Meet Oluwole Oyeniran

A Career Built on Code and a Collective Spirit

For Oluwole, a Partner in Engineering, AI & Data at Deloitte Africa, his career path in the Technology, Media, & Telecommunications (TMT) industry is deeply personal. A computer scientist and engineer by training, his affinity for TMT began in the early years of his career, working on the information technology systems for a major telco, a formative experience that grounded him very firmly in the telco space.

Today, as the West Africa TMT Lead, Oluwole’s role is to spearhead the firm's industry activities in the region. He’s known as the "tech guy" for West Africa, pioneering new spaces in cloud engineering and leading conversations on emerging technologies like AI and blockchain. He was initially brought into the firm to build the technology consulting business from the ground up, a challenge he calls "the greatest of my entire career."

He credits his success to the firm’s collaborative and collegial environment. His leadership style is not about being a "lone ranger" but rather about leveraging the firm's collective strength. He learned early on that you "don't try to make it out completely on your own."

"We are strong believers in going to market as a team rather than lone rangers or lone wolves," he says. This spirit of working together, sharing ideas, and connecting with people is what drives success.

An Adaptable Journey of People and Purpose 

Oluwole’s adaptability is a core part of his life story. Born in Nigeria, his family moved frequently as his father, a civil servant, was transferred to different parts of the country. This nomadic upbringing taught him to adapt to new environments and build lasting relationships, a skill he still uses today. “I adapt very quickly to where I am without much of a memory of where I was," he says.

A self-professed introvert and a "very boring guy," Oluwole’s hobbies are centered around home life. While his professional and faith-based ministry roles involve public engagement, he recharges by watching science fiction and fantasy, reading about technological developments, and working on odds and ends around the house. This quiet time is crucial for him to decompress and prepare for his demanding professional life.

He has a special talent for building and maintaining long-standing relationships, which he believes is rooted in a simple philosophy: genuinely caring about people. This mindset of thinking about people as humans with their own dreams and aspirations has allowed him to sustain connections for decades.

The Ultimate Legacy: People and Lasting Impact 

Oluwole finds his greatest satisfaction not just in delivering successful, long-lasting technical solutions for clients, but in the professional growth of the people he's mentored. "What's even more satisfying is the people that I've worked with along the way and helping them also build their careers, advance and progress," he says. This, for him, is the ultimate legacy, the enduring impact he has on the lives of those he works with.

This people-first philosophy was cemented early in his career by a pivotal mentor who asked him a simple, powerful question: "What would you like to do?" When Oluwole expressed his desire to implement systems, his mentor consistently created opportunities for him to do just that, setting him on a path that would lead him to his leadership role today.

The Future Is Now

Oluwole is most passionate about the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI). He believes that while previous technological shifts brought incremental changes, AI is fundamentally changing business models. He sees an immense opportunity for the TMT industry in Africa to use AI to improve customer support and data analytics, addressing the challenge of scaling services for millions of users. 

“AI changes the landscape almost completely... you can fundamentally change business models now,” he says, envisioning a future where companies can engage with customers on a personal level, at scale, using intelligent models and agents.

Beyond AI, he is captivated by quantum computing, which he sees as the next frontier. He believes the rapid advancements being made by major tech companies indicate that this technology is closer than many think, and he's excited by the potential for both AI and quantum computing to create a truly revolutionary future.

Oluwole’s career is a testament to the idea that by building a collaborative community, you can empower people, solve complex problems, and engineer a future where impact creates greatness.