaro. A
former Chief Financial Officer of Tiger Brands Limited, she also
held the position of Chief Financial Officer of Primedia (Pty) Ltd,
and was Managing Director of a private equity firm, Kagiso Ventures
Limited and Executive Director of its parent company, Kagiso Trust
Investment Company.

Funke who takes over from Mr. Olawole Obasunloye, also worked in
the corporate finance division of Standard Corporate and Merchant
Bank. She trained and qualified as a Chartered Accountant with
PricewaterhouseCoopers in London, where she spent a total of 10
years in audit and tax. She is a Fellow of the Institute of
Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

The National Senior Partner, KPMG Professional Services,
Nigeria, Mr. Oluseyi Bickersteth, was appointed as Non-Executive
Director of the board. In his capacity at KPMG, he oversaw KPMG
West Africa Region and is a member of the Global Board and has
provided advisory services to major companies in varied industries,
including oil and gas, financial services, telecommunications,
manufacturing, commercial, public sector and not for profit
organisations.

He has been extensively involved in privatisation activities and
has provided tax and business advice to several local and
international companies on privatisation, business organisation,
entity restructuring and business regulatory issues.

Seyi was a member of the Trade and Investment Committee of the
Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce; was a director of the
Nigerian-South African Chamber of Commerce and currently a Director
of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group. He was also involved in
Vision 2010, which prepared a memorandum on the vision for Nigeria
by year 2010. He chaired a working group on “Nigerian Tax Reforms
2003 & Beyond” for the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Another Non-Executive Director of the board is Mr. Ken Igbokwe
who joined Price Waterhouse in London in 1978 and moved to PwC
Nigeria in 1988. He became the Country Business Executive Leader of
PwC Nigeria and West Africa and was a member of the PwC Africa
Executive Committee.

A Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Dr.
Joseph Nnanna was Tuesday appointed Chairman, Etisalat Nigeria’s
new board of directors.

The constitution of the board, which was jointly brokered by the
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Central Bank of
Nigeria (CBN), marked the end of a long drawn battle between the
telco and a consortium of 13 local lenders over breach of repayment
terms of $1.2billion loan raised for the telco about five years
ago.

Also appointed Managing Director/CEO of the telco is Mr. Boye
Olusanya, a former Deputy Chief Executive Officer and subsequently
Acting Chief Executive Officer, Econet Wireless. When the telco
metamorphosed to Celtel Nigeria Limited, Boye assumed the role of
Deputy Chief Executive Officer and led the business strategy
initiative for data services as well as key strategic operational
changes in the business.

Boye who replaces Mathew Wilshere, has handled high level
responsibilities at Dangote Industries Limited where he served as
Chief Business Transformation Officer responsible for management of
all enterprise-wide projects in the Group. He was also MD at Dancom
Technologies Limited with responsibility for managing all the
telecom assets and the IT infrastructure. He oversaw the sale of
the 3G subsidiary as well as managed the rollout of the fibre
backbone network covering 4400km across the country.

Unconfirmed sources said Wilshere will still stay around to
contribute his wealth of experience to the stability of the telco.
He is expected to be around till December this year when his
contract with the telco would have elapsed.

Appointed Executive Director, Finance, is Mrs. Funke Ighodaro. A
former Chief Financial Officer of Tiger Brands Limited, she also
held the position of Chief Financial Officer of Primedia (Pty) Ltd,
and was Managing Director of a private equity firm, Kagiso Ventures
Limited and Executive Director of its parent company, Kagiso Trust
Investment Company.

Funke who takes over from Mr. Olawole Obasunloye, also worked in
the corporate finance division of Standard Corporate and Merchant
Bank. She trained and qualified as a Chartered Accountant with
PricewaterhouseCoopers in London, where she spent a total of 10
years in audit and tax. She is a Fellow of the Institute of
Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

The National Senior Partner, KPMG Professional Services,
Nigeria, Mr. Oluseyi Bickersteth, was appointed as Non-Executive
Director of the board. In his capacity at KPMG, he oversaw KPMG
West Africa Region and is a member of the Global Board and has
provided advisory services to major companies in varied industries,
including oil and gas, financial services, telecommunications,
manufacturing, commercial, public sector and not for profit
organisations.

He has been extensively involved in privatisation activities and
has provided tax and business advice to several local and
international companies on privatisation, business organisation,
entity restructuring and business regulatory issues.

Seyi was a member of the Trade and Investment Committee of the
Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce; was a director of the
Nigerian-South African Chamber of Commerce and currently a Director
of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group. He was also involved in
Vision 2010, which prepared a memorandum on the vision for Nigeria
by year 2010. He chaired a working group on “Nigerian Tax Reforms
2003 & Beyond” for the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Another Non-Executive Director of the board is Mr. Ken Igbokwe
who joined Price Waterhouse in London in 1978 and moved to PwC
Nigeria in 1988. He became the Country Business Executive Leader of
PwC Nigeria and West Africa and was a member of the PwC Africa
Executive Committee.