Nigeria Remains Most Important Market In Africa

The newly appointed managing director, West Africa Container Terminal (WACT), Jeethu Jose, has said Nigeria remained one of the most important markets in Africa.
Speaking after taking over from Syed Naved Zafar, whose tenure as MD ended, Jose said he’s ready to contribute to the development of Nigeria, the largest economy and most populous country in Africa.
“I am happy to continue my journey in Nigeria to contribute to the realisation of the country’s economic aspiration. Nigeria, which is the largest economy and most populous country in Africa, remains one of the most important markets in the region.

“I look forward to working with relevant stakeholders towards the successful implementation of our strategic priorities in WACT. I also look forward to expanding the frontiers of service delivery to our numerous customers especially in Eastern Nigeria,” the new WACT managing director said.
LEADERSHIP reports that until his new appointment, Jose was the deputy managing director of West Africa Container Terminal (WACT), Onne.
In his new role, Jose will be responsible for continuing the expansion and transformation of the global terminal operator’s strategic gateway terminal in Eastern Nigeria.
He will report to the CEO of APM Terminals Nigeria, Frederik Klinke, and will work closely with the senior leadership team in Nigeria, the regional team and the global APM Terminals team in The Hague.
Jose joined Maersk Group in 2016 and during this tenure has spent time in different roles leading different transformations and teams across geographies. He has spent the last four years in Nigeria, starting with being a part of driving the transformation journey for our APM Terminals Apapa and then moving to WACT in 2022.

As a deputy managing Director in WACT and head of country projects, Jose was heading the USD 115 million Onne Terminal Upgrade Project (OTUP), and also supported the acceleration of the group’s ambition of being the most value creating terminal company for all stakeholders.
Prior to moving to Nigeria, Jose was responsible for the Asia, Middle East and Africa region for the Maersk global Procurement organisation and has also been a part of the Board of Directors for one of the Maersk Indian entities.

With deep knowledge and passion for transformations and people, Jose has shown strength in his people leadership – building and transforming parts of the business he has led. He has been in the forefront of pushing the boundaries and delivering solid results while improving engagement with the stakeholders and employees of the Maersk Group.

Jose holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Karunya Institute of Technology, India, with an Executive Programme in Supply Chain from IIMB. He has also attended several leadership development courses at IMD.