Having the largest population in Africa, Nigeria logically accounts for the larger portion of Africa’s internet community. At the centre of everything internet in Africa is Google, the company to which a lot of internet products and services are connected directly or indirectly. And at the helm of Google Nigeria is Juliet Ehimuan-Chiazor as Country Director, leading Google’s business strategy in West Africa.
She has been recognised and honoured by a host of reputable media platforms including Forbes, the BBC and
Forbes named Ehimuan among the 20 Youngest Power Women in Africa. London Business School also listed her as one of 30 people changing the world; and she was featured in the BBC Africa Power Women series, and on CNN Innovate Africa.
Juliet Ehimuan was born and schooled in Nigeria up till her first degree – a B.Eng. in Computer Engineering from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. She graduated with First-class honours and topped it with a postgraduate degree in Computer Science from the University of Cambridge, the United Kingdom in 1997. Ehimuan went on to bag an MBA in Strategy, Entrepreneurship and Innovation from the London Business School between 2006 and 2008.
Shuffling career and entrepreneurship
Her career started in the oil and gas sector, where she worked as a Performance Monitoring and Quality Assurance Supervisor with Shell Petroleum Development Company between 1995 and 1997. She then joined Microsoft UK as a Program Manager, overseeing projects for 15 MSN subsidiaries in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. She also took on the role of Business Process Manager for MSN International. She received the Microsoft “Ship-IT” award for successfully launching the new MSN online subscription business in the UK, Spain, Italy, and Germany.
After more than 7 years with Microsoft, Juliet Ehimuan left in December 2004 to start a firm. Strategic Insight Consulting Ltd was launched in January 2005 and she headed the firm for the next four years, providing collaborative programmes that connect African Business leaders and Professionals with their global counterparts.
In 2009, Juliet Ehimuan joined Chams Plc as General Manager, Strategic Business Units. For the next two years, she would be leading and formulating strategies for the strategic business units. In April 2011, Ehimuan was appointed Google’s Country Manager for Nigeria. Accepting the position was inspired by her drive to contribute to the growth of the industry and make a difference, after spending over a decade outside the country.
The same year she was appointed, Youtube.ng was launched as the local version of YouTube that allows Nigerian multimedia and video content creators to share their content. Under her leadership, Google has gotten involved in building capacity in Nigeria by training developers, students and businesses on how they can build great Apps, promote their businesses online, and enhance the quality of learning through access to global libraries of information on the Internet. There are also dedicated programmes for female developers like the Women Techmakers launched in 2014, which aims to support women in technology.
In 11 years as Google Country Manager representing the company in all its business development projects and partnership opportunities in the region, Ehimuan has a long thread of achievements to her name.
Other interests and recognitions
In addition to her academic qualifications, Juliet Ehimuan is a recipient of the London Business School Global Women’s Scholarship, and she was awarded Selwyn College Scholar and Malaysian commonwealth Scholar at Cambridge University. She is also a pioneer member of the Academic Computer Network for Developing Countries sponsored by the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Trieste, Italy in 1995; which resulted in a Campus-wide area network at OAU Ife.
Ehimuan is not only a global business executive and thought leader, she has become a leading voice on leveraging innovation and leadership to drive transformation. She is the Founder of Beyond Limits Africa, a capacity-building initiative which provides Coaching, Leadership development programs, and Innovative workshops; taking individuals and organisations on a journey of transformation. She is a widely sought coach and keynote speaker. Juliet is an Executive Leadership Coach and a member of the Forbes Coaches Council.
She is a Fellow of the Cambridge Commonwealth Society. Juliet serves as a Director on the Boards of Nestle Nigeria PLC FATE Foundation and the Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG).
