Jane Egerton-Idehen is a tech executive, author and angel investor. She was the Head of Sales, the Middle East and Africa, Meta (Facebook). Prior to that, she was the Country Manager, Nigeria, and the Regional Sales Director for the West African branch of Avanti Communications Group Plc, a British communication company with a fleet of satellites in space. She worked in various roles from technical, sales and management in the telecommunication infrastructure giant Ericsson. She also worked as a cluster lead for Nokia Siemens Network in West Africa.
She is currently the MD/CEO, Nigerian Communications Satellite Ltd. (NIGCOMSAT). NIGCOMSAT Ltd owns and operates the Nigerian Communications Satellite systems. The NigComSat-1R system is built to provide domestic and international satellite services via a 2-way satellite communications services across West, Central, South East Africa, Europe and Asia.
Egerton-Idehen was born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria. She graduated with a second-class upper degree in electronics engineering in 2001 from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. She furthered her education at Warwick Business School in the UK, where she received a master’s degree. She received an executive education at both Harvard Business School and Yale School of Management in the United States.
She has worked in the telecommunications industry in Africa for more than 17 years. Her knowledge of technology, ability to manage complex stakeholder relationships, and skill to manage teams and create strategies to support growth and drive business are keys to her success.
Being one of the few females heading key business areas in the tech industry has exposed Jane to numerous professional and personal challenges peculiar to women. Spurred by discussions with fellow female executives around the globe, she organised a forum at Ericsson in which emerging and experienced female leaders could support each other in developing their careers. The overwhelming success of the forum led her to found ‘Women and Career’, to reach women beyond her organisation and to support girls seeking careers after school.
In March 2020, she published a book, ‘Be Fearless: Give Yourself Permission To Be You.’ She drew from her more than 15 years of experience as a telecommunication executive in Africa, to help women build lasting careers, especially in the male-dominated STEM industries. The book hit seven Amazon bestseller lists on March 17, 2020, climbing all the way to number one in the Business Ethics and Knowledge Capital categories.
Although she travels extensively, Jane continues to make her home in Nigeria.
