Jobs/Appointments
World Bank President David Malpass To Vacate Seat in June
By Adedapo Adesanya
In an unexpected turn of events, the President of the World Bank Group, Mr David Malpass, announced his intention to step down from his position by the end of the bank group’s fiscal year on June 30.
In the position he served for more than four years, he focused on seeking stronger policies to increase economic growth, alleviate poverty, improve living standards, and reduce government debt burdens.
He said, “It has been an enormous honour and privilege to serve as President of the world’s premier development institution alongside so many talented and exceptional people.”
“With developing countries facing unprecedented crises, I’m proud that the Bank Group has responded with speed, scale, innovation, and impact. The last four years have been some of the most meaningful of my career.
“Having made much progress, and after a good deal of thought, I’ve decided to pursue new challenges. I want to thank our staff and boards of directors for the privilege of working with them every day to strengthen the effectiveness of our operations in the most challenging of times,” he added.
Mr Malpass, who was recommended by former US President, Mr Donald Trump, for the position, over the last four years spearheaded the bank group’s five institutions (IBRD, IDA, IFC, MIGA, and ICSID) responses to global crises. He mobilised a record $440 billion in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, the sharp global economic slowdown, unsustainable debt burdens, climate change, and food, fertilizer, and energy shortages.
With developing countries under severe financial pressure, Mr Malpass frequently met with world leaders to discuss supportive policies, including debt reduction, to break the cycles of unsustainable debt.
Under his leadership, the group more than doubled its climate finance to developing countries, reaching a record $32 billion last year.
Mr Malpass also led efforts to enable and increase private sector investment and trade and contributed thought leadership to the Bank Group’s analytical products on fiscal and monetary policy, currency systems, and governance reform. He also strengthened the institution’s management and personnel and will leave the Bank Group with solidified finances and fundraising to support its AAA credit rating.
“The Bank Group is fundamentally strong, financially sustainable, and well positioned to increase its development impact in the face of urgent global crises,” said Mr Malpass.
“This is an opportunity for a smooth leadership transition as the Bank Group works to meet increasing global challenges, facilitate private investment, sharpen its focus on global public goods, and maintain strong momentum on operational delivery and portfolio performance for client countries,” he added.
Among some of his achievements are – the Climate Change Action Plan to better integrate climate and biodiversity with development and growth; $30 billion in projects to address the food, fertilizer, and fuel crisis facing developing countries; and the launch of the Pandemic Fund to improve preparedness, with initial pledges of $1.6 billion from 25 countries and donors among others.
His administration has not been without pressure as Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General on Climate Change, Mr Selwin Hart, in 2021, called out the World Bank for not doing enough for climate action.
Pressure on Mr Malpass was reignited last September when he did not provide the expected answer within the scientific consensus around climate change, which drew condemnation from the US government.
So far, some names have emerged to take over the position, including the head of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), Ms Samantha Power, the President of Rockfeller Foundation, Mr Rajiv Shia, and the deputy secretary of the US Treasury, Mr Wally Adeyemo.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s oil company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, has appointed Mr Jean-Marc Cordier, a former Vice President of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), to head its oil trading business.
This was disclosed in a statement signed by Mr Garbadeen Muhammad, the Chief Corporate Communications Officer of the organisation, saying Mr Cordier joined as the Head of its oil trading arm, NNPC Trading Limited.
He said Mr Cordier’s appointment was in furtherance of the ongoing repositioning drive in the company toward improved growth, better performance and service delivery.
According to the company, the renowned international oil trader, a French/Swiss national, holds a Master’s degree in Corporate Finance with Distinction from Paris 9 University.
“[Mr] Cordier comes into the role with a rich background spanning over 30 years in physical oil, oil derivatives and risk management with significant experience in reorganizing and creating a trading business,” he said.
He spent 24 years with Elf Trading/Total Trading in various positions as Trader, Trading Desk Manager in Geneva and four years as the Global Trading Manager at Addax Energy in Geneva.
At ADNOC in Abu Dhabi, UAE, he served as Vice President, Middle Distillates, Senior Vice President of Risk Management, Senior Team Member in charge of building the trading activity for ADNOC and the launch of ADNOC Global Trading (AGT) in December 2020,” he said.
Mr Muhammad said that Cordier had since assumed duty.
Business Post understands that the French-Swiss national’s appointment has sparked outbursts from stakeholders who complained that it doesn’t align with the promises of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which promises more Nigerian involvement in the country’s oil company.
While some argued that expatriates have always held posts in oil companies, others said NNPC should endeavour to promote the local content drive of the federal government.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
An outsourced human resources (HR) management solution designed to accelerate the activities of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the country has been introduced by a leading talent management company in Nigeria, Jobrole Consulting Limited.
This plan, called Jobrole Flexi HR, will enable small business owners to navigate common HR challenges while focusing on core business operations.
It is an integrated human resources and business solution designed to meet the administrative needs of Nigerian small businesses and help them grow from sole proprietorships to flourishing organizations with select employees and clientele lists.
Jobrole Consulting is reputed for its wide-ranging human resources solution for high business performance, and this new package further cements its status in the industry.
The Director of Strategy and New Market at Jobrole Consulting, Mr Chigbo Okeke, informed newsmen that the Jobrole Flexi HR plan was to justify that people are a strategic resource for every business.
According to him, no matter how large or small a business is, there is always a need to use effective HR strategic planning techniques to manage the company’s resources and minimize human resources issues.
“We are excited to introduce Jobrole Flexi HR plan to the Nigerian SME market. This is an outsourced HR management solution that assists start-ups and other small-to-medium-sized businesses in reducing operational issues such as staff identity risks, recruitment turnaround time, hiring costs, and developing HR policies for your organization.
“These HR activities are vital business functions, strategic to the operational success of all businesses. We help our clients carry out these tasks and get them done without a hitch while they face their core business operations,” he said.
Mr Okeke added that, “Nigerian small businesses must prioritize building a comprehensive human resources programme into the company’s overall business strategy.”
This, he said, is critical to increasing their bottom line and capable of strengthening their organization’s competitive advantage.
Some Flexi HR deliverables include staff recruitment, onboarding and documentation, employee background checks, performance management, payroll management, and HR policy development.
He urged small business owners in Nigeria to take into account that the HR role is key to their operations, noting that with the changing nature of the work environment in recent years, it is now very clear that the role of HR is very significant for small and bigger businesses because the value one or a few employees add to the business’s performance is quite significant and immeasurable.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The former chief executive officer of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Mr Yemi Kale, has joined a leading audit firm, KPMG Nigeria, as a partner and chief economist.
Mr Kale was also Nigeria’s Statistician General of the Federation between 2011 and 2021 and was very respected for how he projected the agency as a reputable stats agency.
In a post on Thursday, KPMG said Mr Kale would lead the company’s view on macroeconomics and enhance the breadth of our solutions involving economic modelling and macroeconomic analysis in private and public sector clients.
“The partners and staff of KPMG Nigeria are pleased to welcome Dr Oyeyemi Kale to our firm as he assumes the role of Partner and Chief Economist of KPMG Nigeria.
“Yemi holds a B.Sc. Honours degree in Economics (first class), Addis Ababa University, and an http://M.Sc. (Distinction) and PhD in Economics from The London School of Economics and Political Science.
“He has deep experience, gained from both the private and public sector, in macroeconomic analysis, financial, economic and investment research and fiscal and macroeconomic policy advisory.
“From 2011 to 2021, he served as the Statistician General of the Federation/Chief Executive Officer of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
“As our Chief Economist, Yemi will lead the firm’s view on macroeconomics and enhance the breadth of our solutions involving economic modelling & macroeconomic analysis in private and public sector clients,” the announcement read.
Under his watch, the stats office released data that were favourable and unfavourable to the ruling government with fear.
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