A Life Driven by Timeless Values

Cecilia Umoren is the Executive Chairman of Millenium Oil & Gas Company Limited (MOGL), an independent exploration and production company with onshore operations in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.

Often hailed as a tenacious leader whose unique and outstanding leadership skills lend themselves to the effective and timely management of people and resources, Cecilia Umoren has over the years carved out an enviable niche for herself as the epitome of excellence in her chosen field of endeavour. Her ability to work seamlessly with people from diverse backgrounds, orientations and competencies (and to bring out the best in them) is testimony to an emotional intelligence that combines her trademark efficiency and strong work ethic with an equally strong sense of equity, fairplay and empathy.

These critical credentials - experience and expertise - as well as her combination of attributes, are clearly demonstrated in the business model and work culture she has instituted at Millenium Oil & Gas Company Limited, which she has built into an important corporate player in the upstream sector of Nigeria's oil and gas industry. In line with its vision and mission - which is to grow a world-class oil and gas company whose fundamental values are built on professionalism, transparency, and integrity, to conduct its search for, and exploitation of, hydrocarbons in a most responsible and safe manner, and to grow into a strong indigenous operator - MOGL has over the years built strong and close partnerships with other key stakeholders and industry players, which have helped deliver desirable and sustainable outcomes, as they are driven by a strong ethical policy that channels significant resources back into the host communities and local economies in its catchment area.

Thanks to her accomplishments in the oil and gas industry, Cecilia Umoren is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Women in Energy Network Nigeria (WIEN), whose mandate is to foster and develop career and leadership skills for women in the nation's energy sector, and to create networking and mentoring opportunities for them. In addition, she also serves as the Vice-Chairman of the Petroleum Club Lagos, which brings together leaders and respected professionals in the oil and gas industry, as they share ideas on tackling issues and challenges in the industry.

Cecilia Umoren's leadership extends beyond the Oil and Gas industry. A dedicated social entrepreneur with a passion for women empowerment and the belief that empowering women has a multiplier effect that benefits the entire family structure - she sits on the Board of Trustees and is a Past President of International Women’s Society, which is one of the oldest philanthropic organizations in Nigeria. She also supports NGOs that promote the principles of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

This passion is partly driven by her own personal experience, and partly by her quest for excellence and devotion to best practices. Cecilia Umoren has often cited her mother, whose values and commitment to her family's welfare helped shape her life, as her greatest inspiration in this regard. “I saw her struggle with managing a large family and raising 13 children," Cecilia Umoren recalls. "Through it all, she taught us the values of hard work, honesty and integrity."

Over the years, Cecilia Umoren has come to embody those values, not just in the way she runs her company and in the discharge of her other responsibilities, but in her personal life as well. She lives by the mantra: Mutually Assured Respect, Responsibility, and Trust. As a leader, this guiding principle has helped her set the tone for the members of her team, and boosted her efforts to inspire and empower them towards becoming effective leaders in their own right. Her professional and personal journey, she has often said, has been more like a jungle gym than a straight ladder. Before she pivoted into the world of oil and gas, she had run a successful law practice. This latter part of her professional journey, has been challenging due to the issues associated with operating in the Niger Delta, including pipeline vandalization. But it has also been marked by successes big and small. For Cecilia Umoren, success is relative, even nuanced and every milestone is celebrated as a success!

As a female in a largely male-dominated industry, Cecilia Umoren is not unmindful of the harsh reality, and corrosive impact, of negative gender stereotypes, especially when driven by cultural norms and prevailing public attitudes towards women in leadership roles. She has however learned to shrug off the bias and play to those strengths that define her as a woman. She has learned to be true to her authentic self and embrace the feminine qualities of empathy, compassion, intuitiveness, and tenacity. It is these qualities and the mindset they have engendered in her, she says, that have enabled her to build Millennium Oil and Gas Limited into the innovative, forward-looking company it is today, and to set it on a trajectory that is sure to see it attain greater heights.

For the near future, Cecilia Umoren looks towards retirement with eager anticipation and an undimmed sense of purpose - spurred on by her passion for philanthropy and women empowerment. “I have started looking at board opportunities," she discloses, "that will keep me useful and relevant in my post-retirement years."