Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc. has announced the appointment of Paul Gbededo as its Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer with effect from 1st April, 2013. He succeeds Emmanuel Ukpabi who retires on 31st March, 2013 and assumes position of Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the company.
The new GMD/CEO Paul Gbededo, who has spent over 30 years with FMN Group, joined the Group at Nigerian Bag Manufacturing Company Plc. [BAGCO] in 1982 where he acquired extensive experience in manufacturing and general management positions and became the first Nigerian Production Director in 1996.
Paul Gbededo, a Fellow of the Polymer Institute of Nigeria was educated at The Polytechnic of North London, UK where he obtained Graduateship of Plastic and Rubber Institute and Associateship of National College of Rubber Technology in 1980. He also holds an MSc. Degree in Polymer Technology (1981) of Loughborough University of Technology, UK. An alumnus of Lagos Business School, he has attended several professional, managerial and strategic leadership courses locally and abroad.
In 1998, he moved to Flour Mills as General Manager/Director in charge of Fertilizer Operations where he pioneered development of the Golden Fertilizer business. He also was pioneer General Manager/Director of Golden Pasta Company which has grown to become Africa’s biggest pasta manufacturing plant.
In 2012, he was elevated to the position of Managing Director, Agro-Allied Division with responsibility to formulate and drive the Group’s backward integration policies, programmes and initiatives. He currently sits on the board of Golden Sugar Company Ltd and other FMN subsidiaries and he is wholly responsible for the strategic direction of Golden Penny Rice Limited.
Ukpabi who spent virtually his entire working life at Flour Mills joined the company as a management trainee in 1972. He has held several managerial positions including Macaroni Production Manager, Mill Production Manager and Golden Penny Flour Production Manager. He became Production Director in 1990, Personnel Director in 1999, Flour Operations Director in 2000 and Group Managing Director in 2002.
A renowned miller, he midwifed the remarkable growth of Flour Mills Pasta Production from 18 metric tons a day to the current 500 metric tons per day. Other positions he held in the group include Managing Director of Nigerian Bag Manufacturing Co. Plc., where he now is Executive Vice Chairman, and UNICEM where he in 2001, spearheaded the acquisition of CALCEMCO from its liquidator, renamed it United Cement Company of Nigeria Ltd (UNICEM) and served as the Foundation Chairman. Currently he is on the board as a non-Executive Director.
Ukpabi will be remembered for FMN’s phenomenal growth from N43.3 billion turnover in 2002 to N258.3 billion in 2012 and diversification during his tenure as Group Managing Director.
Paul, who has a keen focus on results, has established a track record of mentoring young careerists into valuable human capital assets for leadership positions in different parts of the Group. He brings dynamism and a broad based knowledge and experience of FMN’s different businesses into his new position.
