The first African and female Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala.

The New World Trade Organization (WTO) Director General, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala. 

ICMS, Inc. Reports 
By Tom Okure, Ph.D.

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala

In this article we feature and spotlight Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, a prominent Nigerian Woman, a female role model and influencer.

On February 15, 2021 Dr. Okonjo Iweala made history when the World Trade Organization (WTO) General Council decided by consensus to pick her as the organization’s seventh Director-General of the organization. On March 1, 2021 she formally assumed office becoming the first African and female to be selected as Director-General. Her term of office which is renewable, will finish on 31 August 2025.

The need for a new WTO Director General began when the former Director-General Mr Roberto Azevêdo informed WTO members that he was stepping down from his post one year prior to the expiration of his term. The selection of Dr. Okonjo Iweala as Director General occurred over a nine month process which was led by General Council Chair David Walker of New Zealand, together with co-facilitators Amb. Dacio Castillo (Honduras) and Amb. Harald Aspelund (Iceland).

Dr Okonjo-Iweala first day at work as WTO Director General

During the General Council meeting after Dr Okonjo-Iweala was selected, General Council Chair David Walker noted that “This is a very significant moment for the WTO. On behalf of the General Council, I extend our warmest congratulations to Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on her appointment as the WTO's next Director-General and formally welcome her to this General Council meeting,”

Dr Okonjo-Iweala has indicated that she intends to work with members of the WTO to address the economic and health consequences brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic as a key priority of hers.

Dr. Okonjo Iweala has been a real role model and pace setter for Nigerian women. Her accomplishments include being:

• The First Woman Finance Minister of Nigeria;
• The First Nigerian Woman Minister for Foreign Affairs;
• The First Nigerian and Nigerian Woman to be elected into the Twitter Board of Directors;
• The First Woman to win Forbes “African of The Year Award" and 
• The First Woman and First African elected to be the Director General of WTO.  

We congratulate Dr. Okonjo Iweala and wish her success in her new position and hope her continued accomplishments influence and inspire young Nigerian women to aim high in their career pursuits.

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All rights reserved by Tom Okure, Ph.D CEO of Inter-Continental Mgt. Systems, Inc (or ICMS Inc). ICMS, Inc, is a multifaceted business and management consulting firm with its head office in Albany, New York        

Nigerian Influencers featuring Nigeria’s Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele.

Nigerian Influencers featuring Godwin Emefiele Nigeria’s Central Bank Governor

ICMS, Inc. Reports 
By Tom Okure, Ph.D.

Godwin Emefiele is presently Nigeria’s Central Bank's (CBN) Governor. He has been in the position since June 4, 2014. Born on August 1961 in Lagos State, Nigeria, Emefiele is originally from Ika South,

Godwin Emefiele Governor
of CBN since June 4, 2014

Agbor region of Delta State. He holds a B.Sc. degree in Finance (1984) and an MBA in Finance (1986), both from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He is also an alumnus of Executive Education at Stanford University, Harvard University (2004) and Wharton School of Business (2005). He was conferred with an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Business Administration by the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN).

Before he joined the CBN, he worked as Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Zenith Bank PLC, one of Nigeria’s biggest banks with over 7,000 staff, about $3.2 billion in shareholders’ funds, and subsidiaries in Ghana, Sierra Leone, Gambia, South Africa, China, and the UK. Prior to his banking career, he lectured in finance and insurance in two Nigerian universities. He holds degrees in banking and finance from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

During his first term, he oversaw a currency interventionist policy on behalf of the Nigerian presidency, strengthening the Nigerian Naira by putting in billions of dollars into the foreign exchange market. He also began a multiple exchange rate regime designed to reduce pressure on the Naira and avoid a series of devaluations. In 2019, the Senate approved him for a second five-year term making him the first person to serve for a second term since 1999 when Nigeria returned to democracy.