‘Going Public Has Further Strengthened CWG Operations’

The Chief Executive Officer of CWG Plc, Mr. James Agada has said that the company’s bold step to go public in 2013 has further strengthened the operations of the company, contrary to insinuations that the company’s operations have not been stabilised since it got listed on the floor of the Nigeria Stock Exchange(NSE).

Agada, in an interview, insisted that going public has not affected the operations of the company. Rather, it has been a source of strength which has helped CWG to set institutions and begin to set corporate governance structures that have today boosted its operational practices.

“Going public has not in any way created challenges for us. Rather, it is a source of strength because we are moving forward and have institutionalised every structure in our operations. As far back as 2010, the journey for CWG had seen it begin to act in a more standardised version in preparedness for it to be made a public company. One with a strong board convergence, governance practices and operational practices in place,” he said.

Agada, who assumed the position of the Group Chief Executive Officer of the company two years ago, explained that the organisation was bigger than any one person and so the setup of institutions was to also help the it out-lives the persons running them, particularly after 25 years of continuous growth and full economic impact.

Citing success stories like that of IBM and Microsoft, which he noted had outgrown their founders because of strong institutions that were built over the years, Agada asserted that there is a roadmap for CWG to be listed in New York or London or NASDAQ, saying its original goal was to be listed in NASDAQ and this was still being pursued.

Speaking on the changes that brought him in as Group CEO of CWG, Agada emphasised it was never as a result of management challenges, but a planned transition, which he referred to as an important step in trying to institutionalise the CWG’s business.