Meet Tope Aladenusi, cyber leader for Deloitte Africa

Deloitte Africa has appointed Tope Aladenusi as its new Cyber Leader, as the firm continues to strengthen cybersecurity across the continent.

Aladenusi’s journey with Deloitte began nearly two decades ago when he joined as a pioneer staff member tasked with establishing the cybersecurity business in Nigeria.

At a time when dedicated cyber expertise was still in its infancy in the region, he helped build that initial unit into the largest cybersecurity team in the country. Under his leadership, the team represented Africa at the Global Cyberlympics in 2015, achieving the continent’s best result during the finals held in Washington, DC.

Aladenusi, who studied at the University of Ilorin and Harvard University, has held successive leadership roles across Deloitte West Africa that have broadened both his scope and influence.

Between 2013 and 2016, he served as talent leader and chief human resources officer for Deloitte Nigeria, overseeing talent management, organisational design, and fostering a high-performance culture across service lines.

In 2016, he became chief strategy officer for Deloitte West Africa, where he led strategic planning, market expansion initiatives, and innovation efforts, aligning regional goals with the firm’s global objectives.

Concurrently, he was Head of Cyber Risk Services for Deloitte West Africa, delivering governance, risk, and compliance solutions to private- and public-sector clients.

In 2021, he was appointed West Africa Risk Advisory Leader, a role he held until May 2025, managing risk advisory services across cyber, financial, regulatory, and operational domains for clients in Nigeria, Ghana, Togo, Cameroon, South Africa, and beyond.

Ever since he has been at Deloitte, Aladenusi has provided assurance and advisory services to over 30 percent of the companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange and 85 percent of the country’s commercial banks.

Upon learning of his appointment, Aladenusi posted on LinkedIn, “About 17 years ago, I had the privilege of establishing the Cybersecurity unit at Deloitte Nigeria, with the support of my leaders. We didn’t have absolute clarity about what lay ahead, but we were convinced that cybersecurity was the future.

“Today, I am deeply humbled to be appointed Cyber Leader for Deloitte Africa. Deloitte has been ranked the Number One Cybersecurity consulting firm globally for 12 consecutive years, and it is a tremendous privilege to work alongside other Partners and staff across the continent to bring the best of Deloitte to our clients.”

Industry leaders felicitated him on his appointment. Olayinka David-West, Dean of Lagos Business School, described the appointment as “well-deserved,” praising Aladenusi’s foundational work in Nigeria.

Bola Asiru, Global Vice President at Mastercard, remarked, “Congratulations and well deserved. The ecosystem is safer with your leadership of this critical area!”

Harrison Nnaji, Chief Information Security Officer at First Bank, called the appointment “evolutionary,” wishing him “all the best as you take on the expanded scope.”

Ken Nwokolo, formerly with Deloitte in Risk Governance and Audit Business Advisory, observed that this “big” promotion would further strengthen cybersecurity governance across Africa.

Adaeze Udensi, former Acting CEO of Titan Trust Bank, simply stated, “Well deserved Tope, congratulations.”

As Cyber Leader for Deloitte Africa, Aladenusi will unite the firm’s cyber specialists from Cape Town to Casablanca and Nairobi to Lagos, driving collaboration among industry peers, public-sector regulators, and client-side CISOs.