Dr. Nechi Sylvia Ezeako

Nechi Sylvia Ezeako, DBA, FCIS, F.CIoD, HCIB, CEDR Accredited Mediator, MCIArb, CEO, EL-Values Advisory (Nigeria) | MD/CEO, Mirasire Energy Ltd. (Rwanda) | Partner/Chairman, ELAMO LP

Nechi Sylvia Ezeako is an accomplished governance and legal professional with over 40 years of experience spanning multiple sectors, including consulting, financial services, manufacturing, real estate, and the not-for-profit sector. She is a lawyer, Chartered Secretary, and Administrator, board leadership trainer, ethics and compliance expert, certified company secretary trainer, board evaluator, and a CEDR-accredited mediator. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Directors (Nigeria), the Chartered Governance Institute (UK), and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK).

Dr. Ezeako holds a Doctor of Business Administration from Trident University International (USA) and an MSc in Corporate Governance (with Distinction) from Leeds Metropolitan (now Leeds Beckett) University (UK). Her empirical research highlighted the dual factors of culture and INEDs’ personality as critical elements for INED contributions to effective Corporate Governance. She is also an alumna of the Executive Leadership High Achievement Program and the Lagos Business School Senior Management Program. She holds various professional certifications, including the International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA) Certification in Corporate Liability for Corruption, and is an accredited QMS Auditor.

Ezeako is the founder/CEO of EL-Values Advisory, a legal and governance consultancy firm, through which she leads projects in board training, governance framework and policy development, board and company evaluations, among others, for public and private institutions. She is also the Managing Director/CEO of Mirasire Energy Ltd., a solar energy company in Rwanda, and Partner/Chair of ELAMO LP, a unique firm of professionals that supports business sustainability through governance, compliance and business integrity. Previously, she served as Executive Director of the Chartered Institute of Directors (CIoD, then IoD) Nigeria and as Executive Director/CEO of the IoD Centre for Corporate Governance, where she led strategic governance capacity development for directors, C-suite executives, company secretaries, and senior public officials. She was also the Group Company Secretary and Legal Adviser of FinBank Plc (now part of FCMB).

Dr. Ezeako contributes to governance advancement through board and committee service. She chairs the Examinations and Certification sub-Committee of the Director Development and Curriculum Committee of the CIoD, Nigeria.  She is a Director and the Board Secretary of the Institute for National Transformation (INT), Nigeria, where she chairs the Governance and Structure Committee. She is also a member of the INT International Governing Council (IGC) and serves as the Chairman of the IGC Governance and Nominations Committee. She also serves as a mentor with the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN), the CIoD, the Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WiMBiz) and others. She previously served as the Secretary of the African Corporate Governance Network, Chair of the ICSAN Nominations Committee and the Law Reform Committee, Vice Chair of the CIoD Nigeria Directors' Development and Certification Committee, and Vice Chair of the ICSAN Audit and Risk Committee, among other roles. Her policy-level contributions include service as a member of the Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC) Panel of Experts and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Corporate Governance Working Group, where she contributed to the development of governance codes for private universities in Nigeria and the Nigerian telecommunications sector, respectively. She is also a member of the Federal Government's Technical Working Group, where she contributed to the development of the Nigerian Public Sector Governance Code.

As a seasoned trainer and facilitator, she has delivered papers on corporate governance,  the law, alternative dispute resolution, ethics, sustainability, and renewable energy in 27 countries across five continents. She is a faculty member of CIoD Nigeria, ICSAN, NGX X-Academy, DCSL, CIPE, the Africa Business Integrity Network (ABIN), the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Rwanda Branch, and Certa Foundation, Rwanda, among others. She has published in both local and international professional journals. Her work has earned her multiple recognitions, including the CIoD Nigeria Fellowship Award (2024), ABIN Recognition (2022), Nigerian Law School Class of 1985 Excellence Award (2015), Deloitte West and Central Africa IWD Role Model (2013), and ICSAN Lagos Corporate Governance Excellence Award (2006). She considers raising her four adult children as her greatest achievement.