Afentra has appointed a new independent non-executive director, and chairman of the audit committee, former Cote d’Ivoire oil minister Thierry Tanoh.
The company said Tanoh had a “strong track record in both public and private sectors”. He has been vice president within the International Finance Corp.’s (IFC) executive team and director of sub-Saharan Africa.
Following his time with IFC, Tanoh became CEO of Ecobank Group. He left the bank in 2014 becoming deputy chief of staff to the president of Cote d’Ivoire. He then served as Minister for Oil, Energy and Renewable Energies from 2017 to 2018.
Governance
Afentra non-executive chairman Jeffrey MacDonald welcomed Tanoh to the board. “The appointment of such a heavy-weight candidate reflects Afentra’s strong ambition to build a material and credible player within the African energy sector as we seek to play an important role in a responsible energy transition across the continent.”
The appointment also demonstrates Afentra’s commitment to governance, MacDonald said.
Tanoh said he was ready to support Afentra “with my insights learned from decades of senior roles within finance and government across Africa and beyond. Afentra’s purpose to support the African energy transition and enable the continued economic and social development of African economies is a shared passion and I believe Afentra’s team have all the ingredients required to play a meaningful role in that agenda over the coming years.”
Tanoh has a number of current roles, including advising Groupe Duval and co-chair of the Millennium Challenge Corp. advisory council.
The departure of the executive from Ecobank in 2014 raised eyebrows – and sparked an international legal case. South Africa’s Public Investment Corp. (PIC) took against the CEO and demanded he be removed.
Following a court case, Tanoh was awarded material damages for wrongful dismissal.
Afentra is in the process of acquiring stakes in Angola. It has said it expects its deal on Block 3/05 to complete by the end of this month. The company has said it is working on opportunities on- and offshore West Africa.
Updated at 1:34 pm with paragraph on wrongful dismissal finding.