The leadership grid.
Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu brings direct experience at the highest levels of Nigerian energy policy and industry leadership to WAOGF’s board. He previously served as Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and as Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), where he also chaired the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board.
Emmanuel is a Harvard-trained lawyer, holding an LL.M. and S.J.D. from Harvard Law School, and is the author of multiple books on Nigerian petroleum law and policy.
His regulatory and governmental relationships across Nigeria’s upstream sector are a direct asset to WAOGF’s origination and execution capability.
Cem Hacioglu leads WAOGF’s day-to-day strategy and execution, bringing more than two decades of energy and institutional finance leadership to the role. He previously served as President and CEO of Applied LNG, guiding the company through a successful restructuring to establish it as an industry leader, and most recently led West Africa LNG Group’s terminal and infrastructure development across the region.
Earlier in his career, Hacioglu was a senior investment professional with Merrill Lynch’s Private Equity Group and the World Bank’s Middle East and North Africa Department.
He holds a degree in Mathematical Economics from the United States Military Academy at West Point and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management.
Uzoma Eze Alexander oversees WAOGF’s legal, regulatory, and compliance infrastructure.
A corporate and tax attorney with more than 18 years of practice across New York, Texas, Africa, and the United Kingdom, he began his career at Shearman & Sterling advising Merrill Lynch, Bank of America, and Credit Suisse on mergers and acquisitions, capital markets transactions, and asset securitizations.
A Certified Public Accountant as well as a licensed attorney, Alexander brings a rare combination of financial and legal fluency to fund structuring, cross-border taxation, and regulatory compliance — with the added advantage of Nigerian citizenship and direct experience navigating both U.S. and West African business law.