By Blossom Ukoha For millions of people, a mobile phone is simply a device for communication. In Rwanda, under the leadership of Chantal Umutoni Kagame, it has become something much more powerful: a gateway to financial opportunity. As Chief Executive Officer of Mobile Money Rwanda Limited (MTN MoMo Rwanda), Chantal sits at the centre of one of Rwanda’s most significant digital transformation stories. Her work has helped expand mobile financial services beyond simple money transfers, creating an ecosystem through which people can send and receive money, pay merchants, save, access micro-loans and participate more fully in the formal economy. But Chantal’s journey to the helm of Rwanda’s fintech revolution did not happen overnight. It was built over more than two decades of experience across the country’s telecommunications industry. A Career Built Across Rwanda’s Telecom Industry Chantal holds a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce, specialising in Finance, from the Kigali Institute of…

By Blossom Ukoha “I am deeply honored to assume the role of CEO and lead Dow into our next chapter… Our focus remains unwavering: delivering reliable and innovative solutions for our customers, and long-term value for our employees and our shareholders, while accelerating our transformation to set a new competitive standard for best-in-class performance.” For Karen S. Carter, the words mark more than the beginning of a new executive assignment. They represent the culmination of more than three decades of growth, responsibility and leadership within Dow, one of the world’s largest materials science companies. On 1 July 2026, Carter became Chief Executive Officer of Dow, succeeding Jim Fitterling, who transitioned to Executive Chair of the Board. Named CEO-elect in April after serving as Chief Operating Officer, Carter became the first woman and the first Black woman to lead the 129-year-old company, which recorded approximately $40 billion in sales in 2025.…

By Blossom Ukoha “As I step into the C.E.O. role in September, my job will be to build on that foundation — to accelerate product breakthroughs, deepen the brand’s cultural relevance, and unlock growth in markets around the world.” For Heidi O’Neill, becoming Chief Executive Officer of Lululemon is not simply a move from one global sports brand to another. It is an opportunity to bring decades of experience in building consumer businesses to a company at an important crossroads. In April 2026, Lululemon Athletica named O’Neill as its next CEO, following an extensive search for a leader capable of combining creative brand-building with operational discipline. On 8 September 2026, she officially assumed the role and joined the company’s Board of Directors at its global headquarters in Vancouver, British Columbia. She succeeds Calvin McDonald, who stepped down at the end of January amid pressure from founder Chip Wilson, activist investors…

By Blossom Ukoha On 23 January 2025, Arunma Oteh stood at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, to launch All Hands on Deck, the book she wrote about how world-class capital markets can help nations, companies and individuals create lasting prosperity. The occasion was part of a two-day celebration of her 60th birthday, which she marked on 24 January. It was a fitting setting for a woman whose career has been defined by capital, institutions and economic development. From Nigeria’s financial markets to the African Development Bank, from the Securities and Exchange Commission to the World Bank Treasury, Oteh has spent decades operating at some of the most consequential levels of African and international finance. Yet her journey to those rooms began without a powerful title. It began with a young Nigerian woman choosing computer science at a time when relatively few women were entering the field and developing the…

By Blossom Ukoha There is a particular moment in a career when experience stops being measured by the number of positions held and begins to be measured by the weight of responsibility entrusted to you. For Linda Naa Dzama Quaynor, that moment came on 24 August 2026, when years spent navigating consulting, financial services, public policy and corporate strategy culminated in a historic appointment: becoming the first woman to chair the Board of UBA Ghana. Her appointment is significant not simply because she is the first woman to occupy the position. It is also a reflection of a career built across industries, institutions and countries, giving her a perspective that stretches well beyond the traditional boundaries of banking. With more than 25 years of professional experience across Africa and international markets, Quaynor steps into the role with a record shaped by transformation, financial inclusion, governance and strategic leadership. A Career…