Bearing in mind that yesterday, March 8th, 2023 was a day dedicated to Women globally, it will be pertinent to celebrate a woman, whose leadership style exudes every sense of confidence.
Tinuade Sanda is a Doctorate degree holder, who heads the Eko Electricity Distribution Company. On assuming office as the MD, EKEDC, she either introduced or intensified efforts on the EKEDC/stakeholders regular meeting. It affords EKEDC to hear the yearnings of its customers and know how to address them. Each time meetings are fixed, the venues are usually filled to the brim. Customers begin to assemble hours earlier than the scheduled time, as many would like to catch a glimpse of an exceptional leader, an iron lady, leading a pack of intelligent men.
Tinuade Sanda’s success story, though not widely known yet, is one that is fascinating. Her gradual steps to stardom should be widely published, not only in Lagos, but across the globe. The Executive extraordinaire has been a source of inspiration to many around her undiluted work ethics and impressions of hard work
A Chartered Accountant with extensive experience in Accounting, Banking, Risk Management, Treasury, Planning and Budgeting, Tinuade Sanda is a performance oriented individual, highly ambitious and self-motivated woman. She employs hands-on approach with well-developed interpersonal and man-management skills. She is a keen team player, who is comfortable working under pressure to meet tight deadlines.
She exudes professionalism in manner and appearance. She is well organized, welcomes challenges and applies a logical approach to solving problems.
Rising through the rough rungs of the ladder at EKEDC, she once served as the Chief Finance Officer and Chief Treasury Officer for Eko Electricity. She was part of the privatisation team that conducted financial due diligence and tax due diligence on Eko Electricity Distribution and has been the head of finance since then. During her time as a CTO, she supervised the following functions: Treasury & Taxation, Payables & Accounts, Budget & Planning, Management Account, Risk Management and Corporate Finance.
Dr Tinuade Sanda later rose to be the first female Chief Executive Officer of Eko Electricity Distribution Company. A feat that has put her on her toes since she got to the office.
Interestingly, she is the first child in a family of two children. She studied Accounting at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Osun State, and graduated with a second class upper degree in 2001.
Not resting on her oars, she went on to obtain a Master’s degree in Business Administration with specialisations in Strategic Planning from the Edinburgh Business School, Heriot Watt University, Scotland, United Kingdom.
An enthusiastic book-worm, she has also attended several courses, including the Strategic Financial Analysis for Business Evaluation Programme at the Harvard Business School, United States of America.
She bagged a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Financial Management and Entrepreneurship from the Icon University of Management Science and Technology, Benin Republic, in December 2020.
In March, 2022, she was appointed as the first female Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Eko Electricity Distribution Company.
A charismatic leader, Sanda doesn’t know the word impossible. She had been relentless when she applied forthat job. To her, ending up as a MD in a highly competitive environment, means that hard work gets noticed. It is a call for her to do more and serve. Encouraging womenfolk, she says attaining the peak of her career at EKEDC shows that one can be whatever one wants to be.
Though she did not expect it, it came, and she is grateful. It also means that gender equality in the workplace is recognised. It means that anybody, as long as one has the qualities and criteria, can be given such an opportunity.
She started her career in banking, and within that sector, she had different jobs. She was the treasury manager in Chartered Bank between 2000 and 2001. She later joined Access Bank in 2001, where she gained extensive experience in branch operations, customer service, cash management and retail credit management.
Prior to joining EKEDC in 2013, she was the Head, Finance and Administration at Vanguard Energy Resources— an oil and gas trading services company.
She is versatile in the areas of financial reporting, treasury management, taxation, mergers and acquisitions, finance regulation, risk management and financial modelling. She was the first Chief Finance Officer of West Power and Gas Limited— a special purpose vehicle that successfully acquired a 60 per cent controlling stake in EKEDC.
Prior to that, she was the Chief Treasury and Taxation Officer, Acting Chief Finance Officer and Chief Accounting Officer of EKEDC, where she was responsible for managing the financial operations of the business.
An Associate member of Risk Management Association of Nigeria, Dr. Sanda is an expert in the power and finance sector with extensive experience in the power sector.
Her feats at EKEDC will definitely speak after her in years to come.
Cheers to a woman of valour!
