As Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE (DPRP) opens its ₦2.15 trillion initial public offering on September 14, 2026, with subscriptions running to October 13 ahead of listing on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) in November, the composition of its Board of Directors offers an important perspective on the leadership and governance behind one of Nigeria's most significant industrial businesses, and what will rank among the largest equity listings in African history.
The Board brings together a combination of entrepreneurial leadership, deep oil and gas expertise, industrial project experience, financial and investment knowledge, strategic advisory capabilities, legal expertise, and corporate governance experience.
At its helm is Aliko Dangote, GCON, Founder and President/Chief Executive of Dangote Industries Limited, while the company's executive leadership is headed by David Bird, an experienced international oil and gas executive appointed Managing Director/CEO in August 2025. The Board also includes senior executives of Dangote Industries Limited alongside experienced professionals from NNPC, Shell, Standard Chartered, Bank of America, McKinsey, and leading Nigerian legal and professional institutions.
As the refinery heads toward its NGX debut, the Board's composition reflects the breadth of expertise being brought to the governance of the business, and offers investors a window into the institutional strength standing behind Nigeria's most closely watched public offering.
Below, we profile the individuals who make up that board a group spanning industrial entrepreneurship, global oil and gas operations, investment banking, private equity, law, and public policy.
Aliko Dangote, GCON — Chairman
His academic recognitions include honorary doctorates from Coventry University (2016), the University of Ibadan (2016), and Ahmadu Bello University (2019). Beyond business, Dangote is a prominent philanthropist through the Aliko Dangote Foundation, which focuses on healthcare, education, and social welfare, and he holds seats on several influential global bodies, including the JP Morgan International Council, the Clinton Health Access Initiative, the McKinsey Advisory Council, the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum, and the Harvard Advisory Council. In recognition of his contributions to national development, the Nigerian government conferred on him the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON), the first such honour awarded to an individual outside government service.
For a company approaching the public markets, Dangote's chairmanship anchors continuity and long-term strategic direction, while the newly diversified board around him signals a deliberate move toward broader institutional governance.
David Bird — Managing Director/CEO
Bird brings 25 years of global oil and gas experience spanning the full value chain — from upstream and LNG through refinery commissioning, operations leadership, strategy, and enterprise performance governance. He spent two decades at Shell, holding senior roles across the Netherlands, France, South Africa, Singapore, the United States, and Australia, where he drove operational transformation and performance delivery. He subsequently joined Santos, one of the largest independent oil and gas operators in Australia and Southeast Asia, leading operations and supply chain functions across onshore, offshore, LNG, and refining assets. Most recently, he served as CEO of OQ8, the major refining joint venture between Oman Oil Company and Kuwait Petroleum International, where he oversaw complex refinery operations and strategic growth initiatives.
Bird's mandate is to guide DPRP through its next phase of operational excellence and long-term value creation, a remit that aligns closely with the operational credibility investors will scrutinise ahead of any listing.
Olakunle Marcus Alake — Non-Executive Director
He holds a Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife (1983) and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria. Alake began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers in 1984 before joining Liberty Merchant Bank, a Dangote Group financial institution, as Financial Controller in 1990. He was appointed Managing Director/CEO of Liberty Merchant Securities Limited in 1993 and later played a central advisory role in the Dangote Group's takeover of International Trust Bank Plc in 1996. He moved into Group Corporate as Financial Controller and Head of Strategic Services in 1997, was appointed Executive Director for Group Strategy in 2001, and became the Group's Chief Operating Officer in January 2007.
Devakumar Victor Gnanadoss Edwin — Non-Executive Director
Over more than three decades with the Group, Edwin has overseen a broad portfolio of strategic industrial projects, including spinning mills, textile processing, packaging materials, flour milling, pasta and noodle production, coal and granite mining, cement terminals and plants across Africa, truck assembly, fertiliser production, and the Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemical Complex itself. He was appointed Executive Director (Industries and Projects) in 2000 and became Group Managing Director and CEO of Dangote Cement Plc in 2011. He later served as Group Executive Director (Capital Projects and Portfolio Development), overseeing fertiliser, oil exploration and production, sugar and rice, cement expansion, truck assembly, mining, and road infrastructure initiatives. He currently serves as Group Vice President (Oil & Gas and Fertiliser).
Fatima Aliko Dangote — Non-Executive Director
A member of the Nigerian Bar and a former Associate at Banwo & Ighodalo, she holds a law degree from the University of Surrey, United Kingdom, and has completed leadership programmes at Columbia University, the Wharton School, and Cambridge University. She is also actively engaged in philanthropy through the Aliko Dangote Foundation.
Aliyu Suleiman — Non-Executive Director
In this role, Suleiman coordinated the start-up of DPRP's commercial operations, led the equity sale to NNPC, executed the acquisition of an oil services company, and continues to oversee the Group's digital strategy. Since 2019, he has also served on the board of Dangote Peugeot Automobile Nigeria, chairing its HR and Procurement Committees.
Before joining Dangote, Suleiman spent six years (2008–2014) at McKinsey & Company's London office, rising to Associate Principal, where he advised financial institutions and national oil companies across Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East on strategy, operational turnaround, and organisational transformation. He co-authored *Nigeria's Renewal: Delivering Inclusive Growth*, launched at the World Economic Forum Africa in 2014, and earlier worked as an IT Systems Engineer at Shell Nigeria (2001–2006) and an IT Project Engineer at International Trust Bank Plc. He holds an MBA with Distinction from INSEAD (2007) and a B.Eng. in Electrical/Electronics Engineering from Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, and is fluent in Hausa and English, with intermediate French.
Adedapo Adeolu Segun — Non-Executive Director
Prior NNPC roles include Executive Vice President (Downstream), Chief Finance & Investor Relations Officer, and Treasurer. Before NNPC, Segun spent 25 years at Chevron Corporation and Chevron Nigeria Limited across Nigeria and the United States, gaining deep expertise in financial forecasting, capital project accounting, and business coordination. A Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, he holds a Higher National Diploma in Accountancy from Lagos State Polytechnic.
Segun's background in investor relations and capital structuring at Nigeria's national oil company is a directly relevant credential as DPRP goes public, given the overlap with the financial governance and disclosure obligations of a listed entity.
Viswanathan Shankar — Independent Non-Executive Director
He currently serves as a non-executive director of Dangote Industries Limited, Vision Blue Resources (Guernsey), and the Fund for Export Development in Africa (Rwanda). His past board appointments include the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, Enterprise Singapore, and Majid Al Futtaim Holdings, and he has served as Vice-Chair of the World Economic Forum's Future of Banking Global Agenda Council. He holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, and received Singapore's Public Service Medal in 2014.
Shankar's investment banking and private equity credentials bring direct capital markets fluency to the board, an expertise that is central to shaping and executing the listing.
Mutiu Olaniyi Adio Sunmonu — Independent Non-Executive Director
He served as Managing Director of SPDC and Regional Vice President (Production) from 2008, and as Country Chair of Shell Companies in Nigeria from 2010 to 2015, overseeing multi-billion-dollar operations across four subsidiaries and a workforce of more than 4,000. Under his leadership, Shell Nigeria contributed an estimated $70 billion to national revenue between 2009 and 2013, making him the most senior African executive within the Shell Group at the time. He retired from SPDC in 2015 after 36 years of service and was awarded the national honour of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) in 2014.
Since retiring, Sunmonu has built an extensive portfolio career in governance and strategic advisory. He chairs Petralon Energy Nigeria, ChampionX Nigeria (an Ecolab company), Coronation Insurance Plc, The Alpha Mead Group, and Bloombreed Schools, Port Harcourt, and serves as a Non-Executive Director of Air Peace and Northridge Engineering Limited, and as Executive Advisor to Greenville LNG. In academia, he serves as Chancellor of McPherson University. He is President and Co-Founder of The Sage Centre for Leadership Excellence and founder of the Mutiu Sunmonu Foundation, which advances education and leadership development across Nigeria, including support for Bloombreed Schools.
Abubakar Balarabe Mahmoud — Independent Non-Executive Director
Mahmoud has led numerous high-value transactions and commercial litigations, including landmark cases before the Supreme Court of Nigeria, and served as Special Prosecutor in EFCC/CBN banking fraud cases, as well as advising the Central Bank of Nigeria on sensitive investigations in the petroleum sector. A seasoned arbitrator, he has acted as counsel, sole arbitrator, and co-arbitrator in major domestic and international disputes spanning oil and gas, telecommunications, construction, and investment, and contributed to Nigeria's Arbitration and Mediation Act 2023 as a member of the National Arbitration Policy Committee. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK), an ICSID Panel Member, and a member of the Energy Arbitrators List. He was conferred the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria in 2001.
Earlier in his career, Mahmoud served in the Kano State Ministry of Justice (1979–1993), rising to Attorney-General and holding key roles including Director of Public Prosecutions and Solicitor-General. His board experience includes service on MTN Nigeria Plc, Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers, and Nigerian Exchange Limited, where he served as Chairman. He also served as Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of Kano University of Science and Technology (2013–2022) and was President of the Nigerian Bar Association from 2016 to 2018, leading significant institutional reforms and strengthening international partnerships. He continues to serve in advisory roles for leading foundations and governance initiatives and is a frequent speaker at professional and policy forums globally.
Mahmoud's chairmanship of the Nigerian Exchange Limited board is a particularly notable credential, giving DPRP direct governance experience at the heart of Nigeria's public capital markets infrastructure.
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