Unilever Nigeria appoints new executive director, company secretary

By Cynthia Ezekwe

Unilever Nigeria Plc, has notified the  Nigerian Exchange (NGX)  and the investing public appointment of Abidemi Ademola as its  executive director, and the appointment of  Afolasade Olowe as its company secretary with effect from 16 March 2023.

The company, which is principally engaged in the manufacture and marketing of foods and refreshments, home care and personal care products,made the disclosure in a statement signed by Afolasade  Olowe,the senior legal counsel & company secretary.

According to the statement, Abidemi Ademola is a highly skilled and experienced corporate counsel, governance professional and executive business leader with over 27 years of commercial law and corporate governance practice in Nigeria and West Africa.

Ademola has been instrumental in building strong legal teams and delivering several epic legal transactions and projects across West Africa. She has supported the Unilever Nigeria board for over 10 years to implement world class corporate governance practices and processes with positive impact on Board effectiveness.

She  holds a bachelor of laws degree  from the Obafemi Awolowo university, Ile-Ife, a master of laws degree from the University of Lagos, Akoka, and a master of business administration (MBA) Leadership degree  from Walden University, United States. She is also  a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN) and a governing council member of the institute.

 Ademola  is also a fellow of the WIMBOARD Institute, a WIMBIZ/IE University, Madrid executive education programme for women on boards. She  is an active member of the Nigerian Bar Association  (NBA), the Society for Corporate Governance and the Institute of Directors, Nigeria. She was also  the pioneer chairperson of the corporate counsel committee of the NBA section on business law and is currently an officer of the corporate  counsel committee of the NBA Women Forum.

Unilever Nigeria described Afolasade Olowe,the new company secretary, as a seasoned corporate counsel with close to two decades of experience in corporate commercial law and governance practice. It stated further that her expertise cuts across different aspects of law including corporate law and governance, regulatory advisory and compliance, labour & employment, mergers & acquisitions.

 Prior to joining Unilever Nigeria Plc, Olowe gained her legal experience in two of Nigeria’s leading full-service commercial law firms where she developed first-hand skills in her areas of expertise especially company secretarial & corporate governance practice where she represented her law firm on the board of clients in diverse sectors. Whilst in practice she had been recognised by the global Who’s Who Legal in corporate immigration.

Olowe is an associate of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN)  as well as the society for corporate governance. She is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association and holds an MBA from the Henley Business School, University of Reading, United Kingdom. She  is passionate about the girl child and her personal goal is to assist the girl child to achieve their full potential through mentoring.