Founder of Avon Healthcare Limited, one of Nigeria’s leading health maintenance organizations established to expand access to quality and affordable healthcare, Dr. Awele Vivien Elumelu has been appointed Chair of the Board of Transcorp Hotels Plc, effective January 1, 2026.
The appointment represents a defining milestone in her illustrious career, elevating a seasoned healthcare executive and philanthropist to the leadership of one of Nigeria’s most prominent hospitality brands, celebrated for luxury, innovation, and global recognition. It also underscores Transcorp Hotels’ confidence in proven cross sector leadership as the company deepens its market strength and expands within Nigeria’s rapidly evolving hospitality and events ecosystem.
Transcorp Hotels is the hospitality subsidiary of Transnational Corporation Plc, a publicly listed Nigerian conglomerate with diversified interests in power, energy, and hotels. Quoted on the Nigerian Exchange under the ticker TRANSCOHOT, the company has recorded strong financial performance, with its stock gaining 34.1 percent year to date as of December 15, 2025, and achieving a market capitalization of over ₦1.59 trillion, approximately 4.2 billion dollars.
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Its portfolio includes the iconic Transcorp Hilton Abuja, Nigeria’s foremost business and diplomatic hotel, Aura by Transcorp Hotels, and the newly launched Transcorp Event Centre, a 5,000 seat world class venue redefining large scale entertainment, conferencing, and event hosting in the country. In 2025, Transcorp Hotels secured multiple national and international accolades, including recognition as Africa’s leading business hotel and Nigeria’s top hospitality brand, reinforcing its reputation for excellence and operational consistency.
Dr. Elumelu is widely regarded as one of Nigeria’s most influential female business leaders, with a career spanning healthcare, corporate governance, and investment leadership. She is the Founder of Avon Healthcare Limited and Chief Executive Officer of Avon Medical Practice, a growing network of hospitals and clinics delivering high quality healthcare services nationwide.
She holds an MBBS degree from the University of Benin and practiced medicine in both Nigeria and the United Kingdom before transitioning into executive leadership. Her professional credentials are further strengthened by executive education at Harvard Business School, IMD Switzerland, and the London School of Economics, giving her a global perspective on leadership and governance.
Beyond healthcare, she serves as Chair of Heirs Insurance Brokers and is a founding director of Heirs Holdings Limited, the pan African investment company with interests across financial services, energy, hospitality, real estate, healthcare, and technology. She also holds a 5.1 percent equity stake in Transcorp Plc, valued at approximately ₦87 billion, about 230 million dollars, based on the December 16, 2025 closing price. This combination of boardroom leadership and substantial shareholder interest underscores her growing influence in Nigeria’s traditionally male dominated corporate environment.
Outside the boardroom, Dr. Elumelu is a prominent advocate for global health and social development. In 2018, she was appointed Private Sector Champion for Immunization in Africa by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, where she championed improved vaccine access across the continent. She also serves on the Advisory Board of the Yale Institute for Global Health and is a strong proponent of Africapitalism, the philosophy that Africa’s private sector must lead sustainable economic growth and social transformation, particularly for women and children. She is also an avid marathon runner, known for the discipline and resilience that define her leadership style.
As of late 2025, Dr. Elumelu ranks among Nigeria’s wealthiest female investors on the Nigerian Exchange, alongside other prominent women in finance and corporate leadership. Her appointment further strengthens the Elumelu family’s expanding footprint across hospitality, power, and energy.
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The Elumelu family remains one of the most influential forces in Nigerian business. Dr. Elumelu’s husband, Tony O. Elumelu, is a billionaire financier and Founder of Heirs Holdings, with investments spanning United Bank for Africa, United Capital, Transcorp Power, Heirs Energies, hospitality, healthcare, real estate, and technology. His net worth is estimated at approximately 2.15 billion dollars, with significant unquoted assets further bolstering the family’s long term economic influence.
Since acquiring a controlling stake in Transcorp Plc in 2011, the Elumelus have overseen the group’s transformation into a diversified powerhouse, driving expansion in power generation while reshaping Nigeria’s hospitality landscape through Transcorp Hotels.
Dr. Awele Vivien Elumelu’s appointment as Chair of Transcorp Hotels Plc not only crowns decades of leadership across healthcare, philanthropy, and corporate governance, but also signals a strategic continuation of a legacy defined by excellence, impact, and African led enterprise.
