PZ Cussons Appoints Former FIRS Chairman

PZ Cussons Appoints Former FIRS Chairman

The management of PZ Cussons Plc has disclosed the appointment of a former chairperson of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Ifueko Okauru.

In a notice addressed to the investing public in which this development was disclosed, PZ Cussons said Okauru was appointed as the chairman of its board.

BizWatch Nigeria understands that Okauru’s appointment was approved following the exit of two persons in the company’s top hierarchy on account of retirement and resignation.

With her appointment, Okauru succeeded Gbenga Oyebode retired as the chairman of its board and a non-executive director with effect from Wednesday, January 25, 2023.

Okauru’s appointment, however, took effect last Wednesday, following approval of her appointment at a board meeting held after the company’s annual general meeting on the same date.

Okauru is the first female chair of the company, having joined the board in April 2021 as an independent non-executive director.

She trained as a chartered accountant and is a strategy and change management consultant with experience in both the private and public sectors.

She headed strategy practice at Arthur Andersen and Co, where she spent more than 10 years.

“She emerged as the first female executive chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service,” the statement said.

She currently serves on the boards of MTN Nigeria Plc and Nigerian Breweries Plc as non-executive Director and on the boards of AfyaCare Ltd and ReStraL Ltd as chairperson.

Prior to her appointment, Okauru had served as the chairperson of the Audit and Risk and Statutory Audit Committees and a member of the Governance and People Committee of PZ Cussons.

She holds a Master of Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School, an MSc in Management Science from Imperial College London as well as a BSc in Accounting (First Class) from the University of Lagos.

Okauru is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), Compliance Institute of Nigeria (CIN), and Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN).