As part of its strategic move to strengthen corporate governance for enhanced performance, a frontline manufacturer of foams and allied products, Vitafoam Nigeria Plc has appointed two independent Non- Executive Directors and one Non-Executive Director into its board.
The newly appointed directors whose tenure shall commence in October this year are: Professor (Mrs.) Rosemary Iviowen Egonmwan, Mohammed Goni Alkali and Gerson Silva.
A distinguished scholar and academic of over 30 years experience, Egonmwan who has been appointed an independent non-executive director holds a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc Hons) Degree with 2nd Class upper and a Masters of Science (M.Sc) in Zoology from the University of Lagos. She also obtained a Doctorate (D.Phil.) Zoology from the prestigious University of Oxford, United Kingdom.
She was the Senior Environmental Adviser for Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company from 2009 – 2010 and served on the Management Board of Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) from 2012- 2016.
Egonmwan serves as member of several boards and committees of the University of Lagos where she is currently a distinguished lecturer, including the Postgraduate School Board and University of Lagos Senate. She is a member of the Ecological Science of Nigeria, and British Ecological Society.
Also an Independent Non-Executive Director, Alkali holds a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc) Degree in Accounting with 1st Class Honours from Bayero University, Kano and a Masters Degree (M.Sc) in Accounting and Finance from London School of Economics, University of London, United Kingdom.
Alkali has enjoyed a successful banking career at several financial institutions in Nigeria including African International Bank (AIB) where he rose to the level of Assistant General Manager and the Bank of Industry (BOI) Limited where he was an Executive Director (Operations).
He serves as member of several Federal Government and Private sector boards and committees including the Governing Council of SMEDAN, the Institute of Directors (IOD) and the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), amongst others. He has participated in several Business and Executive Leadership programmes of renowned institutions across Europe and the United States of America.
Gerson Silva, a Brazilian, is a Non-Executive Director . He is an accomplished Chemical Scientist with competency and specialization in Polyurethane (PU) Systems, a core production component of Vitafoam, and Vitapur (a sandwich panels and chemical systems subsidiary of Vitafoam).
In the course of his brilliant career, he has worked in several frontline chemical systems organizations across the globe including Dow Chemicals (one of the leading chemical companies in the world) for 18 years as a chemical scientist and analyst.
Having acquired know-how of chemical systems application at DOW, Silva in partnership with like minds, proceeded to establish PURCOM. , one of the largest Chemical System Houses in South America. PURCOM is an internationally acclaimed producer of various PU applications and systems.
He is a widely travelled Consultant on PU Chemical Systems. His unique and widely acclaimed experience of Chemical Systems applications will be of immeasurable value to the operations of Vitafoam and some of its subsidiaries with exciting prospects of enhanced technical proficiency and competitiveness.
Meanwhile, the company has grown its revenue by 34 per cent despite the inclement operating environment even as three new directors have been appointed to strengthen the company’s competitive edge.
By the company’s current quarterly result, it posted a revenue of N14.26 billion in June this year as against N11 billion in the corresponding period last year. In what symbolizes internal efficiencies, the company’s administrative expenses slightly dropped from N2.43 billion to N2.39 under the review period.
The company’s Group Managing Director, Taiwo Adeniyi has recently posited that the company would always leverage on re-alignment of its internal processes to cut waste, develop human capital and intensify investment in Research and Development in line with the needs of the customers.