PAGE 26, SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 1, 2019 Tommy Odama is the founder and chief executive <strong>of</strong>ficer <strong>of</strong> the multi-award winning real estate agency and property services conglomerate, Luxury Villas Group, he is a passionate consultant with robust grounding in property agency, management, development, appraisals, investments, advisory and publishing, facility and project management, lease administration, property acquisition and business development. A Fellow <strong>of</strong> the Institute <strong>of</strong> Administration and member <strong>of</strong> the Association <strong>of</strong> Estate Agents in Nigeria. He is an alumnus <strong>of</strong> Knowledge Train Learning Matter, UK, where he bagged a diploma in project management fundamentals; and the Hetta Institute in New York. What in<strong>for</strong>med your interest in Luxury Real Estate Services? First and <strong>for</strong>emost some things are intrinsic or inherent in us. You may not necessary be born with such privileges but you just discover yourself to love such things. Such is my experience with luxury. When I realised my love <strong>for</strong> luxury, I opted <strong>for</strong> a business that will make me to live or showcase it, hence I chose to become a realtor with panache <strong>for</strong> premium luxury lifestyle. I realised ab initio that it is easier to deal with the upper echelon <strong>of</strong> the society “W e pride ourselves as the air that keeps the industry growing, as represented in the acronym AIR which outlines our values. We Adapt our services and tools to meet clients’ needs, Innovate solutions around project requirements and Resolve challenges to deliver expectations as an engineering, projects and operations services provider to the oil and gas, power and maritime industries”, these were the words <strong>of</strong> Mr. Austin Ume Zurike, the managing director and chief executive <strong>of</strong>ficer <strong>of</strong> Arion Energy Services Limited. His impressive career cuts across drilling, ship building and <strong>of</strong>fshore marine operations across Asia and Europe in over two decades. His last employment was at BW Offshore where he rose through the ranks as operations manager and subsequently became managing director <strong>for</strong> the multinational in Nigeria. He left in 2016 to fulfil his entrepreneurial dream with the establishment <strong>of</strong> Arion Energy Services. “We are quite young in the industry and we came in at a time when the Nigerian economy was in recession, but we were not deterred in our quest to make a difference in the industry. We ensure that we only take jobs that are within our capacity and we execute to the best <strong>of</strong> our ability. What drives us is being innovative and agile in the way we provide our service <strong>of</strong>ferings which includes technical manpower services, crew and vessel management, asset integrity management, operations and maintenance services as well as procurement. Presently, we are looking into vessel ownership <strong>for</strong> the upstream sector <strong>of</strong> the oil and gas industry”, he in<strong>for</strong>med. An exceptional CEO with a cando spirit and knack <strong>for</strong> excellence, his expertise is unquestionable as evident in the amazing growth and successes recorded since the establishment <strong>of</strong> Arion Energy Services in a space <strong>of</strong> three years. Not just that, Arion Energy Services has been compliant with both cabotage and local content initiatives in line with the provisions <strong>of</strong> extant laws in the maritime and oil industries by facilitating the transfer <strong>of</strong> knowledge to indigenous engineers and cadets as well as engaging these Nigerians in its operations. According to him, the nondisbursement <strong>of</strong> the Cabotage SPECIAL SECTION ON OUTSTANDING CEOs •Tommy Odama than to work with the lower cadre <strong>of</strong> the social strata in terms <strong>of</strong> services delivery in real estate whether buying, selling, leasing and even pitching. What are the greatest challenges you have encountered in your Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) is one <strong>of</strong> the challenges facing the maritime industry. He said, “The Cabotage law in itself has been effective to some extent, as we now have more local vessel owners and more indigenous seafarers are replacing <strong>for</strong>eigners, but in terms <strong>of</strong> vessel acquisition, it has been difficult. I want to believe the reason why the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has not disbursed the fund is due to past experience whereby the beneficiaries diverted the funds into something else, but I think genuine players should be given access to the fund provided they are properly vetted and placed under checks to ensure the money Pr<strong>of</strong>essionalism and Integrity Has Brought Us Far Tommy Odama —GCEO, Luxury Villas Group entrepreneurial journey and what are the lessons you have taken from these challenges? On the contrary I really can’t tell precisely what specific challenge or challenges I have encountered in the course <strong>of</strong> my entrepreneurial journey but I do know that at first the rich may find it difficult to trust you with huge sums <strong>of</strong> money to buy a property <strong>for</strong> them or collect such monies on their behalf, however, once you are able to earn their trust there is no limit to how much and how far they can go with you. In terms <strong>of</strong> lessons; pr<strong>of</strong>essionalism and integrity are two virtues that are key if you must run a successful real estate business. Proper maintenance is key in preserving building, how would you rate facilities management practise in Nigeria as an important aspect <strong>of</strong> Real Estate? Facility management <strong>of</strong> a building We Are Innovative And Agile In Service Delivery can, in my opinion, be likened to nourishing the human body to healthy living such as good food and taking the right Vitamins as well as exercise to keep the body functioning properly. In Nigeria, we lack good maintenance culture especially in our government institutions. Outside some individually owned private homes/ properties and corporations especially those owned by multinationals, there so many decays in our facilities. You do not need to be lectured on this, look around, you will see what I mean. So, a good and functional pr<strong>of</strong>essional facility management is an important element in the preservations <strong>of</strong> properties in Nigeria and should <strong>for</strong>m a part <strong>of</strong> our culture and must be taken seriously otherwise we may not be able to see some <strong>of</strong> these developments in the next fifty years to hundred years from now and Mr. Austin Ume Zurike —CEO, Arion Energy Services Limited •Victor Ehimuan Mr. Victor Ehimuan is the Group Chief Operating Officer <strong>of</strong> Joeny Holdings Limited; an indigenous company that is highly committed to excellence and focused on building a brand name associated with unique quality and service delivery. He holds a bachelor degree in economics as well as a master degree in management from the Univeristy <strong>of</strong> Leeds Business School. He is also a certified QMS ISO 9001 lead auditor by PECB Canada. How would you describe the year given to them is strictly spent on vessel acquisition. It will be good if NIMASA starts disbursing the funds because vessel acquisition is expensive, and our banks are not helping with the interest rates.” With a vision “to be recognised as the distinctive energy services provider that is significantly improving our clients’ per<strong>for</strong>mance”, Arion Energy Services has continued to position itself <strong>for</strong> opportunities in the industry by embracing trends as they come up, with the ultimate goal <strong>of</strong> being the partner <strong>of</strong> choice. “The future is bright. We hope the Petroleum Industry Bill will be passed into law in the nearest future because it has the potentials to 2019 in terms <strong>of</strong> challenges and opportunities? Frankly speaking, the challenges are not what we did not anticipate because part <strong>of</strong> management is to <strong>for</strong>ecast and develop strategies to mitigate risk or optimise opportunities, and this is what we at Joeny Holdings are very good at. Starting with the opportunities, we took a strategic decision to invest in expanding our engagement to other financially viable clients that were not initially on our portfolio and to expand our asset capacity due to perceived growth. This has worked well, because we have seen expansion in drilling operations. Also, the current local content initiative is gathering more momentum to support indigenous companies like ours, not only to grow but to compete with the multinationals. I am pleased to say that Joeny Holdings is taking over highly technical service contracts from the multinationals. I will also say increasing globalisation in 2019 has impacted our business positively because we are better able to communicate, procure and deliver critical mechanical spares just in time and we are better deposed to the international community <strong>for</strong> wellestablished joint venture partnerships and investments. A big challenge that we face is getting the right local skill sets in some critical areas and balancing their needs and expectations with the requirements <strong>of</strong> the client and better the industry. The NLNG Train- 7 and the Bonga South West projects among others will create opportunities <strong>for</strong> the industry and we are well positioned to key into these opportunities. Once these projects kick <strong>of</strong>f, the maritime industry will follow, because it is 80 percent dominated by services in the oil and gas industry. We stand to benefit from increased activities that are our company’s set standards. In responding to this challenge, we are investing hugely in putting in place adequate knowledge management systems. We have also seen a lot <strong>of</strong> split-second changes in key government regulations and policies which directly affects the way we do business without proper awareness creation and stakeholder engagement to enable good understanding and a seamless transition to a new order. As a top player in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, how has Joeny Holdings contributed to the Local Content Initiative? As an indigenous company, we are a beneficiary <strong>of</strong> this initiative, so we must be a valuable contributor as well. We embed local content policies as regards community labour and suppliers engagement in our community management plan. Through this, we are able to employ and train persons and engage local suppliers and subcontractors in different communities where we carry out our operations. Currently, together with NCDMB and one <strong>of</strong> our major oil and gas client, we are training almost 36 people on a two-year program which includes; classroom training, on-the-job training and relevant industry certifications. We are currently working in collaboration with a <strong>for</strong>eign partner to develop a critical industry tool and site maintenance support service centre in the Niger Delta region. admire them. They would have decayed and become uninhabitable. What is your projection <strong>for</strong> the Luxury Real Estate market in Nigeria? I am very positive about growth in the Luxury real estate market in the very near future. Growth has been slow due to a number <strong>of</strong> factors from funding, exchange rate to interest rates. We are getting there gradually. It is a work in progress. To what extent would you say the vision <strong>of</strong> your company has been achieved and where do you hope to see the company in another ten years? Without sounding immodest and with all humility and sense <strong>of</strong> purpose, I believe we have made sufficient progress with so much room <strong>for</strong> improvement. There is no limit to success and achievement but with hard work and perseverance, we are <strong>for</strong>ging ahead and meeting the goals we set out <strong>for</strong> ourselves. In ten years from now we hope to be rated as a global company, ceteris- paribus. •Austin Ume Zurike coming up and this is why we want to acquire our own vessel, nevertheless, all these requires stability in our economy <strong>for</strong> all to materialise”, he said. JOENY HOLDINGS: Local Firm With Global Perspective What are the core values that distinguishes your company from other players in the oil and gas sector? At Joeny Holdings, we have a highly disciplined and focused leadership and we believe that what can ensure our sustainability and long-term competitive advantage is our uniqueness. As such, we focus on four <strong>of</strong> our core business values which are; delivery <strong>of</strong> quality services, investment in human capital, premium equipment and tools, and continuous technical innovation. These four values clearly distinct us from our competitors and display our adopted strategic management philosophy <strong>of</strong> prioritizing our planning on en<strong>for</strong>cing the internal competence <strong>of</strong> our organisation (i.e. people, systems, processes) in building a winning corporate strategy that gives us that uniqueness which is inimitable. What are your goals <strong>for</strong> Joeny Holdings? Like most other companies that are <strong>for</strong>ward thinking, we at Joeny Holdings look to a day when our company name clearly becomes a household brand beyond the shores <strong>of</strong> Nigeria and Africa as a whole. We look to a day when our above highlighted key values need not be spoken, but be seen in the substance <strong>of</strong> our service deliverables and output in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria.
SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 1, 2019, PAGE 27
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