Why Shell Nigeria Chose Osagie Okunbor As New MD

January 13, 2015 Fumnanya Agbugah Leaders, Leadership

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VENTURES AFRICA – Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) has named Osagie Okunbor as its new managing Director and Country Chair. He will replace Mutiu Sunmonu who is retiring from his office having served the company for 36 years. This announcement comes after the company recently agreed to pay $83 million to fishing community in Bodo region in Nigeria over oil spill.
Why Osagie Okunbor?
Shell believes Okunbor, with over 28 years experience in the company, is the right man to continue the company’s navigation through its recent PR challenges, following the Bodo oil spill scandal, and also its march out of on-shore concerns.
Before his appointment, he was the senior Advisor in Shell’s Upstream International operated business, based in the Hague, Netherlands. He was also the Vice President, Human Resources for Shell’s upstream Business in Sub-Saharan Africa and Vice President, Infrastructure and Logistics for Shell Nigeria.
Osagie becomes the third Nigerian to head the office of the Managing Director of Shell, after Basil Omiyi and the outgoing Mutiu Sunmonu.“The company is delighted to
see another Nigerian at the helm of affairs in Shell Nigeria,” Markus Droll, Vice President Nigeria Gabon, Shell Upstream said in a press release. “We are confident that Okunbor will consolidate and build on the progress we have made in the past years,” .
Sunmonu leaves with his head held high
Sunmonu, who joined Shell in August 1978 as a computer programmer/Business analyst, had his SPDC breakthrough moment in 1997 when he progressed from his IT job to the core production area of the business. He worked as the area production manager of 10 producing fields and later asset manager, Southern Swamp Area where he was responsible for 12 producing fields. In 2006, he became SPDC Executive Director for Production, and in 2008, he was appointed Managing Director of SPDC and Vice President, Production in Sub-Sahara Africa. He became the Country chair in 2010. He was recently named a Director in the Nigerian construction firm, Julius Berger.
Although some Niger Delta interest groups have been critical about Okunbor’s appointment, Droll expressed Shell’s confidence in him. “Mutiu (the outgoing MD) has worked very hard over these years – managing production and setting a new agenda in dealing with communities, government and other key stakeholders. We’re confident that Osagie (Osunbor) will consolidate and build on the progress we have made in the past years,” he said.