The Team

Ikeolu Gbadegesin
Board Chair
ikeolu@bridgenigeria.org

Ike Gbadegesin is an Attorney in the Energy/Project Finance practice of White and Case LLP,in London UK. Prior to White and Case LLP, Ike worked as a Senior International Attorney with the Millennium Challenge Corporation(MCC) which focuses on promoting sustainable growth through investments in some of the world’s poorest countries in sectors such as transportation, infrastructure, and education. She had also worked as an Associate in the Project Finance practice of Skadden Arps in Washington DC.

She graduated Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 2001 and also has a Bachelors Degree in History (Magna Cum Laude) from Harvard College .  She has been a Director with Bridge Nigeria, Inc. since its inception as LYNX in 2000 and served as a counselor at the Youth Leadership Camps in Abuja, Nigeria. 

Uzochi Nwagwu
Vice Board Chair
uzo@bridgenigeria.org

Uzochi Nwagwu is Finance Director for a Hamilton Sundstrand aerospace lighting systems business. Prior to this assignment, Uzo had spent 3 years leading post-acquisition financial integration projects and internal audits in United Technologies Corporation (UTC), as well as 6 years at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) providing advisory, audit and international tax services.

An avid supporter of youth and community development, Uzo served on the Leadership Team of AIESEC in Nigeria (a global youth management and exchange organization) as Vice President and President between 1998 and 2000. He has also served on the board of SStoneAge Inc, a Stamford based teen after-school program; and as a liaison for Fate Foundation,USA.  Uzo has an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) Tepper School of Business as well a Bachelor of Science in Economics degree from the University of Lagos.

Ore Adeyemi
ore@bridgenigeria.org

Ore Adeyemi is an Investment Professional with HSBC Principal Investments - Africa, HSBC's private equity arm dedicated to sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to joining HSBC Principal Investments, Ore was with the bank's Investment Banking Group where he worked on a wide range of M&A transactions. Ore had also worked as a Senior Consultant for the management consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton, where he helped define business strategies for organizations in the public and private sectors.

In addition to serving on the board of Bridge Nigeria, Ore has served on the boards of the Black Alumni at MIT (BAMIT) and the Harvard/MIT Cooperative Society. Ore has an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan School of Management. He also received a Bachelor of Science degree from MIT.

Ijeoma Nwachukwu
ijeoma@bridgenigeria.org

An SJD candidate at the Harvard Law School, Ijeoma was called to the Nigerian Bar in October 2000 and served as legal counsel for Nigeria’s Civil Liberties Organization. Prior to receiving her L.L.M. from Harvard in June 2004, Ijeoma produced radio and television documentaries on international human rights and development themes for Channels Television Lagos and for the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (IDASA), Cape Town. As a fellow of Interights London, the United Nations University Tokyo, and CODESRIA (Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa) Senegal, Ijeoma has been involved in developing research and training programs internationally.

Ijeoma is currently a Human Rights and International Trade Law lecturer at St. Mary's University, Twickenham UK.

Yemi Adamolekun
yemi@bridgenigeria.org

‘Yemi Adamolekun has a ten year career spanning the public and private sectors. She is currently an MBA candidate at Oxford University’s Said Business School (SBS). Prior to SBS, she was the COO of a figment of imagination, a physical product development firm which developed the BizKit® - a do-it-yourself business development kit for entrepreneurs & Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria.

She holds a Masters degree in Development Studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a first degree in Mathematics and Economics from the University of Virginia.