Yemisi Ayeni holds a BA (Econs) Hons specializing in Accounting and Business Finance from the University of Manchester, United Kingdom and thereafter qualified as a Chartered Accountant in England and Wales in 1989 . Mrs. Ayeni started her professional career with Price Waterhouse (PW) (now known as PricewaterhouseCoopers), London in 1985 where she spent 5 years and rose through the ranks to become Manager of the firm’s Corporate Reconstruction and Insolvency Team in 1990. Thereafter, Mrs Ayeni returned to Nigeria in 1991 as a Senior Manager in the Corporate Finance Team of PW, after which she had a stint in self-employment between 1992 and 1994 where she was a partner in a privately owned financial consultancy firm.

In 1994, Ayeni joined Shell Nigeria Exploration & Production Co Ltd (SNEPCo) and in 1996, she joined Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC). Ayeni’s work experience spanned different subsidiaries in Shell Nigeria and in November 2004, she was appointed Finance Manager/Director of SNEPCo earning her the distinction of being the first Nigerian female ever to be appointed to the Board of a Shell Company in Nigeria. Mrs Ayeni was appointed the Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Closed Pension Fund Administrator Limited in year 2005 from where she retired on 30 April 2015. Until her retirement, Mrs Ayeni was the Vice-Chairman of the Pension Fund Operators’ Association of Nigeria (PenOp) and the Chairman of Pension Institute Committee of PenOp.

Mrs. Ayeni who is the current Chairperson of NASCO Allied Industries PLC, also serves as an Independent Non-Executive Director on the Board of Guinness Nigeria PLC. She is also a Non-Executive Director on the Board of Ultima Limited and a member of the Panel of Advisers for the Africa Initiative for Governance.