Mr. Peter Folikwe is an enigmatic corporate manager. He could be said to be the man with the Midas Touch. Much of what he has touched these several years, as a manager of human and material resources and as a corporate strategist, has turned to gold. He is the incumbent Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Berger Paints Nigeria Plc.

Peter Folikwe holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons) degree in Marketing from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Benin, Benin City.

He has garnered 25 years of experience in Marketing, Sales/Distribution and General Management, having worked in a number of top – rated companies in Nigeria across a number of sectors in varied capacities. He possesses a great depth of knowledge and experience in manufacturing, telecommunications and FMCG environments.

Folikwe was appointed in March 2015 as Managing Director/CEO of Berger Paints Nigeria Plc, a foremost coating and allied products company in Nigeria. Under his leadership, Berger Paints’ 17 depot were outsourced in 2015 to Business Partners (OBPs) to operationally manage the depot locations for efficiency and profitable returns.

Before joining Berger Paints Plc, Peter had a two – year working experience with UAC Foods, a joint venture between Tiger Foods South Africa and UAC of Nigeria, between 2013 and 2015. He reorganized the UAC Foods Ltd regional sales and distribution structure and ‘Route to Market’ (RTM) which positioned the company for competitive edge in its Snacks, Beverage and Ice Cream product categories. Topline growth of 12% was experienced in 2013 to 2014.

He had an impressive career at Vitafoam Nigeria Plc. He rose to the position of Sales and Marketing Director as he grew turnover from N4 billion in 2006 to N15billion in 2012. Share price also moved from N3.40 in 2006 to N13. PBIT grew from N302million in 2006 to N1.2billion in 2008. He was instrumental to the setting up of Vitafoam Ghana and Vitafoam Sierra Leone subsidiaries. He was also appointed Chairman of Vitablom Nigeria Limited and as Non Executive Director of Vono Products Plc, both associates of Vitafoam Nigeria Plc.

Folikwe was among the pioneer staff of MTN Nigeria Communications Limited in 2001. Appointed as Trade Marketer, he grew to become a Channel Manager in charge of MTN Service Centres and Franchise Operations – MTN Connect stores. Seventeen (17) service/franchise stores were deployed within 18 months. Franchise Operator financial module were reviewed to ensure Operator profitability and continuous viability of strategy to MTN Nigeria.

Peter is a Fellow of the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria and a Fellow of the Institute of Direct Marketing of Nigeria. He is an alumnus of Lagos Business School as well as the prestigious Cranfield University, Bedford, UK.

It is in recognition of his contribution to national development in the sphere of Corporate Administration that Mr. Peter Folikwe is deemed worthy of the honour of the Development in Nigeria Merit Award which is part of the 2017 PSR National Awards.