Seni Sulyman, the vice president (VP), Global Operations at Andela just announced that he will be stepping down from his role next month.
In 2016, Sulyman joined Andela as director of operations, Nigeria before becoming country director of the West-African country six months later. In March 2018, he resumed the role of VP, Global Operations while serving as an interim country director in Kenya between February and May 2019.
Before Andela, Sulyman managed the strategy and business development team at Bristow Group, a business jet airline serving Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt.
His previous career includes managerial and associate roles at Hewlett Packard (HP), Bain & Company and CardinalStone Partners.
It’s always hard to say goodbye to a community you love from the bottom of your heart, and people you’ve built life-long relationships with. After four tremendous years, I’m transitioning out of my role as VP of Global Operations @Andela (in May). https://t.co/xbZ46LaAT3
— Seni (@senisulyman) April 2, 2020
In his Medium post, Sulyman said he will fully transition out of the role which saw him supervise Andela’s talent recruitment and development, service delivery, and African operations across Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Ghana and Egypt next month.
“After four tremendous years at Andela, I am transitioning out of my role as vice president of global operations and into the Alumni Network on May 15. This is a bitter-sweet moment for me.
“It is difficult to leave when we’re still in the early days of a wicked global challenge with the COVID-19 pandemic. I’ve second-guessed my decision to leave a few times, but there isn’t ever a perfect time,” he said.
He also referenced that Andela’s current Country Director, Nigeria, Omowale David-Ashiru “will continue to lead Africa operations, supported by a phenomenal team of country directors, completing a transition that we began last year.” In other words, David-Ashiru might fill in the boots left by Sulyman come May.
After Andela, the Harvard Business School alumnus will be looking forward to some ‘me’ time before getting back into the game.
“What’s next for me? I’m taking a personal sabbatical to rest, reflect, read, write, and re-energize. After some time off, I’ll plan my next great adventure in line with my life’s purpose of building an ecosystem of exemplary African businesses and leaders, and creating commercial bridges between Africa and the world.”
