Mentor

Peju Adebajo

Mentor

Peju
Adebajo

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Overview

Peju Adebajo is an experienced former CEO and Non-Executive Director with international expertise across industrials, renewable energy, agriculture and financial services. She currently serves on the boards of Ibstock plc (FTSE-listed building materials manufacturer), Wolseley Limited (UK building materials distributor, PE-backed) and Lagos State Employment Trust Fund. A Harvard-educated leader with deep African and European experience, she has a strong track record of delivering sustainable growth, complex transformations and turnarounds in both private and public sectors.

Peju’s early career was in London with BCG and Citicorp before moving into broader financial services, entrepreneurship and operating leadership in Africa. She held a Divisional Head role at United Bank for Africa while founding the company that brought the Mothercare brand to Africa, as a Non-Executive. She then became CEO of UTC Nigeria plc, a manufactured foods business, where she led a significant restructuring programme. In 2007 she was appointed CEO of Mouka Ltd, a mattress manufacturer, where she spearheaded year-on-year growth and a successful private equity exit.

In 2014, Peju became MD of Lafarge Africa, part of the French/Swiss-listed Lafarge-Holcim building materials group, leading large-scale transformation including mergers and extensive operational change. In 2017, she served as Commissioner for Agriculture in Ogun State, where she reset the ministry’s strategy, governance and systems and played a central role in the design and implementation of a US$250m World Bank–supported agricultural development programme. Her penultimate CEO role was at Lumos Nigeria, a solar home systems provider, where she led an operational and commercial reset, expanding access to affordable energy in underserved communities.

Since 2021, alongside her Non-Executive portfolio, Peju has built a practice as an Executive Coach and Mentor. Drawing on her experience as a female ethnic minority leader operating across cultures and industries, she is known for creating inclusive, engaged teams, and for combining commercial rigour with empathy and respect. She understands the “loneliness at the top” and works with clients through mutual trust to help them navigate periods of stretch, transition and equilibrium.

Peju brings deep cross-sector expertise in:

• Industrial manufacturing & building materials – leading restructuring, operational turnarounds and growth for listed and PE-backed businesses across the UK, Europe and Africa.

• Renewable energy & energy access – scaling solar and distributed energy models, improving access to affordable, sustainable power in emerging markets.

• African markets, government & development finance – operating at the intersection of public policy, multilateral funding and private enterprise to unlock large-scale investment.

• Purpose-led leadership, inclusion & ESG – building diverse, values-driven leadership teams and embedding sustainability, stakeholder engagement and long-term impact into strategy.

Peju is an Executive Coach and Mentor and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School as well as an MEng from Imperial College London. She has been recognised in Cranfield University’s “100 Women to Watch” (2021), LinkedIn’s “UK Top 10 Green Voices” (2021), as CNBC Africa’s Businesswoman of the Year (2015) and as the recipient of the Harvard Business School Nigeria Leadership Award (2013). In 2023, she was shortlisted in the “NED to Watch” category at the UK NED Awards. She is an EMCC and Gallups Strength certified coach.

PDF Profile

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Major Career Roles

Lumos Global

CEO

Lafarge Africa plc

MD

Mouka Ltd

CEO

UTC Nigeria plc

CEO

Ibstock plc

Independent Non-Executive Director

Wolseley Group

Independent Non-Executive Director

Lagos State Employment Trust Fund

Chair

Other Career Highlights

Ogun State Government

Commissioner for Agriculture

Climate Governance Initiative Nigeria

Founder

World Economic Forum Council on Climate & Nature Governance

Global Future Council Member

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The Original Mentor

Mentoring has its roots in one of the oldest leadership stories. In Homer’s Odyssey, Mentor was entrusted with guiding the young Telemachus while Odysseus was away — not by directing him, but by offering judgement, perspective and wisdom born of experience. This enduring idea of counsel, grounded in trust rather than instruction, remains the essence of mentoring today.

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