Ngozi Okonkwo joined Oando PLC, one of Africa’s largest energy solutions providers, in 2009, as a senior legal advisor responsible for the oversight over two of the group’s upstream entities and one downstream entity. In September 2011 she was appointed the chief legal officer at the company and has since taken her already excellent reputation to even greater heights.

Amongst her most outstanding contributions, Okonkwo was involved in the acquisition of financing of ConocoPhillips’ upstream division in Nigeria, which closed successfully in July 2014 for a net amount of $1.5bn. Okonkwo was also central to the completion of the recapitalisation and partial divestment of the downstream division to the Helios Vitol consortium for a consideration of $210m in June 2016, which Okonkwo says involved ‘extremely complex financing arrangements’. More recently she has proven her skill in a successful involvement in the recent sale of 100% of Oando PLC issued shares in Alausa Power to Electron Petroleum Management in May 2017.

Speaking on this experience she says: ‘My exposure to these diverse and technical transactions has, amongst other things, made me a fully grounded and well-rounded professional’ – something which makes her stand out in terms of knowledge, depth and wealth of experience among her peers. Following her appointment as the chief legal officer, a detailed risk management process has been integrated into the department’s revamped procedure manual, putting together a risk matrix which is used by the finance and legal teams.

Okonkwo also strives for innovative solutions to increase efficiency levels, something she has done by deploying an online time tracker to assist in tracking time-bound obligations as well as the implementation of a litigation database. In addition to the aforementioned, Okonkwo together with her team have ensured that legal seminars are held annually, to disseminate updates on recent legal and regulatory developments and to ensure stakeholders in the various entities and units take necessary steps to comply with new legislation and guidelines. Proactive in the community,

Okonkwo frequently mentors young men and women who need guidance on how to build a successful career: ‘Mentoring is a fantastic learning opportunity, as it further develops my leadership and relationship management skills’. She is also regularly invited to speak at several conferences and has featured in several publications in the international and local industry press. Okonkwo started her career in private practice at F.O Akinrele & Co. as junior counsel and thereafter at KPMG Professional Services as the manager and head of the indirect tax unit.