Azukaego Chukwuelue is a certified professional with a wealth of commercial experience spanning over two decades in West, East and Central Africa. During her 22-year career, she has led commercial and supply chain strategy and operations at Cadbury, Kraft Foods, Mondelez International, Pfizer (later Neimeth), and, most recently, Kimberly-Clark as Supply Chain Director.

Azukaego is the Managing Director of Truss Ugavi Nigeria Limited where she focuses on ensuring visibility in the supply chain with the objective to enable trade and ease of doing business in the African region, building capacity in the industry to enable SME’s thrive while getting young people productively engaged in every area of the supply chain. She also serves as a Consultant with Africa Resource Centre (ARC_ESM) where she contributes her quota to achieve equitable access to medicines and healthcare in Nigeria

She earned her bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from the University of Ibadan and her Executive MBA in General Management and Doing Business in Africa from Pan African University (Lagos Business School) and Nanyang Business School, NTU, Singapore. She is an alumna of the INSEAD Advanced Management Program.

Over the course of her 20-year career, which saw her work in four multinationals, she has gained versatility and depth working across different fields, including Sales & marketing as well as Supply Chain. Her competencies span business revenue growth & profitability, strategic analysis, talent development, change management, as well as effective communications and relationship building skills. She is the go-to person for troubleshooting potential operational loopholes that span across forecasting and planning, customer relationship management, distributor management dynamics, RTM & Channel development strategies, logistics & distributions cost models, efficient procure to pay models, warehousing, import, and export operations including international logistics, and supply network design amongst others.

Her success enablers are a dedication to excellence, the ability to get to the real issues amid clutter while still focused on the big picture, and an aptitude for building diverse, highly motivated, energized, and inclusive teams. Her passion for transformative leadership and the ability to harness team power earned her several recognitions, including the Leadership Imperative Award for Ownership and Accountability and AMEA Recognition for Supportive Team in Cadbury, as well as the prestigious ELAP and ELTT leadership programs in Kimberley Clark. Recently, she was named among the 100 female professionals in 20 industries advancing excellence and professionalism in Nigeria’s corporate sector.

Beyond her work, she mentors young women, with the aim of ensuring that all women have the skills and capabilities to earn a seat at the table on merit. Her passion for mentorship comes from personal experiences where, for a good part of her career, she was the only female in the room and was successful thanks to leaders, peers, and subordinates who gave their time and resources to mentor her. She says, ‘When I look back at the meaningful contributions I made and the challenges I surmounted, I see that the room would have benefited from more women. Hence, I actively create platforms for women to hone their skills and showcase their talent. ’

She does this through the Truss Empowerment Foundation, a nonprofit focused on creating real value for young people via enhancing their economic power by building capabilities that allow successful engagement in stereotyped as well as leadership roles. The organization runs an internship program for young minds, getting them ready for professional and business growth via a simulated MBA course content and actual problem-solving-based learning for managing complex supply chains while learning team dynamics and skills.

Interests and Projects

• The Foundation has also held skill and entrepreneurship training for women in the Tarkwa bay community, ensuring that they not only learn the skills but follow through with the desired economic support to drive business continuity.

• Event planning and business management training for women with Courage event center for 28 women with Start up kits and continuous support as they grow their own operations

• Protecting the aged campaign during the pandemic by feeding 104 Aged people in  Lagos state in two cycles as this demographic are easily forgotten

• Outreach to orphanage homes and helping families with their children education needs

• Helping women bridge the gender gap and increase economic power by enabling employability in male dominated spaces - providing they opportunities and building the capability via financial and mentorship support

• Ensuring young professionals and fresh graduates are equipped with the skills and capabilities to get to the peak of their careers business via the Truss Supply Chain Mastery program