Dizengoff appoints Onari Duke as new Board Chairman

Dizengoff Nigeria has announced the appointment of Barrister Mrs. Owanari Duke as the company’s new Chairman, Board of Directors of its Nigeria business. The announcement was made at the company’s annual general meeting (AGM) held in Lagos, recently. Mrs. Duke, who has been a member of the Board since 2000, assumed the position from the outgoing Chairman, Prof. T. Duncan who recently retired.

“Mrs. Duke is a proven leader and her contribution as member of the Board over the past eighteen years has been invaluable” says Antti Ritvonen, CEO of Dizengoff Nigeria in a statement by the company. “She brings a lot of energy to the table and her expertise as a lawyer and her wealth of experience as a former First Lady of Cross River State will indeed be invaluable to the organization”.

“I am honoured to been appointed by the Board as the new Chairman, Board of Directors of Dizengoff Nigeria” Duke said. “I am excited to contribute to the purpose, vision and strategy of the company. It is with great pleasure and sense of commitment that I pledge to work with the Board members to uphold the Dizengoff brand and I look forward to working together in the future” she also said in the statement.

Mrs. Duke is a successful and experienced lawyer, a highly strategic and accomplished business development professional. The former First Lady is a United Nation certified trainer on entrepreneurship and a member of several Boards of both international and local institutions. Mrs. Duke is credited with having started the now acclaimed annual International Calabar Carnival during the tenure of her husband Donald Duke as Governor of Cross River state, Nigeria.

She is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association as well as member of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) amongst several others professional groups.

She began her professional career in 1988 in a financial establishment as Assistant Legal Counsel, later traversing different sectors of the economy in various leadership positions. Mrs. Duke brings to bear on her appointment as Chairman of the company’s Board her over 25 years of solid professional experience.

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