Aka Ekene, PBA Journalism MenteeOver the past decade, the Tony Elumelu Foundation has unwaveringly dedicated itself to the noble vision of promoting entrepreneurship as a transformative force for the African continent. As part of its ongoing commitment to this cause, the Foundation made a significant announcement, declaring the appointment of a new Chief Executive Officer, Somachi Chris-Asoluka, earlier this year.
As a highly accomplished professional, Chris-Asoluka has managed to achieve remarkable success in her career trajectory in a relatively short amount of time, a feat that typically takes others two or more decades to accomplish. Indeed, it is worth noting that she may very well be one of the youngest Chief Executives to assume such a significant leadership role within a foundation of such considerable size and impact. Her undeniable drive, innate capacity, and extensive experience leave no doubt that she is poised to continue blazing new trails in her field.
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With respect to her educational background, Chris-Asoluka holds a BSc. in Economics, with a minor in Mathematics, having graduated Summa Cum Laude from Saint Mary’s College of California. During her time in college, she actively served as a tutor for subjects such as Economics, Math, Statistics, and Creative Writing, in addition to making regular contributions to the school paper, ‘The Collegian.’ Furthermore, she devoted her time to community service, volunteering as a tutor for high school students in Oakland and as a teacher for middle school students in New Jersey.
Following her graduation, Chris-Asoluka received the highly coveted “Adam Smith” award, presented to the highest-performing Economics student at Saint Mary’s College. She later earned a Master’s Degree in International and Development Economics from Yale University in 2012, where she discovered a passion for the field of microfinance, an area she intends to explore further within the West African context.
Chris-Asoluka’s career has been nothing short of impressive, as she has held various positions that have enabled her to develop a wealth of experience and expertise. After completing her Master’s Degree, she served as a research assistant at the Lagos Business School, where she co-authored research articles on the internationalization processes of top African institutions, which were utilized as case studies to train MBA students. She also coordinated and managed the Annual Lagos Business School Career Fair.
Later, Chris-Asoluka worked as a columnist for the BusinessDay newspaper and subsequently joined Phillips Consulting Limited’s Corporate Governance and Finance section. In 2014, she joined the Tony Elumelu Foundation as Head of Research, Policy and External Relations, later becoming the Director of Partnerships and Communications. At some point, she was responsible for policy and external relations, leading the foundation’s advocacy programs, which encompassed case studies, seminars, roundtables, and symposiums, in addition to data collection, analysis, and technique evaluation for all research publications.
On January 9, 2023, the Board of Trustees announced Chris-Asoluka as the new Chief Executive Officer of the Tony Elumelu Foundation. The appointment took effect on March 01, 2023, following the retirement of the former CEO, Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu. As CEO, Chris-Asoluka is expected to leverage her extensive expertise, experience, and network to provide strategic leadership in consolidating and deepening the foundation’s work in transforming Africa through entrepreneurship.
In addition to her impressive professional achievements, Chris-Asoluka has also earned recognition as a fellow of the Moremi Initiative for Women’s Leadership in Africa, an annual program recognizing and engaging the top 25 most promising young women leaders on the continent. She is also a member of the Financial Women’s Association in San Francisco and the Omicron Delta Epsilon (National Economics Honor Society) in the United States.
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