Kola Adesina

Group Managing Director of Sahara Group, Kola Adesina, is a consummate entrepreneur with experience that traverses academia, insurance, finance, energy, trade and diplomacy.

The organization he leads is a leading international energy (power, oil and gas) and infrastructure conglomerate with operations in over 42 countries across Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

Adesina holds a B.SC (Insurance), M.SC. (Business), Masters in International Law and Diplomacy and is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Insurance.

He is an Alumnus of the Harvard Business School Executive Education. He is also an Alumnus of the Advanced Management Program from Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

He started his career in the Insurance industry, selling insurance to businesses across different sectors in Nigeria. After working in the Insurance industry, he joined Sahara Group where his selling skills and exceptional project and relationship management acumen enhanced the growth of the energy conglomerate.

Adesina also served as a member of the Presidential Committee on the Accelerated Expansion of the Electricity Infrastructure in Nigeria, which culminated in the unbundling of PHCN successor companies.

He led and steered the strategy that facilitated the acquisition of the Group's power assets; Ikeja Electric, the largest privately-owned power distribution business in SSA, Egbin Power Plc - the largest thermal plant in Sub Sahara Africa, SSA (with 1,320MW installed capacity with ongoing expansion plans to increase the capacity over two-fold, providing a quarter of the total generating capacity in Nigeria) and First Independent Power Limited.

He currently chairs the board of Ikeja Electric.