After a decade of meritorious service as pioneer Chief Executive Officer of a reputable Indigenious Exploration and Production company with global expertise, Mr Austin Avuru has honorably exchanged an experienced loaded baton to Roger Brown as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc. Mr Brown is expected to lead the oil and gas firm in its latest aspirations following the retirement of Austin Avuru on July 31,
Brown joined Seplat in 2013 as the CFO and played a key role in the successful dual listing of the Company in 2014 on both the London and Nigerian Stock Exchanges.
Since joining Seplat, he has played significant roles in various asset acquisitions by the company as well as implementing the company’s financial business model. Brown played critical roles in the company’s successful landmark deals, Initial Public Offering (IPO) and financial structure of debt and acquisitions, as well as increased returns to shareholders. He is very familiar with the local and global business environments and institutions. As the new CEO, he is expected to work towards reinforcing the company’s leading position in the Energy sector.
Brown brings to the CEO role, an extensive knowledge of the Company in his over six years as the CFO and a member of the Board. He has strong financial, commercial and Mergers and Acquisition (M&A) experience as well as proven people skills which will be an asset as the company embarks on the next phase of its growth.
One area of priority for Seplat is to ensure that liquidity and cash flow of the company remains strong and that the company’s balance sheet maintains its resilience and robustness. Prior to joining the firm, Brown was an advisor to the Company since 2010 while he was the Managing Director and head of EMEA Oil and Gas at Standard Bank Group. During his time at the bank, he was instrumental in providing advice and deploying capital across the African continent in the Oil & Gas, Power & Infrastructure and the renewable energy sectors. The new CEO is a qualified Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland and a product of Belfast Royal Academy also holds MSc in Finance from University of Ulster; BSc (Hons) in Finance from University of Dundee. During his time at the company, he steered the business through extremely challenging times during low oil prices and an 18-month period when the business was not producing oil due to a shutdown of its main oil pipeline. He also put in place a total of $1.75 billion of financing which included an inaugural $350million Eurobond as well as bringing in a number of top tier banks into the syndicate.
