Austin Avuru is Chairman AA Holdings and Co-Founder and Pioneer CEO of Platform Petroleum Limited and Se plat Petroleum Development Company Plc.

A State Scholar at Orogun Grammar School, Orogun, Delta State he graduated with a Second class upper degree in Geology from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka where he was top of his class and voted President of the graduating class of 1980.

For his National Youth Service Corps programme, Austin Avuru was posted to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in August 1980, where he began his career as a Well Site Geologist. He distinguished himself early in his career and emerged as the Best Overall Student at the NNPC comprehensive training class of 1983 at the Petroleum Training Institute, Warri. He was best in Geology, Geophysics, and Petroleum Engineering.

He further acquired expertise as a Production Seismologist and Reservoir Engineer. By 1987, he was one of NNPC’s pioneer 3-D Seismic interpreters and a participant in one of Chevron’s largest 3-D interpretation projects in 1987/88.

In 1991, Mr. Avuru, for what was described in his citation as “Exceptional Performance,” was the recipient of the NNPC GMD’s Merit Award for “Outstanding Performance and Distinguished Professional and Leadership Qualities.”. He was one of seven chosen to undergo a Post-Graduate Diploma at the University of Ibadan to convert them to Petroleum Engineers. He once again emerged at the top of his class.

Mr. Avuru joined Allied Energy Resources in 1992 as Exploration Manager and rose to the position of Deputy COO. Ten years later, he assembled a team of industry professionals to set up Platform Petroleum Limited, where he was Pioneer Managing Director/CEO. Under his leadership, Platform Petroleum Limited became the first, among the 24 marginal fields awarded in 2002, to bring its field to production. It remains a well-run oil and gas company to date.

In 2010, Platform Petroleum Limited and Shebah Exploration and Production Limited jointly formed Seplat Petroleum with Mr. Avuru as Pioneer CEO. He built the Company into a formidable indigenous oil and gas independent with dual listing on the main board of the London Stock Exchange and Nigerian Stock Exchange, a first for any Nigerian Company.

Mercurial, methodical, and meticulous, Mr. Avuru is a former President of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE); author of the seminal volume, Politics, Economics & the Nigerian Petroleum Industry; and the new management handbook “My Entrepreneurship Journey”. Fellow of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (FNAPE)and 2015 winner of Ernst & Young West Africa Entrepreneur of the Year. He received an Honourary Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in 2018.

the Nigerian Oil & Gas Industry 1991; was a Member of the Ministerial Committee on the restructuring of the Department of Petroleum Resources in 1998 and was a Consultant to the Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources between 2000 and 2003. He also chaired the Technical Subcommittee that drafted the policy blueprint, which subsequently formed the basis of the Nigerian Content Act of 2010.

A thoroughbred industry professional and advocate of indigenous participation in the exploration and production sector of the Nigerian oil industry, Mr. Avuru jointly founded the Independent Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG) and is the current President of the Petroleum Club, Lagos – a private Club where leaders in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry and respected Professionals associated with the industry interact, unwind and share ideas on issues concerning the industry.

Aphilanthropist and alumnus of Harvard Business School OPM 41, Mr. Avuru retired from Seplat on July 31, 2020. He now runs his family investment company, AA Holdings Limited, and his philanthropy, AAFoundation.

He is married with children