Board of Trustees

The AMAZING AMAZON is a support group for women from all walks of life dedicated to their empowerment, enhancement, upliftment, personal growth and development. It is an ACTION orientated group that would not just preach about women empowerment or betterment but will take practical steps and actions to support and assist women in all areas of their lives; Business, Relationship, Career, Marriage, Parenting e.t.c

Mercy MAKINDE

 Project Lead / Business Analyst

Mercy Makinde is a seasoned Entrepreneur, Enterprise Advocate, Writer, Speaker and a Multiple Award Winning Advocate for Women and The Girl Child.

She is a Family Life Therapist and a Child Safety Practitioner.

Amongst her numerous awards, She was named ONE OF THE MOST INSPIRING WOMEN IN NIGERIA 2017.

SME 50 Africa gave her an Award of Recognition as a LIFE AMBASSADOR of the SME 50 Initiative in Africa in July 2017.

Junior Chambers International (JCI ) Lagos City Presidential Award of Excellence 2017.

She was also given a special Award of recognition by the COALITION OF WIVES OF AFRICAN PRESIDENTS (COWAP) as an Advocate of Ending Extreme Hunger in Africa in April 2018.

She also got the Exquisite Ladies Of The Year (ELOYAWARD) for Empowerment in 2018.

Mercy is also the MD/CEO OF CRESTED CRANE TOURS AND TRAVELS, a renowned travel agency affiliated to Radius Travel Group, one of the world’s leading Travel Management Companies.

She is also the founding Project Lead of the AMAZING AMAZON WOMEN EMPOWERMENT AND DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE, an NGO focused on the empowerment and development of Women and Children.

Prior to her success as a Business woman Advocate and Public Speaker, Mrs. Makinde was a victim of teen marriage and domestic violence as she was married off as a teenager to a much older and abusive man. She endured the abusive marriage for eleven years before she broke free and regained her independence. This is the motivation and inception behind her current endeavors, using her experience to help women who might be going through the acts of violence or sexual abuse in their homes.

Charlotte Esseit

CHARLOTTE ESSIET

Program Director

Charlotte ESSIET is the Director, Government Relations at AOS Orwell Limited. She is a highly motivated and articulate professional with extensive experience spanning across Business Consultancy & Analysis, Business Strategy, Project Management, Process Improvements, Supply Chain Management, Proven Managerial, Analytical and Technical Skills developed by working extensively in multi-disciplinary terms. A successful track record in taking leadership roles in cross-functional project teams and solving problems. Result Oriented, effective team player and driven by continuous learning.

She has been in the Nigerian Oil & Gas Industry for about 15 years as a C -Level Executive. She holds a Bachelor degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Lagos State University, an MBA in Engineering Business Managers from Manchester Business School, United Kingdom and Executive Professional Certificates in Strategic Marketing Management (SMM) from Stanford Business School, USA and Achieving Leadership Excellence from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Charlotte has worked on several pipelines in the Niger Delta as an Engineer and sold various solution oriented offerings in the Industry at large.

She has worked for various International and Indigenous Companies in different parts of the World.

She loves to read, dance, swim, travel and have friends over/plan parties, barbeques etc.

Adenike OGUNLESHI

Chairperson Board of Trustees

Adenike Ogunlesi is the Founder and Chief Responsibility Officer of Ruff ‘n’ Tumble, the foremost indigenous lifestyle brand operating to international standards in the design, production, and retail of children’s fashion for boys and girls from new born to sixteen years old.

An authority in the garment manufacturing industry in Nigeria with over 35 years’ experience and driven by a passion to prove that Nigeria is able to produce good quality; Adenike has built a brand with over 15 retail outlets across Nigeria and an E-commerce platform; making Ruff N Tumble an instantly recognizable brand in the Nigerian market.

Adenike is the founding member and the first president of the Network of Entrepreneurial Women (NNEW) at the Nigeria Employer’s Consultative Association (NECA). She was the pioneer advisory board member of the Enterprise Development Centre (EDC) at the Pan African University’s Lagos Business School. She is an advisory board member and mentor at WISCAR (Women in Successful Careers) which is a structured mentoring programme for young women. She is also a non-executive Director at Lafarge Holcim Plc, a board member of the Feed A Child Programme and Amazing Amazons.

Adenike is a winner of numerous awards and an avid motivational speaker talking to women’s groups, entrepreneurs and young people.

She is happily married to Adegbola Ogunlesi, an industrialist in the beauty industry, and one of the founders of men’s fashion label, Sofisticat. They are blessed with 3 grown children.

Nkechi Ngonadi H.

Member Board of Trustees

Nkechi Harry- Ngonadi grew up in Zaria, Kaduna State and attended the prestigious Ahmadu Bello University where she studied Urban and Regional Planning.

Ngozi is the CEO of NHN Couture. NHN Couture sells fabrics gotten from all over the world ranging from Laces – Guipure lace, Sequin Lace to Ankara and Velvet etc. Her Fashion Brand is committed to upholding decency and dignity. She is happily married with 2 lovely children.

Ini Abimbola

Director

Ini Abimbola is the Lead Consultant of ThistlePraxis Consulting Limited (TPC), an Assessments and Strategy firm based in Lagos, Nigeria.

A 2008 Draper Hills Fellow on Democracy and Development at Stanford University California and an alumnus of the Harvard Business School Executive Education Program, Ini holds a degree in International Relations & Diplomacy and a Masters degree in Management. Her areas of expertise include but not limited to International Development, with over 15 years working in the international development space; broad consulting experience & expertise on capacity building, corporate governance, strategic policy formulation, visioning, planning & implementation, sustainability, development communications, strategy formulation & evaluation, performance & productivity, leadership, change management, projects & innovations management, process re-engineering, social performance audits as well as strategy & toolkit development.

She is a published author of 3 books and over 25 publications (chapters, articles), and has delivered more than 100 presentations in over 15 countries in the last 5 years on a range of topics some of which include: Corporate Governance, Change Management, Enterprise Development, Sustainability & CSR.

A member of the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) and the Institute of Directors (IOD), Ini sits on the boards of various organizations including Brain, Cedar and Box Resources, Serendipity Limited, AXL8 Limited, SpeedMeals, SIS Limited, amongst others.

Ini is also the Founder, Thistle Group, an emerging group of enterprises in Gas, Logistics, Research and Media.