Chioma Irukwu-Sideso is a seasoned corporate and financial services leader with over 23 years of experience in banking and insurance across Africa. She has held various leadership roles, including CEO, board and board committee chair positions, and has led globally diverse teams at C-level, with a strong track record of building and transforming businesses, driving cultural and governance changes, and growing outstanding individuals and teams. She is a Chartered Director from the Institute of Directors UK.
Chioma holds multiple board positions across various companies in highly regulated industries, showcasing her expertise in governance and strategic oversight. Notably, she acts as a nominee director for a PE firm investing in Africa, chairs Impact Life Insurance Company Limited and serves as an independent director for other financial institutions.
Experienced in business development from start up to scale ups in Africa, Sideso was the founding CEO of an oil and gas services firm. She set up a lean business from scratch in a very complex regulatory sector and successfully exited realising 2 X ROI in three years. She got the job by being hired by two founding investors to lead the establishment of the new business focused on waste management for the oil and gas industry in Africa.
In her position as CEO, she authorised and rolled out a five-year strategic and financial business plan, developed policies, procedures and systems for each division of the business, adhering to international best practice, and ensured alignment with local and international rules in the highly regulated sector.
From 2006 to 2018, she was the CEO of NSIA Insurance, leading a pan-African expansion from 8 to 52 offices and a more than 1000% increase in sales. She signed the first ever comprehensive bancassurance transaction in Nigeria and introduced ground-breaking market segmentation techniques which contributed to a huge increase in the corporate client base. This period signalled a huge success both personally and for the firm, and Chioma developed a deep global network in the insurance sector, and a reputation as a market leader in Africa.
Also, while there, she developed a 24-month management culture plan, set up a cooperative, promoted staff welfare
initiatives to facilitate a work life balance culminating in the company winning an award for the ”Best Place to Work” for three consecutive years.
Previously, she was an executive director for the same firm from 2004 to 2006, having originally started her career in London in 1999.
Chioma is now actively seeking her next challenge and is always open to discussing opportunities or engaging with fellow professionals with similar interests.
