Dr. Ayotunde Coker is an accomplished technologist and business leader with over 30 years of international experience in Europe, the USA, Asia, and Africa. He is known for his innovative approach to technology, particularly in leading large, multinational teams to design, build, restructure, and manage complex technology operations to drive business growth and efficiency.

Dr. Coker has held numerous senior executive roles, including serving as a global CIO, and has a proven track record in leading technology-driven businesses. His extensive board-level experience includes managing budgets exceeding £100 million and overseeing large-scale global change programs, mergers, and acquisitions. He has particularly strong expertise in the African market, where he has spent a significant portion of his career in recent years.

Born in Nigeria, Dr. Coker attended school in Lagos before pursuing university studies in the UK. His distinguished career includes roles such as Management Consultant at Cap Gemini UK, Director at Egg Bank (the first European Internet Bank), Global Applications Director at BP, and CTO for the UK Criminal Justice system. He also served as IT Director at the Ministry of Justice in the UK.

In 2009, Dr. Coker returned to Nigeria as Group CIO of Access Bank, and later became the MD/CEO of Emerging Markets Payments, West Africa. Under his leadership, Rack Centre, a data center business, became a leading brand in Nigeria and Africa, earning global recognition and multiple international awards. Dr. Coker is also the Secretary General of the Africa Data Centre Association.

He holds a PhD (Honoris Causa) from ESCAE University, Republic of Benin, and is an award-winning alumnus of Cranfield Institute of Technology, UK. Dr. Coker is a Fellow of the Institute of Directors (UK) and the British Computer Society, and an Honorary Senior Member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria.

As Nigeria’s first Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) in the public sector, Kashifu has played a pivotal role in shaping the nation’s digital economy. Since his appointment in 2019, his leadership has fostered job creation and the establishment of crucial regulatory frameworks that support Nigeria’s growing tech ecosystem. His initiatives include the creation of the Nigerian Data Protection Commission (NDPC), which focuses on safeguarding data privacy, and the IT project clearance program, which has resulted in billions of Naira in cost savings for the Nigerian government.

Kashifu is also a passionate advocate for digital literacy, spearheading projects like the National Digital Literacy Framework and the “Digital Literacy for All” initiative, both aimed at equipping Nigerians with the essential digital skills needed to thrive in the modern economy.

He holds a degree in Computer Science from Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, and has completed executive education programs at prestigious institutions such as Harvard, University of Cambridge, Oxford University, and MIT Sloan School of Management. His leadership continues to inspire innovation, particularly among Nigeria’s youth, as they contribute to the transformation of the digital economy.