Dr. Anthony Onyemaechi Elumelu, CFR is a distinguished Nigerian economist, banker, and philanthropist, renowned for his transformative leadership in Africa’s private sector. He is the Chairman of Heirs Holdings, Transcorp, and United Bank for Africa (UBA), and the Founder of The Tony Elumelu Foundation, a pioneering philanthropy dedicated to empowering African entrepreneurs.

Dr. Elumelu holds a BSc in Economics from Ambrose Alli University and an MSc in Economics from the University of Lagos. He is also an alumnus of Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Programme.

His career began at Union Bank during his National Youth Service in 1985. He went on to lead Allstates Trust Bank, and in 1997, spearheaded one of Sub-Saharan Africa’s largest banking mergers, acquiring United Bank for Africa (UBA). In 2005, following the merger of Standard Trust Bank and UBA, he became Group Managing Director, expanding UBA from a single-country bank to a pan-African financial institution with operations in 20 African countries, as well as France, the UK, and the United States. He currently serves as Chairman of UBA.

In 2010, Dr. Elumelu founded Heirs Holdings, a family-owned investment company with a diverse portfolio in financial services, power, oil & gas, hospitality, and healthcare. That same year, he launched The Tony Elumelu Foundation, which has funded and mentored thousands of entrepreneurs across all 54 African countries under his philosophy of Africapitalism — the belief that the private sector can drive Africa’s economic and social transformation.

Dr. Elumelu is a Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR) and a Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR), in recognition of his contributions to economic development and philanthropy.