Highest paid Nigerian MD/CEOs in 2020

The Managing Director/ Chief Executive is the most senior executive position in the company, charged with the responsibility of piloting the firm’s affairs and ensuring profitability and growth.

CEOs are the ones at the helms of affairs and therefore, receive criticisms for poor performances as well as credit for stellar company performances.

It is a fact that CEOs are also the highest-paid staff of every company. In Nigeria, the CEOs of the major companies are remunerated handsomely for their efforts. However, just as much as these companies have ranks in terms of asset size and profitability, so also do their CEOs’ earnings have ranks.

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In typical Nairametrics fashion, we bring to you a list of the highest-ranking bank CEOs for 2020 based on their executive compensation (exec comps). The MD/CEOs of the 30 most capitalized companies (NSE 30) on the NSE earned about N5 billion in salaries in 2020 compared to N4.6 billion in the previous year.

The data was sourced from the published audited accounts of the companies and verified by Nairametrics Research.

Jordi Borrut Bel (Nigerian Breweries) – N379.4 million

Mr Jordi Borrut Bel is the Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Breweries, appointed into the position in 2018.

Prior to his position as the MD, He was Managing Director at Brarudii SA, Manager-Project Distribution at Heineken Slovensko AS, Brand Manager at Heineken France SAS and Director-Sales & Distribution at Heineken España SA.
His last position before joining Nigerian Breweries was the Managing Director of Heineken Burundi.
Mr Jordi earned a sum of N379.4 million as annual remuneration in 2020, a 40% increase compared to N271 million received in 2019.
Nigerian Breweries posted a profit after tax of N7.53 billion in 2020, representing a 53.3% decline compared to N16.1 billion recorded in the previous year.

READ: COVID-19, VAT, FX scarcity adversely impacted our operations in 2020 – Nigerian Breweries boss says

Segun Agabje (GT Bank) – N399.7 million

Segun Agbaje is the Managing Director of Guaranty Trust Bank plc, the most capitalized financial institution listed on the NSE. He has over 19 years experience in investment and international banking.

Prior to joining GT Bank in 1991 as a pioneer staff, he worked with Ernst & Young, San Francisco, USA. He rose to the position of Executive Director in GT Bank in January 2000.
He was appointed Deputy Managing Director in August 2020, due to his diverse background and experience in almost all areas of the bank’s activities including commercial banking, investment banking, treasury, corporate planning and strategy, settlements and operations.
Mr Agbaje serves on the boards of several other notable companies including Guaranty Trust Bank (Ghana) Limited, Guaranty Trust Bank (Gambia) Limited, and Guaranty Trust Bank (UK) Limited. He is also a Director on MasterCard Advisory Board Middle East and Africa.
He was elected to the Board of Directors of PepsiCo in 2020 and is set to take a bow as the MD of GT Bank.
He is however expected to take a position on the Board of the newly restructured holding company.
Mr Agbaje earned a sum of N399.7 million as his annual salary for the year 2020.
GT Bank posted a profit after tax of N201.4 billion in 2020 from N196.8 billion in 2019.

READ: Segun Agbaje: GTBank CEO gets ready to take a bow

Michel Pucheros (Dangote Cement) – N448 million

Mr Michel Pucheros, who was formerly with Lafarge Africa, earned a sum of N448 million from Dangote Cement in the year 2020. He is the Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the most capitalized company on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

He was appointed to the position effective January 2020, after resigning from Lafarge Africa in the same year.
According to information on the website of Dangote Cement, Michel has more than 20 years experience in the cement industry having served in various capacities at Lafarge.
He served as the President & Chief Executive Officer of Lafarge Halla Cement; Director of Strategy and Systems at Lafarge Gypsum.
He also served as the Chief Executive Officer of Bamburi Cement and Hima Cement; and Chairman of Mbeya Cement in Tanzania.
He resigned from Lafarge in January 2020 to join competitor brand, Dangote Cement Plc and was succeeded by Mr Khaled Abdelaziz El Dokani, the former country CEO of Lafarge Holcim Iraq.
Dangote Cement recorded a 38% increase in profit after tax from N200.5 billion in 2019 to N276.1 billion in 2020.

READ: Real Estate investment and infrastructure spending drove our profits up – Dangote Cement

Austin Avuru/RT Brown (Seplat Petroleum) – N484 million

Augustine Avuru is a Co-Founder of Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc. He was the CEO of the company until 31st July 2020, when he resigned from his position and was replaced by Roger Thompson Brown.

Before becoming the CEO of Seplat in 2010, Mr Avuru was the Managing Director at Platform Petroleum Limited, a company he founded.
He had also spent over a decade at Nigerian National Petroleum Commission (NNPC), holding different positions including that of wellsite geologist, production seismologist, and reservoir engineer.
He also worked as an exploration manager and technical manager with Allied Energy Resources in Nigeria, a pioneer deepwater operator, where he spent ten years before starting Platform Petroleum Limited in 2002.
It is unclear how much of the remuneration was earned by Austin Avuru or Roger Brown, however, the CEO of the company earned a sum of N484 million in the year under review.
According to information on the company’s website, the new CEO joined Seplat as Chief Financial Officer in 2013 and has grown through the ranks since then.
Mr Brown, prior to joining Seplat, had held the position of Managing Director of Oil and Gas EMEA for Standard Bank Group. He has advised on some of the largest and highest-profile transactions that have occurred in Nigeria in recent years.
Seplat however, posted a loss of N30.7 billion in 2020.

READ: From employee to billionaire founder, Austin Avuru, the CEO of Seplat Petroleum

Ferdinand Moolman (MTN Nigeria) – N567 million

Mr Ferdinand Moolman is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Nigeria’s biggest telecommunication firm. A position he attained in December 2015 before being moved to Group Chief Risk Officer in March 2021.

He was promoted to the position of CEO on December 1, 2015, as part of a major reshuffling of the telco’s operating structure which was aimed at strengthening operational oversight, leadership, governance, and regulatory compliance.
He was the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) before he was promoted in 2015. A position he occupied immediately he was transferred from MTN Iran where he was the Chief Operating Officer (COO).
According to information obtained from a disclosure signed by the company secretary, Mr Moolman joined MTN in 2002 and has held several senior positions within the Group, in Nigeria and Iran.
He earned a sum of N567 million in 2020, 3.2% reduction compared to N586 million recorded in the previous year.
It is worth noting that Mr Ferdinand Moolman was also the highest-earning CEO in 2019, and is currently occupying the position of MTN Group Chief Risk Officer.
He was replaced by Mr. Karl Toriola, who is now the new CEO of MTN Nigeria.
MTN Nigeria grew its profit marginally by 0.9% to stand at N205.2 billion.

READ: MTN Nigeria CEO reaffirms telco’s commitment to invest N600 billion on core CAPEX