Tonye is a co-founder and executive director of the Sahara Group. Tonye is chiefly responsible for the strategic expansion of the organisations energy portfolio an d is actively involved in the exploration of up stream opportunities in new frontier and emerging markets.
He also oversees international operations, business development and CSR activities for the group whilst maintaining a keen eye on internal polic ies and compliance.
From a presence in one country in 1996, Sahara Group is now present in 9 countries in 5 continents.
Tonye is a m ember of the governing council team, Nigerian Chamber of Shipping
Background
Tonye co-founded the Sahara Group in 1996 along with Ade Odunsi and Tope Shonubi.
Prior to co-founding the Sahara Group, Tonye was the pioneer Director of Operations for Empressa Sul Americana de Montagens S.A., a Brazilian civil engineering company which was awarded a World Bank financed
projects for Lagos State Water Corporation.
Prior to EMSA S.A., Tonye worked as an architect for the frontline Brazilian architectural firm Grupo Quatro SA in Goiania, Brazil, which was involved in the design and implementation of the urban planning and city development of Palmas, the capital city of the then newly created state of Tocantins
Education
Tonye received a B.Es/B.Arc with honours in Architecture from the University of Lagos and a Certificate of Proficiency in Portuguese from the Universidade de Brasilia, Brazil.
Interests
Tonye is married with three children. He is an avid motor sports fan with a particular penchant for racing super bikes. He also enjoys movies and digital photography.
Tonye is a "Brand Ambassador" for Nigeria and believes in the tremendous human potential that lies "locked" within the country. He has devoted himself to unlocking this potential and spends a significant amount of his time speaking to business audiences and students in the country; as well as acting as a mentor to high fliers in the organisation. He takes an active role in promoting the welfare of the underprivileged in the society where he works closely with foundations like Down syndrome foundation of Nigeria, Compassion center for physically handicapped children in Port Harcourt. Xplicit Dancers in Ibadan, Cheshire home for the disabled in Lagos and various orphanages.
