Tonye Cole
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Tonye Patrick Cole (born 11 January 1967) is a
Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...
businessman, he is the co-founder and former Group Executive Director of Sahara Group an energy conglomerate with operations spanning the entire energy chain in Nigeria and neighbouring
West African West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Ma ...
countries to
East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...
and beyond. The Group operates in 38 countries around the world with over 4,000 employees and annual turnover of $11 billion. He was directly responsible for building the Group's global expansion and upholding her corporate governance principles, maintaining her status with global institutions like the
World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...
, where he was a key member of Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (PACI), The United Nations), where he was a pioneer member of the advisory board of the Private Sector Advisory Group for the UNDP Sustainable Development Group Fund (SDG-F), The African Philanthropy Forum amongst others. In addition to founding and running one of Nigeria's largest energy conglomerates, he also spearheaded and developed work carried out for the Sahara Foundation globally. He continues working to inspire the youth of Africa through charities such as his NGO, Nehemiah Youth Empowerment initiative, which aims to influence change in Africa by bringing together young and emerging leaders to develop and implement practical strategies that will produce positive outcomes for millions and more recently, Behavioral Health Institute (BHI) that he set up for the study and management of behavioral health issues especially among the youths in Nigeria. In addition, he works closely with a number of foundations in Nigeria including the Down Syndrome Foundation, Slum-2-School Foundation, The Compassionate Center and various orphanages. He served as a board member for
Atlas Mara Atlas Mara Limited, formerly referred to as Atlas Mara Co-Nvest Limited, is a financial services holding company formed to undertake the acquisition of target banks in Africa. The Group's headquarters are located in Tortola, British Virgin Island ...
, Bloomberg TV Africa, Enactus Nigeria, Nigerian Chamber of Shipping and Digital Jewels. He is also a member the Private Sector Advisory Group of the United Nations Sustainable Development Fund (UN SDG-F). and He was appointed to the World Bank Group's (WBG) Expert Advisory Council on Citizen Engagement.


Biography

Tonye Cole was born in Port Harcourt, Rivers state on the 11 January 1967. He attended Corona School, Victoria Island and later King's college, Lagos before proceeding to King's School, Ely, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom. He is also an alumnus of
University of Lagos The University of Lagos, popularly known as UNILAG, is a public research university located in Lagos, Nigeria and was founded in 1962. UNILAG is one of the first generation universities in Nigeria and is ranked among the top universities in th ...
where he bagged a bachelor's degree in Architecture and Engineering, then a Portuguese Certificate from Universidade de Brasilia, Brazil. He is also a graduate of
Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...
's Advanced Management Program in 2014. The Brazilian architectural firm Grupo Quartro SA in Goiania Brazil was where he started his career as an Architect from 1990 to 1992. He was also involved in the design and implementation of the urban planning and city development of Palmas, the capital city to the state of Tocantins in miles away South America. He was also the architect responsible for the design of The Ministry of Justice Building, Palmas, Tocantins and the various residential houses in Goiania, Palmas and Brasilia among others. Tonye returned to Nigeria in 1993 and was quickly employed as the Director of Operations with the Nigerian office of Empressa Sul Americana de Montagens S.A.(EMSA) a Brazilian Civil Engineering Company from 1993 – 1996, which is allegedly the 7th largest engineering firm in Brazil that was awarded a World Bank – financed water project valued at about S5.8m for the
Lagos Water Corporation Lagos Water Corporation formerly Federal Water Supply is the principal supplier of water throughout Lagos State. It is owned by the Lagos State Government. The Waterworks was commissioned by Mr. Frederick Lugard, the then Governor General of N ...
. Mr. Cole is an ordained minister of the
Redeemed Christian Church of God The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) is a Pentecostal megachurch and denomination founded in Lagos, Nigeria. The General overseer (most senior pastor) is Enoch Adeboye, ordained in 1981. The church in Lagos had an average church attendanc ...
and leader of Team Nehemiah. A body within the church that is responsible for the delivering the vision of the church in transforming the Redemption Camp in Nigeria to a modern city. He is a motivational speaker, writer, teacher and mentor. He is the author of “Morning Reflections” a daily devotional published in 2013. He is the son of former managing director of the '' Daily Times Newspaper'' and former Ambassador of Nigeria to Brazil Patrick Dele Cole. He is married to Dr. Sylvia Cole and blessed with three adult children.


Publication

Author of “Morning Reflections”. A Daily Devotional Published 2013.
Author of “My God Thinks” (2016)
Columnist to Thisday Style “Watchers of Times”


Awards

2017 Oil & Gas Council Lifetime Achievement and Executive of The Year Award.
2014 Wharton Club Of Africa Award For Best Company To Work For.
2013 Forbes/Ebonylife TV Best of Africa Award
2011 African Property Awards/Bloomberg TV For Highly Commendable Office Architecture
2011 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Finalist
2010 Thisday Award As Young Global Champions In Oil And Gas
2009 Role Model Award By We Are The Future Of Our Nation In Recognition Of Contribution In Oil And Gas Sector
2007 Merit Award By University Of Lagos Alumni Association For Outstanding Contributions And Commitment To National Development.


Politics

In September 2018, Mr Cole made a decision to pursue a career in politics. He formally resigned from all board and executive roles held in Sahara Group as well as all his board positions elsewhere to contest for the gubernatorial seat in his home state of Rivers. This is an elective political position in Nigeria. He won the primaries under the national ruling party, the
All Progressives Congress The All Progressives Congress (APC) is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Nigeria, along with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Founded on 6 February 2013 from a merger of Nigeria's three largest opposition parties, the ...
(APC) and declared the flag bearer but due to a protracted inter-party legal tussle, the party was removed from the ballot and prevented from contesting in the elections by the courts. Mr. Cole will now be consolidating on the political gains made to build a formidable team ahead of future elections in the country.


References


External links


Bloomberg profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Tonye 1967 births Living people Businesspeople from Port Harcourt Nigerian Christians Nigerian billionaires University of Lagos alumni Nigerian architects Nigerian chairpersons of corporations Nigerian Christian clergy People educated at King's Ely King's College, Lagos alumni