Consultant | DG/CEO Emeritus, NACCIMA | Panelist/Speaker, WIEG Summit.

Dr. John Isemede is a distinguished global trade expert, educator, and policy strategist with over three decades of experience in export development, international market expansion, and trade facilitation across Africa and global markets. A Fellow of the Institute of Export of Nigeria (FIEx), he is also a Member of the Institute of Export & International Trade, UK (MIEx), and the Institute of Export and Shipping Management, Ghana (MIESM).

He holds a B.Sc. in Business Administration from the University of Benin, an Executive Diploma in Export Marketing from the University of Lagos, and an MBA in International Business and Globalization from the Paris Graduate School of Business, alongside an Honorary Doctorate in International Trade.

Dr. Isemede has held senior leadership roles at Unilever International, Promasidor Plc (Head of Export, West & Central Africa), and was instrumental in establishing the Export Department at the Dangote Group. He also contributed to Nigeria’s Food Security Programme in collaboration with FAO.

As former Director-General/CEO of NACCIMA (2010–2015), he advanced trade advocacy and institutional reforms. He later served as a National Expert with UNIDO, contributing to Nigeria’s National Quality Infrastructure.

A respected thought leader, he continues to shape discourse on WTO, ECOWAS, and AfCFTA.