Mrs. Abidemi Ademola is an Executive Corporate Counsel, Governance Professional and Business Leader with niche experience spanning over 27 years of Corporate-Commercial Law and Governance practice in Nigeria and West Africa. Passionately driven by a personal purpose to build a lasting legacy by shaping capability in Governance, Risk and Compliance, her forte is to proactively identify legal, regulatory, compliance and corporate governance risks to business and develop innovative mitigation to enable seamless business operations and sustainability. Abidemi has been instrumental in building strong legal teams and delivering several epic legal transactions and projects across West Africa. She has supported multiple Boards of multinational listed entities for over 10 years to implement world class Corporate Governance practices and processes with positive impact on Board effectiveness. She was appointed to the Board of Unilever Nigeria Plc as an Executive Director in March, 2023. She exited Unilever after 27 years of commendable service to start DFA Solicitors, a boutique law and Governance Practice. True to her industry pedigree, she joined Guinness Nigeria Plc (a Diageo Company) as Legal Director & Company Secretary with effect from 1st November, 2023.
Abidemi holds a Bachelor of Laws from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife., a Master of Laws from the University of Lagos, Akoka and an MBA Leadership from Walden University, United States. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN) and was co-opted as Governing Council member of the Institute from 2022 to 2023. She is also a Fellow of the WIMBOARD Institute, a WIMBIZ/IE University, Madrid Executive Education Programme for Women on Boards.
Abidemi is extremely passionate about Leadership, Governance and Compliance, and writes thought leadership materials on these topics from time to time. She actively mentors other young professionals formally and informally. Abidemi is married with three kids. She enjoys walking, reading, interior decorating and wholesome music.