About Diezani Alison-Madueke
Country of Birth
Nigeria
Industry
Oil and gas
Top achievements
Diezani Alison-Madueke is an oil and gas expert and a highly influential woman in the African Oil and Gas sector. She has held various high-ranking roles in Shell Petroleum Development Co. of Nigeria Ltd. and the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Education
Diezani Alison Madueke received her tertiary education in the United States and the United Kingdom. She achieved a BArch degree from Howard University in Washington DC, United States, and an MBA from the Judge Institute of Management, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Career
From 1992 until 2007, Diezani Alison-Madueke held several roles at Shell Petroleum Development Co of Nigeria Ltd, including:
- External Affairs Director
- Lead Ventures Relations Adviser
- Senior Joint Venture Relations Adviser, Strategy and Planning
- Head of Corporate Issues Management
After making her mark in these roles, Alison Madueke was appointed as the first female
executive director of the company.
She also held three ministerial roles in the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria:
- Minister of Petroleum Resources
- Minister of Mines and Steel Development
- Minister of Transportation
Achievements
Diezani Alison-Madueke’s contributions directly influenced the transformation of the Nigerian energy sector by significantly increasing gas production. In her ministerial roles, Madueke was instrumental in creating a high degree of positive change in Nigeria’s Oil and Gas industry which made a lasting impact on the Nigerian economy.
Her efforts also resulted in the country’s oil and gas infrastructure expanding and strengthening. She was the driving force behind getting the critical Petroleum Industry Bill redrafted and approved by the Federal Executive Council. The changes made to the bill aimed to improve transparency and accountability in the Nigerian oil and gas sector and in the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, as well as to re-balance Nigeria’s share of the profits in the deep offshore blocks. Alison-Madueke also bolstered Nigeria’s presence worldwide, across several industries.
Advocating Female Empowerment
As a fierce advocate for women empowerment, Alison-Madueke mentors women of Nigeria and around the world. She aims to give females access to a historically male-dominated industry and supports the rights of influential women in all sectors. Alison-Madueke’s achievements and successes redefined the female presence within the Nigerian workforce.
She launched the Network of Women in Oil and Gas as part of her drive to empower women within the industry.
Recognition
As the first female appointed alternate president and then president of OPEC, Alison Madueke made history and attained worldwide recognition. She also became the first female president of the Ministerial Meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), the first female executive director of Shell Petroleum in Nigeria, the first female Minister of Transportation in Nigeria and the country’s first female Minister of Petroleum Resources.
In 2002, Alison-Madueke received the prestigious British Foreign and Commonwealth Chevening Scholarship Award.
Additional facts:
- Diezani Alison-Madueke gives talks and lectures on the Oil and Gas industry, the
energy sector, sustainability, and female empowerment. - Alison-Madueke believes that business executives should apply the fundamental
principles of architecture in business dealings. The principles that enable buildings
stand up; ensuring the soundness of the structure’s foundational integrity, is crucial. - Alison Madueke is a part of the Ijaw tribe of the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.
