Mrs. Irene Ubah, F.IoD

A seasoned Public Affairs & Communications professional and Company Director, Irene Ubah has over 30 years experience working with multinational companies. She started her career in 1981 with Nigerian Tobacco Company (NTC), a company quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange and a subsidiary of British American Tobacco Company (BAT).  In 1998 she was elevated to the board of NTC as Director Corporate Affairs.  Following the incorporation of British American Tobacco Nigeria and its merger with Nigerian Tobacco Company, she was posted to the United Kingdom on an international assignment as Regional Manager, Corporate and Regulatory Affairs in BAT’s West and Central Africa Area offices, covering 23 countries. She later moved to Senegal and spent 3 years working to facilitate company trade and optimise the benefits from regional integration across West and Central Africa. She is fluent in French.

She took early retirement from BAT in December 2005 to join Coca-Cola Nigeria Ltd as Director Public Affairs and Communication.  Her main areas of focus were to raise the public profile of the Corporate Brand and establish the company as a thought leader and partner of government. She also had responsibility for managing company reputation by actively engaging with the company’s various groups of stakeholders and by promoting initiatives and business practices that ensure long term sustainability of the Company.  

 

She retired from Coca-Cola Nigeria Ltd in 2011.  Between 2011 and 2018, she served as an adjunct Faculty at the School of Media and Communication (SMC) of Pan Atlantic University Lagos, facilitating courses for the Postgraduate diploma programme in the area of Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility as well as various Executive Education programmes. She continues to consult part time in the areas of Public Affairs, Incident Management and Crisis Resolution, Reputation Management and Leadership training.  

She is on the board of First World Communities, a private Affordable Urban Housing Development company.  She has served on several committees as well as on the Governing Council of The Institute of Directors Nigeria.