By Taiwo Babatunde
In the quiet halls of Big Four firms and the high-stakes meetings of financial institutions, Obinna Onyenahazi built his reputation not just by analyzing numbers, but by transforming them into actionable strategies that unlock value.
Today, he represents a new breed of professionals—rooted in STEM, refined by finance, and driven by impact.
Born and raised in Nigeria, Obinna began his career with a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria.
“I was always drawn to how things worked—how electricity powers systems, how logic flows through machines,” he recalls.
But overtime, his curiosity expanded beyond engineering models to business models. “I started asking: how do companies generate value? How do financial systems influence entire economies?” That intellectual shift set him on a rigorous path.
Alongside qualifying as a Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA), and CPA(UK), Obinna entered the world of professional services, taking on roles at PwC and later KPMG, where he led complex audits and financial reviews for multinational clients, including Reckitt Benckiser, Arla Foods, Uber, FMN Subsidiaries, improving reporting accuracy by 75% and contributing to over $240M in combined client savings.
He uncovered internal control lapses and revenue leakages that helped recover millions and drove the implementation of stronger governance frameworks. “I learned that numbers tell a story—and sometimes that story is uncomfortable but necessary,” he says.
Later, during his tenure at Dangote Cement Group, Africa’s largest industrial conglomerate, Obinna stepped into a strategic internal audit and finance role where he was responsible for streamlining financial operations across finance, production, procurement, human resources, and logistics divisions. One major project involved setting up the internal audit department at a newly established subsidiary, Okpella Cement Plc, in Edo State, Nigeria. By reviewing business processes, ensuring policy compliance, redesigning internal control workflows, and reducing financial leakage, his work contributed to over $175 million in annual cost savings, directly improving EBITDA margins for the business unit.
Beyond balance sheets, the implications were far-reaching: those savings enabled Dangote to reinvest in local infrastructure and employment programs, amplifying its socioeconomic footprint across West Africa. “I’ve always been drawn to complexity—whether it was wiring a circuit board in my Electrical & Electronics Engineering studies or dissecting financial statements to uncover hidden value.
My career has taken me across disciplines, borders, and industries, but one thing has remained constant: a deep passion for solving problems that matter,” he added. Today, he is pursuing an International MBA at the Darla Moore School of Business, University of South Carolina— No1 in the United States for International Business.
There, he is expanding his global perspective, working alongside peers from more than 10 countries, and deepening his expertise in corporate finance, strategy, and consulting.
As the Budgeting and Financial Modeling Lead at AaronBux Wealth Management LLC in Washington-DC, United States, Obinna sat at the nexus of technology and finance, driving data-informed decision-making for a fast-scaling brokerage platform. He built dynamic, multi-asset forecasting models that integrate user acquisition, trading volume, and asset performance across crypto, stocks, real estate, and gold investments.
This tool became the backbone for strategic planning and investor reporting, helping the executive team optimize burn rate, prioritize tech investments, and improve capital eAiciency by over 35%.
His work not only sharpened financial visibility but also empowered product and engineering teams with real-time insights to align growth with profitability.
“Finance isn’t just about money,” he reflects. “It’s about mobilizing resources eAiciently so businesses can grow sustainably—and societies can thrive.”
With 7+ years of experience across industries and functions, Obinna brings a rare intersection of quantitative rigor, operational insight, and strategic thinking. At the Darla Moore School of Business, he’s now refining that toolkit through an International MBA, focusing on corporate finance, strategic advisory, and business analytics.
He’s also expanding his global perspective through experiential learning opportunities, immersion programs in Europe, and collaborative projects with peers.
Obinna’s business analytics skills have given him a deeper, data-driven perspective on global finance and emerging markets. By using analytics to uncover hidden trends and assess risk more accurately, he has been able to identify overlooked investment opportunities and make informed strategic decisions.
His approach highlights the critical role of data in navigating the complexities of emerging economies and aligning financial strategies with real-world impact.
“My goal is to bridge the gap between emerging market potential and global capital. I want to help companies make data-informed, strategic financial decisions that not only drive profitability but also create inclusive growth,” he says. As economies grapple with volatility, digital transformation, and a rising demand for transparency, professionals like Obinna are becoming increasingly vital—able to break down complexity, align cross-functional goals, and drive measurable business outcomes.
As a STEM Professional with the GLOBE NASA program, Obinna engaged with bright young minds driven by curiosity and a passion for STEM. In reviewing student-led projects—ranging from local climate analysis to land use change tracking—he focused not just on the scientific rigor of their research, but on helping them connect their findings to broader economic and strategic insights.
He guided students to see how their data could inform real-world decisions in industries like agriculture, real estate, insurance, and sustainable STEM.
For instance, a project on soil moisture patterns became a lesson in agricultural yield forecasting and investment risk; another on urban heat islands opened a discussion about climate-resilient infrastructure and real estate valuation. By framing STEM education as a tool for strategic business insight, he helped students bridge the gap between technology and finance. Many began to envision their work not just as academic exercises, but as the foundation for real-world impacts, whether through financial modeling, ESG analysis, or tech-driven innovation.
Watching their shift in perspective reaAirmed a core belief he holds that the future of finance lies in the hands of those who understand both the language of data and the dynamics of the world it describes. Obinna is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), United Kingdom, and the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA) in the United States.
His journey from the engineering labs of Nigeria to the boardrooms of multinational corporations is more than a personal success story. It’s a blueprint for how cross-disciplinary talent, purpose-driven leadership, and global education can combine to power the next era of sustainable finance and economic inclusion.