Johannesburg, South Africa, April 19, 2023 – Transcorp’s, Owen Omogiafo, President and GCEO, made the Africa.com 2023 Definitive List of Women CEOs. This list, the only one of its kind in Africa, is a data-driven list that recognizes the women who lead big business in Africa. Big business, for this purpose, is defined as being listed on one of Africa’s stock exchanges and having revenue of over $100 million, or a market cap of over $150 million.
Harvard Business Review reports on the startling lack of diversity among CEOs of big business. To be the CEO of a large, listed company in Africa is an extreme rarity for women, which is why recognizing them is so important. Research by Harvard Business School faculty recognises one important factor that all of the women who reach the CEO spot have in common: resilience.
“In simple terms, the answer to the question of what it takes [for these women] to succeed can be reduced to a single capacity: resilience…. women we interviewed seemed to rely more heavily than others on that quality, because of the frequency with which they encountered obstacles and setbacks resulting from the intersecting dynamics of race, gender, and other identities.” Harvard Business Review
The Africa.com list was compiled over many months through a deep research effort, starting with data provided by Bloomberg on all of the listed companies in Africa. From there, the research team culled the data to meet the required size requirements, and then further determined which of those companies had women at the head. The list also includes women who lead divisions of listed companies, such that the division would qualify for the list were it a standalone entity, and the women who lead the Africa region for globally listed companies, such that the region would qualify for the list were it a standalone entity.
[About Dr. Owen Omogiafo]
Dr. (Mrs.) Owen D. Omogiafo is the President and Group CEO of Transnational Corporation Plc (Transcorp), Nigeria’s leading listed diversified conglomerate with investments in power, hospitality, and energy. She is the first female to hold this position. Before her appointment, she served as MD/CEO of Transcorp Hotels Plc where she was responsible for driving positive transformation both in Transcorp Hilton Abuja and Transcorp Hotels Calabar.
Owen is a multi-award-winning professional with over two decades of experience across multiple industries. She has held various high-profile roles throughout her career, including Chief Operating Officer at the Tony Elumelu Foundation, where she oversaw the $100 million Entrepreneurship Program aimed at identifying, mentoring, and funding 10,000 entrepreneurs over 10 years. She has also worked as Director of Resources at Heirs Holdings Limited, as an HR Advisor to the GMD/CEO at United Bank for Africa Plc, and as an Organization and Human Performance Consultant at Accenture, specializing in change management.
She holds a B.Sc. (Double Honours) in Sociology & Anthropology from the University of Benin, an M.Sc. in Human Resource Management from the London School of Economics & Political Science, and a Doctorate Degree in Engineering from the Federal University of Petroleum Resources Effurun. She is also an alumnus of the Lagos Business School and IESE Business School in Spain.
“It is both humbling and inspiring to be recognized as a leading figure in our industry. I share this honour with my dedicated team, who continue to play an invaluable role in the success of our Group. In 2022, we drove the market capitalisation of Transcorp Group up by 8.3% despite the challenging environment, compared to the 2.8% achieved by our peers overall, as calculated by Africa.com. As a female leader, I am committed to using my position to pave the way for young females to succeed. I want to chart a path that inspires decision-makers to give other young women a chance. Let us continue to strive for excellence and create opportunities that empower future generations to make a meaningful impact in our world.” – Dr. Omogiafo
To mark the evolution of Africa.com’s Definitive List of Women CEOs, now in its third year, Africa.com researched and analyzed 2,020 listed companies on Africa’s 24 stock exchanges. The companies were screened for revenue of $100 million or more, or a market cap of $150 million or more, which yielded a list of 787 companies. The public websites of these 787 companies were examined to determine those women who have a title of chief executive officer or managing director or president AND to confirm that these executives have bottom line, profit, and loss responsibility.
This work represents one of the first analyses of the performance of publicly listed companies in Africa conducted through a gender lens. The research will be shared with the world on April 19th at the virtual reveal of the star performers on Africa.com’s 2023 Definitive List of Women CEOs.
About Transnational Corporation (Transcorp)
Transnational Corporation Plc (Transcorp Group) is a publicly quoted Conglomerate, with a diversified shareholder base of approximately 300,000. Its portfolio comprises strategic investments in the power, hospitality, and oil and gas sectors. Its businesses include Transcorp Hilton Abuja, Transcorp Hotels Calabar, Aura by Transcorp Hotels, Transcorp Power, Transafam Power, and Transcorp Energy.
About Africa.com
Launched in 2010, Africa.com is a media holding company with an extensive array of platforms that reach a global audience interested in African content and community. Africa.com’s interests include the leading business content webinars across Africa conducted with faculty from Harvard University, the Africa.com Business Publisher’s Network, the South African news portal at iAfrica, Top10 newsletters, various social media platforms, and internet domain names ending with the “.africa.com” extension. Africa.com operates from Johannesburg and New York and has a presence in Cape Town and Nairobi.