Belinda "Bella" Ajoke Olubunmi Disu (née Adenuga, born 29 May 1986) is a Nigerian businesswoman. She is Chairman, Board of Directors Abumet Nigeria Limited, Executive Vice Chairman of

Globacom Globacom Limited, commonly known as Glo (Global communication), is a Nigerian multinational telecommunications company founded on 29 August 2003 by Mike Adenuga. As of June 2018, the company employs more than 3,500 people worldwide. Overview ...

, CEO of Cobblestone Properties and Estates Limited, and a non-executive director of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc

Early life and education

Bella was born on 29 May 1986 to Emelia Adefolake Marquis, a Nigerian entrepreneur and

Mike Adenuga Michael Adeniyi Agbolade Ishola Adenuga Jr (born 29 April 1953) is a Nigerian billionaire businessman, and the fourth richest person in Africa. His company Globacom is Nigeria's second-largest telecom operator and also has a presence in Ghana ...

, the chairman of

. She was educated in Lagos, first at Corona School, Victoria Island and then at Queen's College for her secondary education. In 1998, she left Queen's College for the

Vivian Fowler Memorial College for Girls The Vivian Fowler Memorial College For Girls is an all-girls Independent college founded in 1991 by Chief Mrs. Leila Fowler in Nigeria. It is located in the Ikeja suburb of the city of Lagos. History Originally located in Surulere, the school w ...

, where she graduated in 2000. She obtained a bachelor's degree in

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...

and

International Relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the Scientific method, scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities betwe ...

from the

University of Massachusetts The University of Massachusetts is the five-campus public university system and the only public research system in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The university system includes five campuses (Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell, and a medi ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

, US and an M.Sc in Leadership from

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU) is a private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in Charlotte, North C ...

Career

In 2004, Bella joined

Ltd, a multinational telecommunications company operating in Ghana and Nigeria, and is now the group executive director. In 2011, she took on an additional role of group executive director of Cobblestone Properties and Estates Limited to become CEO in 2015. She is a non-executive director of a Nigerian construction company, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, and a director at Abumet Plc, a glass and aluminium manufacturing company, also in Nigeria.
In January 2019, she assumed the role of executive vice chairman of

after joining the firm in 2004. She attended the Africa CEO Forum that year, where she had a private meeting with President

Paul Kagame Paul Kagame (; born 23 October 1957) is a Rwandan politician and former military officer who is the 4th and current president of Rwanda since 2000. He previously served as a commander of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a Uganda-based rebe ...

of Rwanda. She was also a keynote speaker for the Women in Business Initiative of the Africa CEO Forum. and she joined 149 other global business leaders like

Aliko Dangote ''For people with the given name, see Aliko (given name).'' Aliko ( sq-definite, Alikoi; ) is a village and a former commune in Vlorë County, southern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Fini ...

, Jim Ovia and Tony Elumelu at the 2019 Choose France International Business Summit held at the

Chateau de Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

in France. At the summit, she announced a deal with

Nokia Nokia Corporation (natively Nokia Oyj, referred to as Nokia) is a Finnish multinational telecommunications, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, established in 1865. Nokia's main headquarters are in Espoo, Finlan ...

Alcatel-Lucent Alcatel–Lucent S.A. () was a French–American global telecommunications equipment company, headquartered in Boulogne-Billancourt, France. It was formed in 2006 by the merger of France-based Alcatel and U.S.-based Lucent, the latter being a su ...

, to supply, install, and integrate a new Sure Pay Intelligent Network platform. On the 31st of October 2019, as Executive Director of Cobblestone properties, she unveiled a 10-storey luxury apartments at Bourdillon, Ikoyi,

Lagos State Lagos State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Èkó) is a state in southwestern Nigeria. Of the 36 states, it is both the most populous and smallest in area. Bounded to the south by the Bight of Benin and to the west by the international border with Benin ...

which is called 'Sisi Paris'. In 2021, she was appointed Chairman, Board of Directors of Abumet Nigeria Limited. Bella is a member of the Nigerian Institute of Directors and the

Nigerian Institute of Management The Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM) is a non-profit institution that defines the required skills and standards for professional managers, and offers courses leading to diplomas in Management. History The Nigerian Management Group was for ...

Personal life

In April 2010, she married Jameel Disu, a venture capitalist, and they have two children.

Philanthropy

Disu is the founder and president of Bella Disu Foundation, a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

which says it aims to help less privileged children by providing education and employment skills. She is a promoter of the French language and culture through the Alliance Française Project at the Mike Adenuga Alliance Française Centre in

Ikoyi Ikoyi is the most affluent neighborhood of Lagos, located in Eti-Osa Local Government Area. It lies to the northeast of Obalende and adjoins Lagos Island to the west, and at the edge of the Lagos Lagoon. Popular with the extreme upper class ...

.
She is listed as a "benefactor" of music by the Musical Society of Nigeria (MUSON) ''Wall of Fame'' for her contributions in encouraging a better environment for musical learning.
Bella Disu, representing the Mike Adenuga Foundation (MAF), donated N1.5 billion to Federal Government and Lagos State government to support Nigeria's fight against the global Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19).

Awards and recognition

Bella was awarded the

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system ...

by the French government in December 2019, for her contributions on preservation of arts and culture especially her coordination of the construction of the Alliance Francaise Mike Adenuga Centre,

, Lagos.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Disu, Bella Nigerian women business executives 1986 births Living people Queen's College, Lagos alumni University of Massachusetts Boston alumni Businesspeople from Lagos Nigerian philanthropists Nigerian real estate businesspeople Businesspeople in telecommunications 21st-century Nigerian businesswomen Vivian Fowler Memorial College for Girls alumni Recipients of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Northeastern University alumni Nigerian expatriates in the United States Nigerian corporate directors Women corporate directors