The appointment of Celestine Aruoture as the new Chief Operating Officer of the company has been approved by the board of Berger Paints Nigeria Plc.
According to a statement, Aruoture has expertise in project management, stakeholder management, business continuity management, operational efficiency, and budgeting and financial analysis. It also has experience with building operation and maintenance.
He had previously worked for Union Bank of Nigeria as the regional facilities manager and as the head of facilities management. At First Bank of Nigeria, he had previously held the positions of General Services Manager and Area General Services Manager.
Celestine graduated from Ambrose Alli University with a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil), the University of Lagos with a Master of Facilities Management, and the University of South Wales with a Master of Business (UK). Additionally, he has certifications from Google in data analytics and Rutgers State University (US) in supply chain management.
He is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the International Facility Management Association, and the Nigerian Society of Engineers. He is also a registered engineer with the Council for the Registration of Engineering in Nigeria.
Berger Paints is currently losing a sizeable portion of its revenue to cost of operation (CoP), as the latter increased by 29.8% to N4.52 billion between January and September 2022, compared to the N3.48 billion recorded during the same period in 2021.
In the first nine months of this year, expenses rose by 40.9%, swallowing N3.13 billion, exceeding the N2.22 billion spent on product production in the same period last year.
Compared to its competitors, CAP (19.9%) and Meyer (42.6%), Berger Paints’ increase in production costs is the second highest.
In terms of revenue growth among the Big Three in the industry, Berger Paints’ turnover growth lagged behind Meyer and CAP by 42.67% and 42.01%, respectively.
Berger Paints said in a statement appointing Aruoture as its chief operating officer was a step toward positioning the company for greater efficiency.
Aruoture, according to the paint maker, has experience in strategy development, budgeting, financial analysis, and building operation & maintenance.
