Board of Directors

The BATN Foundation is registered as a company limited under guarantee, with a Board of Directors responsible for its general control and management.

The responsibilities of our Directors include: validating strategies, ensuring accountability and compliance with regulations, maintaining fiscal oversight and promoting the activities of the Foundation. The day-to-day management of the Foundation is the responsibility of the General Manager.

The current Chairman of the BATNF is (Dr.) Chief Kola Jamodu (OFR.) His predecessors were Dr Joseph Sanusi, Dr Christopher Kolade (CON), Chief Kola Daisi (CON), and Chief Olu Akinkugbe, pioneer Chairman of the BATNF.

Our Directors

Chief Kola Jamodu (OFR)

Chairman, British American Tobacco Nigeria Foundation

Chief Kola Jamodu is a former Minister of Industry and alumnus of Harvard Business School. A Chartered Accountant and Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA), Chief Jamodu is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, UK (CIMA), Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), and the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN.).

His work experience spans the multinational sector in Nigeria, having worked in UAC, Unilever and PZ Industries where he rose to the position of Chief Executive. Chief Jamodu was later appointed Chairman of PZ Industries, thus holding the joint position of Chairman and Group Chief Executive of the Group. He has also held the position of President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN.)
Chief Jamodu is currently the Chairman of the Boards of Nigerian Breweries plc, PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc and Nutricima limited. He is a recipient of National Merit Awards including Member of the Order of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (MFR), Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (OFR), and Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFR.) He is also a recipient of the National Productivity Merit Award in 1997, having been adjudged the most Productive Chief Executive.

Falalu Bello (OFR, FCIB), Danmasnin Zazzau

Director, British American Tobacco Nigeria Foundation

Mr Bello studied Law at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and was called to the Bar in 1979.  He began his professional career as a magistrate with the Kaduna State Judiciary in 1980, and was at different times Senior Legal Executive/Acting Company Secretary of New Nigerian Investment Limited, Company Secretary and Legal Adviser of National Freight Company Limited, and Commissioner for Trade and Industry in Kaduna State in 1983.

Mr Bello joined the banking industry in 1984 as a Senior Manager with the then Habib Nigeria Bank Limited and rose to become the bank’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer in 1994. Since then he has managed three other banks, namely the then Intercity Bank Plc (1998-2001), Nigerian Agricultural Cooperative & Rural Development Bank now Bank of Agriculture (2001-2002) and Unity Bank Plc from January 2006 to 2011. In addition Mr Bello has held various positions as Chairman, Director or Trustee of over ten organisations, including the Kaduna State Industrialisation Trust Fund, the Farmers Supply Company, and First Interstate Merchant Bank Ltd.

Mr Bello has attended several professional courses, including Harvard Business School’s Programme for Management Development in 1994, and Corporate Leadership Course in 2008.

Yusuf Ageni

Director, British American Tobacco Nigeria Foundation

Mr Ageni studied Microbiology at Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, and subsequently obtained a master’s degree (MBA) Business Administration at the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife. His professional career began in 1977 at Abbot Laboratories, an American pharmaceutical company, after which he moved to Nestle Nigeria Plc and later Nigerian Breweries, where he rose to senior management positions in Sales, Marketing and Procurement.  Mr Ageni retired from Nigerian Breweries in 2012 as Head of the Corporate Affairs division.

Yarub Al-Bahrani

Area Head, British American Tobacco West & Central Africa Area

Yarub joined Rothmans in 1996 as a Management Trainee. His career began in TM&D with roles in Yemen and Saudi Arabia followed by numerous roles in Brands across both the Middle East and the Lucky Strike IBG. In 2009, Yarub moved to Egypt as Head of Marketing and in 2012 to Kazakhstan as Area Head of Marketing Caucasus & Central Asia. Yarub then spent a year in EEMEA Region as Marketing Deployment Manager before moving to Nigeria as West Africa Marketing Director in October 2016. He was appointed Area Director for West Africa Area (now West & Central Africa Area) in April 2019.

Beverley Spencer-Obatoyinbo

Area Director, Swiss Cluster and GMCI, British American Tobacco

Mrs Spencer-Obatoyinbo joined Rothmans in 1997 from the pharmaceutical industry, and moved to British American Tobacco after the merger of the two companies. Since then she has held various marketing and general management roles across Africa including Head of Trade Marketing and Distribution and later Marketing Director, in Nigeria. In 2007 she moved to British American Tobacco Egypt as General Manager, was appointed Area Director of British American Tobacco West Africa in April 2010, and moved to her current role in 2012. Mrs Spencer-Obatoyinbo was appointed to the board of the BATNF in September 2010.

Nomore Mapanzure

Area Head of Finance, British American Tobacco West & Central Africa Area

Nomore Mapanzure holds a Bachelor of Accountancy (Honors) Degree from the University of South Africa. He is a Chartered Accountant (ICAZ and SAICA).
He joined the British American Tobacco Group in 2004 and has held several senior finance roles in various BAT markets.

Nomore is currently the Head of Finance for the BAT West and Central Africa Area.

He began his career with BAT in 2004 as Treasury Manager in BAT Zimbabwe. Since then, he has held several finance roles covering Operations, Commercial Finance and Cluster finance roles which included Head of finance for Tunisia, Libya and Sudan (an acquisition) in North Africa, Head of Finance Southern African Markets, and more recently Marketing Finance Controller for East and Southern Africa.

In these roles, he has successfully executed strategies that have enabled the markets he supported to profitably navigate volatile operating environments and mitigate negative impacts to BAT.

Odiri Erewa-Meggison

External Affairs Director, British American Tobacco West & Central Africa

Odiri was promoted to the position of External Affairs Director for West and Central Africa Markets effective 1st July 2021, responsible for driving the external affairs and communications strategy in line with BAT Group positions within West and Central Africa Markets.

Odiri is a lawyer, holds a master’s degree with Honors in International Relations from the University of Kent at Canterbury, England and a Chartered Secretary. She has over 20 years working experience cutting across Oil and Gas, Telcom and Tobacco Manufacturing sectors.

She joined BAT Nigeria in July 2006, as a mid-career recruit and rose through the ranks holding various positions within the Legal department, last position held was Head of Legal for the West Africa Area. She was subsequently appointed Head of Government Affairs, West Africa Area (WAA), following the Legal and External Affairs merger.

In 2018, Odiri was seconded to the BAT Indonesia within the Asia Pacific Region, as the Head of Marketing Legal Indonesia, and subsequently as Senior Regulatory Special Projects Manager.

In December 2020, Odiri was appointed to the Americas and Sub Sahara Region, as Senior Regional External Engagement and Campaign manager.

Flora Okereke

Head of Regulatory Engagement, British American Tobacco

Mrs Okereke studied Law in the UK and was called to the Bar of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 1988. In 1996 she was called to the Bar of England and Wales (Middle Temple.) In 2000 she re-qualified as a solicitor and was admitted to the Law Society of England and Wales. Mrs Okereke worked as a commercial litigation solicitor at a firm in the City of London, before joining British American Tobacco in 2001 as Legal Director. In 2005 she took on additional responsibility as Corporate and Regulatory Affairs Director, where she drove BAT Nigeria’s social responsibility programme and initiated the charitable projects of the BATN Foundation (BATNF.) She was appointed to the board of the BATNF in February 2003 and is currently the Head of Regulatory Engagement, based at the British American Tobacco headquarters in the UK.

Ololade Johnson-Agiri

Executive Director, BATN Foundation / Head, Corporate Affairs, British American Tobacco West Africa Area

Ololade Johnson-Agiri has 13 years of experience, in social impact and strategic communications across private and international development organizations.

She earned a Masters with Distinction in Marketing and Management from the University of Bradford, United Kingdom – winning the Elmwood award for Best graduating Student in Marketing – and a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Language arts from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria.

While working with the United Nations in Nigeria, she led the advocacy efforts to enhance programmes for inclusive growth, health rights and shared prosperity for all. Through her involvement in different development and commercial activities, she has developed her expertise in strategic communications for corporate visibility; sustainability with a focus on Environmental management, Social impact and Governance (ESG).

Lolade co-chairs the United Nations Private Sector Advisory Group, where she co-ordinates private sector participation and synergy for the attainment of the sustainable development goals.

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