Wale Fatoki Chief Executive Officer, TSL Logistics Limited

By Danlami Nasir Isah

Mr. Wale Fatoki is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of TSL Logistics Limited, which is the largest independent petroleum infrastructure Operations & Management (O&M) Company in Africa, with expertise in the areas of terminal infrastructure development, terminal and pipeline management, as well as the inventory management of petroleum products.

TSL currently operates nine multi-petroleum product terminals in Nigeria and Ghana, with a combined tankage capacity of 500,000MT. It also operates a 169-kilometer petroleum product pipeline.

Fatoki is a graduate of Statistics from the University of Ibadan. Upon graduation, he worked with Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (now Exxon Mobil).

In 1997, he joined a thriving merchant bank, MBC International Bank, where he was mandated to structure and develop the Bank’s Human Resources Department.

Then in August 1999, he joined Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) with the primary responsibility of coordinating and managing human resources operations in the Lagos Office with respect to 13 countries of the region, (CEEMEAI – Central & East European Countries, Middle East, Africa and India) and global operations.

Mr. Fatoki was appointed the Head of Customer Services and Logistics of Oando Plc in May 2006, during which he acquired vast management experience and understanding of terminal/depot operations and supply chain management.

He is an alumnus of the Stanford University, Graduate School of Business Executive Education.

Due to Mr. Fatoki’s vision and managerial competence over the years, TSL Logistics has earned a market-leading reputation for process efficiency, with 0% product loss below allowable window in its terminal management operations since inception. This attests to the painstaking professionalism that the company adopts throughout its operations to deliver bespoke solutions without compromising safety and agreed standards.

Two years ago, under Mr. Fatoki’s leadership and direction, TSL secured the approval of InfraCredit, a specialized infrastructure credit guarantee institution, to guarantee its N12 billion 10-year fixed rate infrastructure bonds due 2030, which it said is part of a larger N50 billion debt issuance programme.

Also, due to his sound leadership, TSL Logistics has consistently demonstrated commendable expertise in product inventory management in the downstream oil and gas industry, offering throughput and order fulfilment services to top industry marketers, while also winning and retaining their confidence.

Having put so much commitment and professionalism into the running of TSL, Mr. Fatoki has successfully made it to hold the record of being the first third-party Into-Plane Refueling Company in West Africa.

He is also succeeding in building a unique and top-class operational system for TSL Logistics, which is the reason why Terminal Management at the company begins with the development of a custom-built logistics model with clients’ requirements and logistic peculiarities of the terminal as inputs. In order to ensure customer satisfaction, Mr. Fatoki makes sure that the company’s deployment models are built around Visibility, Asset Optimization, Reliability, Safety and Technology. This, he says, is meant to ensure that each facility owned by TSL is efficiently operated and maintained, while allowing its clients to focus on their core offerings of trading and marketing of petroleum products. 

Mr. Fatoki has always maintained that TSL understands that its clients need more than just straightforward warehousing of their products, and that it goes further to design, develop and deliver specialized technology-driven product distribution solutions. This has been adjudged as the reason why TSL Logistics has consistently demonstrated commendable expertise in product inventory management in the downstream oil and gas industry, offering throughput and order fulfilment services to top industry marketers.

In addition to this, the company’s Pipeline Management Team, under strict and uncompromising orders from Mr. Fatoki, provides pipeline security and maintenance services to distribution companies in the oil and gas industry, as well as on-site surveillance and security in order to ensure rights-of-way are clear and accessible to detect and prevent unauthorized activity. 

Its maintenance activities include pipeline integrity testing, leak surveys, repair of leak points, and line section replacement, among others.

As a man with love for knowledge, skills and competence, Mr. Fatoki hires and deploys only top experts in their areas of specialization to work for his company. As a result of this, TSL Logistics offers the expertise, resource and knowledge to assist in the Design, Construction, and Financing of Petroleum Product Storage facilities and associated infrastructure development projects that are best in class around Nigeria and beyond. Against this backdrop, the company’s industry knowledge from years of experience and strategic partnerships equips it to deliver effectively on bespoke infrastructure projects within Africa.

Apart from being the first third-party Into-Plane Refueling company in West Africa, TSL Logistics has presence at two international airports in Nigeria, and the company has garnered the experience and proven track record to provide safe, qualitative and cost-effective fueling services to local and international airlines.

Having driven TSL Logistics to such enviable heights, Mr. Fatokinow keeps his focus on making the company to consistently exceed strict operating criteria in the areas of timeliness, quality, safety, accuracy, and professionalism. In order to accomplish and retain this top-end status in the industry, Mr. Fatoki trains his professional personnel in line with international industry standards across all fields of operations.