Dr. Abdulsalam E. Ogbemudia

Chief Operating Officer

Amb. (Dr.) Abdulsalam Eremwan Ogbemudia was born in Ayen-Benin to the Ogbemudia Irabor royal family of Ayen-Benin, Nigeria on Sunday, September 11, 1966. He is a highly educated, trained and experienced senior level manufacturing operations management executive with specialization in production, engineering, quality assurance, marketing, sales distribution, supply chain and human resources management encompassing technology-based applications. He is a management consultant and trainer and has attended many national and international professional training courses.

He attended Seventh Day Adventist (later Uyiosa) Primary School, Benin City from 1973 to 1979 and immediately proceeded to Edo Boys High School (formerly Adolo College), Benin City for his secondary education and passed out in 1984 with flying colours having clear distinctions/credits in all his 8 subjects at a single sitting in the WASC examinations. Sequel to unexpected financial quagmire in his family, he was forced to work briefly with Bendel Wood Industry Limited after his secondary education as an Office Assistant to the company’s General Manager on factory administrative matters from 1985 to 1987 thereby sadly foregoing admissions offered to him by two Nigerian Universities due to financial reasons. Later in 1987, he gained admission into the Federal College of Education (Technical), Asaba and graduated in 1990 through an excruciatingly challenging self-sponsorship with NCE (Technical) in Electrical/Electronic Technology with an overall distinction grade emerging as the overall best graduating student of the college. In 1997, Amb (Dr.) Ogbemudia graduated with a BSc degree with Second Class Upper Division in Industrial Technical Education from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka emerging as the best graduate of his academic faculty.

He formally commenced his post-graduation working career at A & S Nigeria Limited as the pioneer Operations Manager in 1998 from where he moved to Promasidor (Cowbell) Nigeria Limited in 2000 to become the Production Team Leader. Between 2006 and 2009, he worked as Head of Product Packaging at Controcards Department of Globacom Nigeria Unlimited. Later in 2009, he moved to BRA Solutions Limited to become the General Manager before he was discovered and engaged in 2010 as the first African Senior Manager (Manufacturing Operations) by GBfoods Group. He left GBFoods Group in 2017 to take an expatriate position of Chief Operating Officer at Gormley Foods Limited becoming the first Nigerian to occupy the role. He joined his current company, Sonia Foods Industries Limited in 2018 as the pioneer Chief Operating Officer.

Despite his very tight schedule, Amb. (Dr.) Ogbemudia, due to his unquenchable thirst for education and learning, still finds time to engage in academic and personal development programmes. Hence, he graduated with an MSc degree in Business Operations Research from the University of Lagos in 2003; Post-graduate certificate in Purchasing and Supply Management from the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management of Nigeria in 2011; MBA in Business Administration (Marketing & Corporate Governance) from National Open University of Nigeria in 2013; and Doctoral Fellow in Business Management from Chartered Institute of Management Specialists, Delaware, USA in 2016. During his educational pursuits, he was a students’ union leader and a highly respected member of numerous students’ organizations receiving several awards and honours.

Amb (Dr.) Ogbemudia is a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Production Management, fellow of Institute of Treasury and Financial Management, and fellow of the Certified Board of Administrators of Nigeria. He is also a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management of Nigeria, Member of Institute of Management Consultants, and member of the Nigerian Institute of Food Science and Technology.

Amb. (Dr.) Ogbemudia is a socialite but deeply religious, caring and humble gentleman. He is a humble and exemplary leader with a strong belief in and commitment to excellent customer service. He is a transparent team player and corporate transformational management expert. Dr. Ogbemudia is an active member of the Progressive Friends of Benin and Nasrul-Lahil-Fathi (NASFAT) Society of Nigeria. He is a former Vice President of Al-Fattah Islamic Mission, former Edo State Executive Council member of Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) and former Director of NSCIA Comprehensive School, Benin City. He was one of the 2017 winners of Business Leader Award of International Summit of Leaders and a winner of the 2018 International Ambassador Award of the Unicaribbean Business School.

His overall life vision is to be a worthy achiever through devotion to and fear of God; service to and respect for humanity; selfless commitment to work; and undiluted love to his family. His career objective is to serve as the inextinguishable leading light in the selfless commitment to work for his career advancement and for the growth and development of his employer and society at large. He is a voracious reader and his hobbies include reading, traveling, photography, making friends and watching sports/African movies. He dislikes lack of commitment to work, dishonesty, sycophancy, hypocrisy and discrimination in all ramifications. His vision is solidly hinged on his philosophy to wisely invest in living bodies and souls rather than estates or mansions. He is a happy and successful family man married with children.