If genius were genetic, then, it is no surprise that Bella Disu, one of the daughters of the founder/Chairman of Globacom, Dr. Mike Adenuga, is gradually stepping into his highflying entrepreneurial shoes. Bella is blessed with beauty and her father’s razor-sharp intellect and is already being touted as the one suited and fitted enough to take charge of the telecommunications behemoth in a few years.
And she is already treading the path by representing the company and by extension, her father, at high-level international meetings across the world. She is at the ongoing Africa CEO Forum holding in Kigali, Rwanda. At the Welcome Cocktail on Sunday, March 24th, she was pictured with the President of the Forum, Mr. Amir Ben Yahmed and Managing Director of Relais Consulting, Mr. Jean Haas.
At the opening ceremony proper held at the Kigali Convention Complex the following day, Monday, March 25th, Bella, resplendent in her green jump suit, sat on the same row with the President of Ethiopia, H.E. Sahle-Work Zewde; President of Togo, H.E. Faure Gnassingbé; President of the Africa CEO Forum, Amir Ben Yahmed, President of Rwanda, H.E. Paul Kagame and President of Democratic Republic of Congo, H.E. Felix Tshisekedi.
Later in the afternoon, she delivered a keynote speech at the Women in Business Initiative where she discussed her personal story as a young woman who started her career at the age of 18, the gender and age biases she faced, and the assumption that she had an easy ride because she was working in a company founded by her father. She said, “The truth is the exact opposite – he pushed me and gave me rigorous tutelage – discipline, embracing my individuality and a constant rebellion against stagnation have been rudiments that have contributed to my steady rise.
There are no two ways about it, women must continue to advance. After all, we make up more than half of the world’s population. My charge to women is to keep climbing the career ladder. Climb it anxious. Climb it confidently. But just keep climbing. And when you get to the top, because you will – give a helping hand to the women coming behind you – this is how we grow!” it was a speech that was greeted with a standing ovation by the eminent guests.
Earlier in January, when business leaders gathered at the 2019 Choose France International Business Summit held at the Chateau de Versailles, Bella also shone like porcelain in the sun. The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, was present; so were Nigerian billionaires like Aliko Dangote and the Chairman of Heirs Holdings, Tony Elumelu.
She represented Globacom and announced a deal with Nokia Alcatel-Lucent, a global telecom equipment manufacturing company, to supply, install, and integrate a new Sure Pay Intelligent Network platform that will substantially enhance Globacom subscribers’ experience. She also presented a P.O. to Vocalcom Technology, another French company, to enhance Globacom’s Interactive Voice Response and Contact Centre Solutions.
Women CEOS are not quite the norm in leading companies of the world but Globacom Nigeria has never done things as norms dictate. When MTN and Airtel said Per Second Billing was a mirage for the Nigerian market, Globacom entered the market and disrupted and demystified the telecoms sector by introducing per second billing, which quickly shored up its rating. Likewise, the telecommunications giant might go down in history as the first to have a woman CEO in Bella Disu.
And she comes well groomed by the guru himself and well acquitted for the job when it does happen. Educated at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, with a degree in political science and international relations, she resumed at Globacom owned by her father as a sales executive in 2004. But she learnt the ropes fast, worked in virtually all the departments and excelled and consequently enjoyed rapid promotion, rising to the position of a group executive director.
In her current role as executive vice chairman, she has steered Globacom on a path of sustained competitive advantage through a focus on quality, efficiency, innovation and customer responsiveness. She is also an executive director at Julius Berger PLC. In 2011, she took on the additional role of CEO of Cobblestone Properties and Estates Limited, a leading property development company which has a robust portfolio of residential and commercial properties in Nigeria. An arts enthusiast and philanthropist, Bella got married to Jameel Disu in April 2010. They are blessed with two kids.
