Tunji Oyebanji is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Mobil Oil Nigeria. Currently, Mobil Nigeria is one of the top six major petroleum products marketers in Nigeria and leader in the oil industry in efficiency and brand management.
After Primary and Secondary education, he read Economics from the University of Lagos and also holds an MBA in Marketing from the City University, London, UK. He started his career with Mobil in late 1980 as a trainee where he served as a petrol station attendant selling petrol at the fuel pump for his first six months.
After his trainee period, the first task assigned to him as a full time staff was to sell kerosene. He was involved in dispatching kerosene in small trucks of about 8,000 litres to people in 200 little drums. He spent about two years in this position. He had a driver that moved him and the products hinterland to the dispatch stations.
After a few more assignments, Tunji decided to take some time off the job to study for his Masters in the United Kingdom. After one and half years away studying, he returned to his old job and that was the time he experienced the first breakthrough in his career.
A group of visitors came from the United States, and at the end of their visit, a dinner was organised for them.
Luckily for him, his boss asked him to join the crew. During the course of the dinner, Tunji went around networking from one visitor to the other saying, “In your country, if you go and take a masters degree, will you still be working in this same department, shouldn’t you be moved into another department?” One week after the visitors left, Tunji received a call from the Corporate Planning Manager of Mobil who was an American. After that call he was moved to Corporate Planning.
From that point onwards, Mobil chief executive grew from one position to another in the company including Branch Manager North, Branch Manager West, Manager Fuel Services and Marketing Director. He also held several offshore appointments like Executive Director, Mobil Oil Ethopia; Executive Director, Mobil Oil Cameroon; Manager Industrial and Wholesale Fuels (Africa/Middle East); Exxon Mobil Petroleum & Chemicals Co bvba.
Tunji was first appointed to the Board in 2002 and after several foreign assignments, he was reappointed in 2007. In October 2008, he was appointed Chairman and Managing Director of Mobil Oil Nigeria.
He wants to leave a legacy that he built a stronger company than he met. Mobil has existed for over a hundred years and he wants to build the company that would have the basis to exist for centuries. Already, his leadership legacies are deepening the success story of the oil giant.
