The financial fortunes of most chief executive officers often rise and fall with the company’s performance. In a bid to ensure that value is delivered to the organisation and shareholders, the board of directors uses compensation contracts to align executives’ actions with company success.
Data obtained from the biggest companies on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) showed how firms encourage competitive staff compensation, especially to their chief executives, who are in charge of pivoting the organisation to success.
Findings showed CEOs of MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, Dangote Cement Plc, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Seplat Energy Plc, Lafarge Africa Plc, Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO Plc), Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, and Nestle Nigeria Plc make the shortlist of highest-earning executives of listed firms on the NGX.
These firms paid their CEOs an aggregate salary of N4.7 trillion last year, a 51.6 percent increase from N3.1 trillion in 2021.
Karl Toriola
Karl Toriola, the CEO of MTN Nigeria, tops the list as he earned N850 million in 2022, a 130 percent increase from N368 million in 2021.
Toriola joined MTN Nigeria as the chief technical officer in 2006. With over 26 years of experience in the telecommunications industry, he succeeded Ferdinand Moolman as CEO in March 2021.
His past experience in a non-executive capacity on boards of directors includes serving as chairman, MTN/Areeba Guinea; non-executive director, Jumia Africa; non-executive director, American Towers Uganda; and non-executive director, MTN subsidiaries in Francophone West Africa.
Michel Puchercos
Michel Puchercos, the CEO of Dangote Cement, ranks second with earnings of N736 million in 2022, a 27 percent increase from N531 million in the previous year.
He has more than 20 years’ experience in the cement industry, having served in various capacities at Lafarge including as the president and chief executive officer of Lafarge Halla Cement from January 2009 to March 2016; director of strategy and systems at Lafarge Gypsum from September 1998 to March 2003; chief executive officer of Bamburi Cement, Kenya, Hima Cement, Uganda; and chairman, Mbeya Cement, Tanzania from June 2005 till December 2008.
Baker Magunda
Baker Magunda, who resigned from his role as the CEO of Guinness Nigeria Plc in October, emerged third with an annual salary of N505 million in 2022, up from N243 million.
He joined Guinness Nigeria from Diageo-owned Meta Abo Breweries in Ethiopia in May 2018.
He had his first degree at Makerere University in Uganda and Makerere University Business School. He started his career as a market development manager at Coca-Cola Sabco Century Bottling Company from 1996 till 1999.
Roger Brown
Roger Brown of Seplat Energy ranks fourth, with earnings of N500 million in 2022, up from N475 million in 2021.
Brown joined the company as chief financial officer and executive director in July 2013. During his time at Seplat Energy as CFO, he was instrumental in completing the dual listing of the company on the main markets of the Nigerian and London Stock Exchanges, which was the first for a Nigerian corporate.
With a background in finance, he is a qualified chartered accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland. Brown has over 25 years’ experience, primarily focused on emerging markets with extensive experience in structuring energy and infrastructure transactions on the African continent.
Prior to joining Seplat Energy, he held the position of managing director of Oil and Gas EMEA for Standard Bank Group and prior to Standard Bank Group, senior manager in the Corporate Finance department of PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Khaled El Dokani
Khaled El Dokani, CEO of Lafarge Africa, ranked fifth with a salary of N452 million in 2022, a 56 percent increase from N288 million in 2021.
El Dokani joined LafargeHolcim in 2004. Prior to taking over this position, he was country CEO of Iraq (2018-2019), Qatar (2016-2018), Saudi Arabia (2013–2016); vice-president for Business Development and Strategy North America
(2010-2013), and CFO in Lafarge Algeria (2004 – 2010).
Segun Agbaje
Segun Agbaje joined Guaranty Trust Bank as a pioneer staff in 1991 and rose through the ranks to become the managing director and chief executive officer in 2011 after Tayo Aderinokun, the previous CEO, passed on.
As CEO, Agbaje took home N445 million in remuneration for the year 2022. This shows a 160 percent increase of N274 million from his N171 million remuneration in 2021.
Agbaje had a stint at Ernst & Young in America before joining GTBank in 1991 as one of the company’s pioneer staff members. He became an executive director in 2000, and then a deputy managing director in 2002, before eventually becoming the CEO. Agbaje has an MBA from the University of San Francisco. He is also a Harvard Business School alumnus.
Lars Richter
Lars Richter, CEO of Julius Berger, ranks seventh with a salary of N417 million in 2022, a 2 percent increase compared to N408 million in 2021.
Before this appointment, he had garnered over 16 years of experience in the construction industry, with 10 years spent in Nigeria, in different positions including division manager, project manager, and project engineer.
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Hans Essaadi
Nigeria’s biggest brewer, Nigerian Breweries, paid N319 million to its highest-paid director in 2022, up from N243 million in 2021.
Until his appointment, Essaadi was the managing director of AlHaram Beverages, the HEINEKEN Operating Company in Egypt.
He began his working career in the HEINEKEN Group as a sales representative in 1991, rising through the ranks and assuming senior roles within the Group in different units such as sales, export and marketing.
Hans commenced his international career with HEINEKEN Puerto Rico as the Country Manager and thereafter moved to Austria as general manager, Brau Union International.
He then moved to the United Arab Emirates in 2008 where he served as general manager, Sirocco – the Heineken Joint Venture with the Emirates Group.
He then served as the managing director, HEINEKEN Malaysia Berhad from 2013 to 2018 before his last role in Egypt.
Ebenezer Onyeagwu
Next on the list of top earners is Ebenezer Onyeagwu, the managing director of Zenith Bank, one of Nigeria’s tier-one banks. He got a total annual package of N285 million in 2022, compared to N246 million in 2021.
Onyeagwu began his banking career at the defunct Financial Merchant Bank in 1991 and moved to Citizens International Bank Limited until 2002 when he joined Zenith Bank as a senior manager in the internal control and audit unit.
Between 2003 and 2005, he rose to be the assistant general manager, then deputy general manager, and eventually general manager of the bank.
In his 17 years at the bank, Onyeagwu has occupied several positions including executive director of the bank in 2013 and put in charge of Lagos and south-south zones and sits on the board of Zenith Bank Ghana, Zenith Pensions Custodian Limited, Zenith Nominees Limited and African Finance Corporation.
Wassim Elhusseini
Nestle Nigeria paid N266 million to its most senior executive director in 2022, compared to N206 million in 2021.
Wassim Elhusseini, a Lebanese, is the chief executive officer and the managing director at Nestlé Nigeria.
In his past career, Elhusseini held the position of Manager-Channel Category Sales Development at Nestlé Kuwait General Trading Co. WLL, Head-Sales at Nestlé Saudi Arabia LLC and Sales Director & Country Manager at Nestlé Middle East FZE.
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