Kola Adesina (born 1964) is a Nigerian

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

, managing director of Sahara Group, former chairman of Egbin Power Plc, and board chairman of

Ikeja Electric Ikeja Electric Plc is the largest Nigerian power distribution company. It is based in Ikeja, capital of the state of Lagos. The company emerged on November 1, 2013, following the handover of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) to ...

Education

Adesina earned a B.sc degree in Insurance and M.Sc degree in Business from the

University of Lagos The University of Lagos (UNILAG) is a Public university, public research university located in Lagos, Nigeria, which was founded in 1962. UNILAG is one of the education in Nigeria#First generation universities, first generation universities in ...

. He furthered his education by obtaining executive programmes at

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

and The Wharton School Advanced Management Program.

Career

Before Sahara Group, Adesina started his career working in the insurance industry. He later joined Sahara Group where he moved up the ladder due to his selling skills. At Sahara Group, he led various projects which included the nationwide strategic management of the supply chain of fuel to the emergency power plant of the defunct National Electricity Power Authority (now Power Holding Company Nigeria Limited), the Majestic Oil delegation on the acquisition of the Sierra Leone Refinery and also managed the crude oil contract of the group in Côte d'Ivoire where he also served as the director of infrastructure, responsible for the acquisition of strategic assets in Africa. He served as a member of the Presidential Committee inaugurated by President

Jonathan Jonathan may refer to: *Jonathan (name), a masculine given name Media * ''Jonathan'' (1970 film), a German film directed by Hans W. Geißendörfer * ''Jonathan'' (2016 film), a German film directed by Piotr J. Lewandowski * ''Jonathan'' (2018 ...

on the Accelerated Expansion of the Electricity Infrastructure in Nigeria, which culminated in the unbundling of PHCN successor companies. He also chairs the board of Ikeja Electric. In 2022, he was crowned as ''

Vanguard The vanguard (sometimes abbreviated to van and also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. ...

'' Private Sector Icon of the Year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adesina, Kola Living people 1964 births 21st-century Nigerian businesspeople Nigerian company founders Harvard Business School alumni