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By Adewale Sanyaolu
The Board of Eterna Plc has announced the appointment of Mr. Abiola Lawal, an oil executive and renowned economist, as the successor to the outgoing Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Benjamin Nwaezeigwe, who resigns his position after two years of service to the company.
Eterna manufactures, markets and distribute lubricants and chemicals; trades in crude and operate a network of filling stations with plans to further expand into the midstream and upstream of the energy sector.
The Board thanked Mr. Nwaezeigwe for his significant contributions to the company during his tenure.
The incoming MD/CEO, Lawal, has a proven record of positive performance in executive leadership at multiple C-Suite level roles locally and internationally.
A Global Executive with over twenty-five years of Management Executive experience in private and publicly listed companies across diverse industries, Lawal has expansive experience in the oil & gas sector and a proven record of value delivery in several aspects of executive management.
Lawal most recently worked with Eroton Exploration and Production Company Limited as Deputy Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer. Prior to which he served as Group Chief Strategy Officer of Oando Plc during its transformation from downstream to upstream and Gas.
While at Oando, he oversaw the successful implementation of Oracle ERP technology as a game changer to transform the operations of the company. He also served as Executive Director of Oando Gas and Power as well as Gaslink (now known as Axxella) during the rapid growth and expansion phase of the then subsidiary.
Lawal was the Pioneer Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer of Camac Energy Inc in the USA (later known as Erin Energy), the first Nigerian owned energy company to be listed on the New York Stock exchange. He has served in multiple executive roles in other companies, including CAMAC International Corporation and ExeQute Partners, Inc., both in Houston, Texas USA.
He served as MD/CEO of eWorldtrack Mobile Technologies USA, a Senior Manager in SAP AG America, as Management Consultant and Transformation Manager at Ernst & Young LLP and as Senior Financial Analyst at The Walt Disney Corporation in California, USA.
Lawal recently completed a Certificate course in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (AI) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA, he holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a concentration in Finance, Strategy, and Technology from the University of California Irvine.
He was an Outstanding Dean’s Fellowship Award Recipient from the Paul Mirage Graduate School of Management, University of California, Irvine (UCI) California, USA and graduated from University of Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria with Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Economics with a minor in Finance.
He is a member of various professional associations including the Chartered Institute of Directors Nigeria, African Energy Chamber, The Nigeria Economic Summit Group and National Association of Corporate Directors USA.
Lawal’s appointment takes effect from April15, 2024.
