NewAfricanWoman Issue 49 - Flipbook - Page 8
ON THE COVER
(L-R) Tunde Folawiyo, Managing Director -Yinka Folawiyo Group, Nigeria; Ibrahim Magassa, Founder & CEO, Algest Consulting, France; Grace Adesina; Akinwumi Adesina, President — Africa Development
Bank (AfDB); Reta Jo Lewis, President and Chair, Export-Import Bank of the United States (US EXIM) Chinelo Anohu; and Ronnie Ntuli, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Thelo DB, South Africa.
Pension Reform Legacy
Chinelo speaking at the closing ceremony of the AIF Market Days Event in Abidjan.
8 l New African Woman l March 2023
But prior to her appointment as DG at PenCom, Chinelo
was already part of a leadership team set up and tasked
by the then President Olusegun Obasanjo, to spearhead
pensions reforms in Nigeria.
However, as it is well documented, excel is what she did
as head of PenCom. In the 昀椀ve years she held sway, she
initiated innovative structures and models which helped
PenCom yield contributors that rose from 5 million to
close to 8 million, while assets under management
grew from $19.3 billion to a record $42 billion. An
unprecedented accomplishment and a legacy she left
behind at her departure from PenCom in 2017.
Does she look back to that period in her professional
life with nostalgia? “Oh, yes! It was a baptism of 昀椀re
that was also exhilarating,” she exclaims adding: “…
that’s because when you work endless hours, and you
don't feel it, you must be enjoying what you do… [at
Pencom] we didn't have hours, we just had milestones
and deliverables. But it was also an incredible learning
ground for me. PenCom equipped me with the skills
that I still hold on to even today, for example, to never
lose focus in the face of any adversity.” It is also worth
noting that Chinelo convened the 昀椀rst-ever World
Pension Summit Africa, a successful and timely event
that ran for three years during her tenure at PenCom.