Tony Elumelu’s Wife, Dr Awele Vivien Elumelu, is a silent Business Magnate

An accomplished, beautiful and sophisticated Nigerian businesswoman! These are the words that easily come to mind when describing Tony Elumelu’s wife, Dr Awele Vivien Elumelu. This woman does everything —from medicine & surgery to boardroom meetings, philanthropy and of course, the important work of supporting her husband and caring for their seven children. Perhaps, the most intriguing thing about her is how she is able to combine these roles, all while still looking radiant like a beauty model. She has obviously found the perfect balance between her high-profile executive life and being a dedicated wife and mother.

Awele Operates beneath the Hype

There is, understandably, a lot of media interest surrounding the Elumelu family due to their social status. CNN International even referred to them once as Africa’s power couple. While some socialites crave and exploit this kind of media frenzy, Dr Awele Vivian Elumelu choses to avoid it. Instead, she operates beneath the hype. As a matter of fact, she is so private to the point  she doesn’t even have active social media accounts. She also hardly grants media interviews, except when she has something important to talk about. However, underneath her low profile, Dr Awele is busy making strategic business moves whilst effectively running her home.

Let’s Talk about her Background and Early Career Days

Born in the 1960s, Awele Vivien Elumelu grew up in Nigeria where she had both her primary and secondary education. She also studied Medicine and Surgery at the University of Benin, after which she worked briefly with the Lagos University Teaching Hospital before moving to the United Kingdom where she worked with Grantham and District Hospital. Her areas of specialization include: paediatrics, obstetrics, gynaecology, emergency medicine, and of course medicine and surgery. 

Marrying Elumelu and Pivoting her Career to Business

In 1993 when 30-year Awele got married, her husband (the young Tony Elumelu) was just a mid-career banker with lots of dreams of becoming one of Africa’s most successful businessmen. The two were both young professionals from different backgrounds who fell in love and decided to grow together. They did grow together, with Awele taking some time off work to raise their children while Tony explored entrepreneurship. He ended up building one of Nigeria’s biggest banks alongside a string of other successful enterprises.  Dr Awele supported him from the background. 

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EDITOR’S NOTE: For the rest of Mrs Elumelu’s profile and other amazing stories of amazing African female entrepreneurs, read our Top 30 African Women Entrepreneurs and Influencers below.