For one of Nigeria’s leading oil palm production companies, Presco Plc, business is doing relatively well. Presco’s success can in part be attributed to all the strategic business decisions that have so far been taken by the company’s leadership, particularly the Chief Executive Officer, Mr Felix Onwuchekwa Nwabuko.
Since his assumption of office in February 2015, Mr Nwabuko has worked towards ensuring the growth of the company in terms of increased revenue generation and profitability. A number of strategic business decisions have been taken by Nwabuko and his team, even as efforts are continuously being made to place Presco Plc at a more advantageous position in order to compete with the likes of Okomu Oil Plc and PZ Wilmar.
For today’s corporate executive profile, we have chosen to look at this top executive. Get to know more about this accomplished professional, his background, as well as his journey to becoming one of Nigeria’s top executives.
A look at Nwabuko’s educational background
As you can imagine, Mr Felix Onwuchekwa Nwabuko is a well educated man. He graduated with a B.Sc. in Accounting from the University of Benin, and later studied for a Master’s in Business Administration in the same school. According to information available on his LinkedIn page, he is also an alumnus of the Manchester Business School, where he studied for yet another Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA).
A look at his accomplished career
Mr Nwabuko has more than nineteen years of experience in the administration of industrial-scale oil palm businesses (from planting, through to production and distribution), having held top executive positions at some of the biggest companies in the industry, both here in Nigeria and neighbouring Ghana. But prior to this line of career, Nwabuko worked in the financial services industry, where he garnered at least ten years’ experience. Below is a detailed list of the places he has worked, in a chronological order:
KPMG, 1978-1988: Graduate Trainee/Senior Auditor/Audit Supervisor/Senior Manager, Branch Manager
Mr Nwabuko started his professional life as a Graduate Trainee at KPMG. And then for eight years, between 1978 and 1986, he quickly rose in the ranks, holding different positions, including those of a Senior Auditor, an Audit Supervisor, then an Assistant Manager. Nwabuko eventually became a Branch Manager at KPMG, a position he held for two years before moving on from the financial industry.
Okomu Oil Palm Coy Plc, 1988-1993: Financial Controller
For a total of five years and a few months, Mr Nwabuko worked as the Financial Controller at Okomu. This is obviously where he began gaining his experience in the strategic and operational management of industrial-scale palm oil production. While occupying this position, Nwabuko also proved to be very instrumental towards the planning for the initial public offering of the company (i.e., Okomu Oil Palm Plc) on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in 1991.
Presco Plc, 1993-1999: Financial Controller
For this role, Nwabuko, among other things, ensured that all accounting allocations at Presco Plc were submitted and documented appropriately.
Presco Plc, 2000-2002: Director Finance and Corporate Affairs
One of Nwabuko’s major achievements while holding this position was the successful initiation, planning and eventual completion of Presco’s initial public flotation on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
University College London, 2003-2010: Finance Manager
He also has international work experience, having worked in one of the world’s most renowned tertiary institutions — the University College, London.
Ghana Oil Palm Development Company Limited, 2011 to 2015: Chief Finance Officer
Presco Plc and Siat Nigeria Limited, 2015 to present
He has been the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Presco Plc since early 2015 till date.
In all, Mr Nwabuko’s professional career spans over thirty years in at least three countries and across different sectors including finance, education and agriculture.
Membership of professional organisations
Mr. Felix Nwabuko also possesses many professional qualifications and as such, is a member/fellow of quite a number of professional bodies. For one, he is a Chartered Accountant, thereby making him a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria. He is also an Associate of Chartered Institute of Taxation, Nigeria, and a Member of the Institute of Directors, United Kingdom.
A look at how well Presco Plc has really fared under Mr Nwabuko
Since 2015 when Nwabuko took over the Presco’s management, there has been a considerable amount of improvement in the company’s revenue and profitability. For instance, the company’s revenue has increased from ₦8.4 billion in 2014 to ₦22.3 billion in 2017. Specifically, Presco reported annual revenues of ₦9.1 billion, ₦15.7 billion, and ₦22.3 billion for the years 2015, 2016 and 2017 respectively.
Similarly, the company’s profits have also grown over the past three years since Nwabuko has been the Managing Director. With profit after tax increasing from ₦6.3 billion in 2014 to ₦25.3 billion in 2017.
More so, the company’s share price has also performed really well in the past three years, increasing from about ₦30 in early 2015 to over ₦70 by the second quarter of 2018.
For his immense contributions to the company’s growth, Nwabuko is adequately compensated. Although the specific amount he gets is not stated in the company’s financial report for full year 2017, we have good reasons to believe that it runs into millions. Note that in 2017, Presco Plc paid a total of ₦1.5 billion as executive compensations to ten directors. Based on his position as MD/CEO, Nwabuko would get a large chunk of that amount.
He holds a combined total of 47,302 units of direct and indirect shares in Presco Plc. That number, multiplied by the company’s share price of ₦75, makes Nwabuko richer by some more ₦3.5 million.
