Judges

Kyari Bukar is Co-Founder/CEO, Trans-Sahara Investment (TSIC) a Private Equity firm that originates, develops and actively manages direct investments in sub-Saharan African business, with a focus in West Africa. Kyari Bukar was also the immediate past chairman of Nigerian Economic Summit Group, a think-tank organisation that promotes sustainable growth and development in the Nigerian economy using research-based advocacy methods, also serving as a private sector economic advisory organisation to Federal Government of Nigeria. Prior to setting up TSIC, Kyari Bukar was the CEO of Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS). As the Managing Director/CEO of CSCS; the Central Securities Depository for the Nigerian Capital markets, he was instrumental in the transformation of the company from an entity that had a dysfunctional culture to a customer-centric, efficient and resourceful organisation with high profitability. Before joining CSCS, Kyari was the MD/CEO of ValuCard Nigeria Plc where he was instrumental in turning around the Company. Kyari Bukar also sits on the boards of other leading companies in Nigeria such as Sunu Assurance Plc, Chams Plc, Standard Chartered Bank, and many others. Kyari Bukar also spent 14 (fourteen) years working with Hewlett-Packard (HP), one of the World's leading IT Companies, where he rose to the position of Senior IT Consultant and Worldwide Technical Marketing Manager, within divisions of the Company. Kyari also possesses a background in Banking having spent a stint working with FSB International Bank Plc (now Fidelity Bank Plc) as Executive Director in charge of Electronic Banking, Information Technology and Operations. Mr. Bukar holds a B.Sc. Degree in Physics from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria and M.Sc. Degree in Nuclear Engineering from Oregon State University, USA. He is an alumnus of Lagos Business School (LBS), Wharton Business School and Harvard Business School, USA. Kyari Bukar is the Lead Judge of The Next Titan for the 10th year running.

Chris Parkes is the founder of CPMS Africa, a Marketing Solutions Company with offices in Nigeria: (Lagos, Kano, Calabar), South Africa, and Ghana. Chris has over thirty-five years' experience in the advertising and marketing industry, eight years in the UK with top agencies, plus his own partnership in London, clients included: American Express, International Dollar Card & TCs, MasterCard, Searson Grottler, and Unumony. He spent fifteen years in South Africa with Lintas and then his own business, working on Levers, Standard Bank, SAA, SAB, Allied, KFC, and Kimberley Clarke. Later, Chris moved to Madagascar where he set up an Advertising Agency, an import export company and finally a billboard company for a South African agency. This proved to be highly successful with the country's top brands becoming long term clients. He has since then spent over sixteen years in Nigeria, six of them building Tequila Nigeria from scratch to become the largest BTL Company under his management working for British American Tobacco, Guinness Nigeria Plc, MTN and a number of other top clients. CPMS Africa (Chris Parkes Marketing Solutions) was established in July 2002. Over the years, British American Tobacco, Guinness, Zain, Etisalat and many others have enjoyed the CPMS experience. Nigerian Breweries Plc and Distell South Africa have also joined CPMS in the last four years to maintain the high quality client portfolio. In his words "We believe we are the most professional, effective and integrated through the line consultancy specialising in advertising, trade marketing, sponsorship and event marketing in West Africa". Chris Parkes is a Judge of The Next Titan for the 10th year running.

Lilian Olubi is a seasoned investment manager with over twenty years of Capital Markets experience. She is currently the CEO of EFG Hermes Nigeria Limited and a founding Partner and Member of the Board of Directors of Primera Africa Finance Group, a leading boutique Investment and Financial Services group which has business lines in Advisory, Consumer Finance and Principal Investments. A woman of many parts, Lilian is enthusiastic about civic duty and social development. She founded The Gold Mikes Global Services, a social venture conglomerate aimed at empowering personal and organizational growth in various sectors and also the Drug Aid Africa Initiative, which offers free medical drugs and supplies to patients in indigent communities. An advocate of social capitalism, she believes strongly that social enterprise and SMEs- and more often than not, a blend of the two- are the engine houses of any strong economy. Lilian is happily married and blessed with two lovely children. Lilian Olubi is a Judge of The Next Titan for the 9th year running.