The International Women’s Entrepreneurial Challenge Foundation (IWEC) has announced the appointment of Mrs. Ibukun Awosika to its Board of Directors as its new president.
Awosika is the Chairman of First Bank of Nigeria Limited.
According to a statement, Awosika was elected to replace Miguel Valls, former president of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and president of the IWEC Foundation, who passed away last month.
“The Foundation is very excited to announce the appointment of our new president,” IWEC Chairwoman and former US Ambassador, Ruth Davis said.
“Ibukun Awosika has been a solid, steady presence at IWEC since its inception, and she is also a past IWEC awardee.
“Ibukun has not missed one IWEC conference since 2008 and has lent her voice and experience not only to our conferences, but to our meetings after joining our Board in 2017.
“We are delighted that our Board of Directors voted on her appointment, and we’ll introduce her as our president at our upcoming 12th Annual IWEC Foundation Conference in New Delhi, on November 10th.”
The Foundation’s 2019 Conference will focus on “Connecting Women Businesses Globally: Leading the Way to Innovation and Integration”. The event would be hosted locally by the FICCI Ladies Organization (FLO) of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), which represents over 5000 women entrepreneurs and professionals across India.
Commenting on the appointment, IWEC Foundation Vice Chair, Carmen Castillo, CEO of SDI International said: “Ibukun has demonstrated a significant commitment to IWEC over the years. Her breadth of knowledge extends from being an entrepreneur running SOKOA Chair Centre Limited, to overseeing the board of directors for the renowned First Bank of Nigeria Limited.
“We are looking forward to her wise counsel and to continuously drive IWEC globally as a source of support, connection and impact for women business owners all over the world.”
Awosika is also the founder and CEO of the Chair Centre Group, an association of large companies in the manufacturing, retail, and financial security services. She further holds seats in the corporate boards of Cadbury Nigeria, Digital Jewel Limited and the Convention on Business Integrity, and she is a former chair of several other enterprise boards.
She is a graduate of Chemistry from University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), Nigeria, an alumna of the Chief Executive Program of Lagos Business School, the Global Executive MBA of IESE Business School, Wharton’s Global CEO Program, and the IESE and China European International Business School (CEIBS).
