By Ibrahim Bakare
Henry Ajagbawa, PhD, has been appointed as the new Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, MD/CEO, Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Plc, PHED.
In a press statement signed by John Onyi, Manager, Corporate Communications PHED, said upon his appointment, “Dr. Ajagbawa has been engaging in consulting and training, especially in the banking services industry for the past 6 years amongst other entrepreneurial interests. He has excellent execution and know-how skills that proves his expertise could be brought to bear on value creation for this enterprise.”
Dr Ajagbawa who holds Doctor of Philosophy in International Business Management, from ISM, Paris would bring his wealth of expertise and experience to bear in repositioning the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Plc to a profit making organization.
Onyi said that “In view of the above, Dr. Ajagbawa has marshalled out three key areas in achieving his set target in PHED and they are Integrity, Discipline and State of emergency on the financial quagmire of the company.
“Dr. Ajagbawa who had earlier obtained a Bachelor of Science, BSc, (1985) and Master of Science, MSc (1996) in Economics both from the University of Lagos and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, FCA, having qualified in 1989 has said that no stone shall be left unturned until every debt owed PHED would be recovered.”
The alumnus of the Harvard Business School, International Institute of Management Development, IMD, Lausanne, Switzerland and AMP INSEAD has published several academic articles in reputable journals and has authored a book on staff engagement in a change environment has however, said that every contentious bill would be reconciled adding that improvement in service delivery to customers remains non-negotiable.
“He had over 23 years of working career in the banking sector cutting across various cadres and in 2013, he retired as an Executive Director, Ecobank. His vast knowledge in resuscitation of distressed, challenged financial institutions and other businesses may have played a major role in bringing onboard the world – class material to PHED.
His research interests include: change management, strategy and execution, project management, service quality and relationship management amongst others.
Dr. Ajagbawa who is married with children has since resumed office. His hobbies are lawn tennis and football.
Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Plc, PHED, oversees Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa-Ibom and Cross-River states.
