Stella okoli son
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Stella Okoli: Promoter of wellness from little beginnings
Being a woman at the top in a country like Nigeria is no lean feat. But with a philosophy rooted in hard work, integrity and ethical leadership; Mrs. Stella Chinyelu Okoli, the CEO of Emzor Pharmaceuticals Ltd has successfully taken pharmaceutical business a notch higher.
She once said: “It is important for young female entrepreneurs to start small”. She explained that besides money, there are certain techniques, focus and determination as well as finding out gaps in the system which they can plug into.
From Emzor Chemist Ltd in January 1977 – a small pharmacy retail shop in Shomolu, Lagos – Emzor Pharmaceuticals has planted its feet in other West African countries like Liberia and Sierra Leone, and grown into a large manufacturing company with over 80 products in its stable including Emzor Paracetamol, Lokmal, Maldox and Emvite.
Behind the 32-year-old company is Mrs. Stella Chinyelu Okoli who sits as Managing Director and CEO of Emzor Pharmaceuticals Ltd. And for her, the saying ‘It is lonely at the top’ has
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Stella Chinyelu Okoli is a Nigerian pharmacist, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. She is the founder and current CEO of Emzor, a pharmaceutical company she started in 1977. Okoli was born on July 30, 1944, in Kano State to Felix Ebelechukwu and Margaret Modebelu. She attended All Saints Primary School in Onitsha (1954-1959), Ogidi Girls Secondary School in Ogidi from 1959 to 1964, and Federal Science School in Lagos from 1964 to 1966.
Okoli moved to Great Britain to continue her studies. She graduated from the College of Bradford as a pharmacist. Dr. Stella Okoli also holds a master’s degree in bio-pharmacy from the College of London, Chelsea College, and she is a graduate of Lagos Business School, Harvard Business School in Boston, and I.E.S.E Business School in Barcelona, Spain.
After her education in Great Britain, Okoli began working as a ward/ clinical pharmacist at Middlesex Hospital in London and later briefly as a pharmacist at Boots Drugstore UK. On her return to Nigeria, she worked briefly at Massey Children Hospital in Lagos before joining Park Davies Nigeria Limited
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Our People
Dr Stella Chinyelu Okoli, OON, is the Founder and Group Managing Director of Emzor Pharmaceutical Industries Limited.
She attended All Saints Primary School Onitsha and Ogidi Girls’ Secondary School Ogidi, both in Anambra State, obtaining her West African School Certificate in 1964. She later proceeded to the United Kingdom for her tertiary education and obtained a B.Pharm (Hons) and an MSc in Bio-pharmaceutics from University of London, Chelsea College in 1971. She has attended The Harvard Business School Owner–Manager Program; the Chief Executive Programme of Lagos Business School and I.E.S.E, Business School, Barcelona, Spain.
She founded Chike Okoli Foundation (COF) in 2006 in memory of her beloved son Chike. The Foundation set up a Centre for Entrepreneurial Studies at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, and trains more than 250 students in entrepreneurship every year. The Foundation has reached over 1,500,000 people across Nigeria on lifestyle interventions.
She bagged the International Entrepreneurial Challenge (IWEC) Award. She has been conferred with the Membe
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