Professor Oluwatoyin Ashiru is a graduate of the University of Sussex, Brighton UK where he obtained a B.Sc. in Materials Science and Engineering. He concluded his Ph.D. at the University of Birmingham, UK in Industrial Metallurgy.
Professor Oluwatoyin Ashiru is the current Pro Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of Olabisi Onabanjo University. He began his career as a lecturer in Mechanical Engineering at the Universities of Lagos and Ibadan respectively before serving as Nigerian Senior Research Fellow at the International Tin Research Institute in the UK. He is currently the Managing Director and CEO of Tricontinental Oil Services Ltd. He is an accomplished Materials and Metallurgical Engineer with over 45 years of comprehensive professional experience in academia, entrepreneurship, management engineering, technology invention, and serving as an expert consultant for leading oil and gas corporations including NNPC, SHELL, CHEVRON, SAUDI ARAMCO QATAR OIL, and others. He also served on various technical committees for UNIDO, UNESCO and the WORLD BANK. He is well-recognized as a world consultant in oil and gas plants development.
He invented the first instrument for real-time detection of steel cracking in sour petroleum production, which is now globally used. He holds patents in the USA, UK, Japan, and the World Intellectual Property Organization for other innovative technologies. Since 1998, he has successfully transitioned from academia to industry, finance, and entrepreneurship.
Professor Ashiru has extensive project management experience in major international refining, chemical, petrochemical, offshore oil & gas development, pipeline, infrastructure, and power generation projects ranging from $40 million to $2 billion. He is also a successful businessman as he has worked extensively on multinational joint venture projects representing owners or as a contractor.
He has served on Joint Venture and Consortium Executive Committees and has participated directly in claims negotiations and settlement agreements for more than $100 million. His wealth of experience also includes membership on the Governing Board responsible for strategic and operational decisions, and he was responsible for worldwide engineering operations for proposals and projects. Prof Ashiru is an expert consultant and Board Member of many international research centers and major industrial sectors and has served worldwide on various governmental multi-disciplinary task forces and technical committees.
Prof. Ashiru holds USA, British, European, Brazilian, and other international patents for products and systems that he invented. In 2022, he was awarded the National Honor of Officer of the Order of Niger (OON) and he is a recipient of several merit awards which include (but are not limited to) his recognition in the USA as a “Professional with Extraordinary Ability”, listings in Who is Who in the World and Dictionary of International Biography, and the prestigious Distinguished Innovator Award of the Association of Tin Producing Countries.
Professor Ashiru joined the Board of FCMB Group Plc on December 23, 2013, as a Non- Executive Director.