The AUN Governing Council has appointed Professor AttahirYusuf as Interim President.
A letter from the Council Chairman, Senator Ben Ndi Obi, CON, on Monday, July 25, 2022, bore the news of the appointment to Professor Attahir.
“With the resignation of Dr Margee Ensign, past President of AUN, I write to convey to you, the decision of the Management of AUN to appoint you as the Interim President of AUN with immediate effect”.
Dr Attahir Yusuf, Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship, first served as Interim President of the University in 2021. He joined AUN in May 2017 as Dean of the School of Business and Entrepreneurship and was appointed as Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost in July 2020.
A former Group Executive Director with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Professor Attahir Yusuf, received his PhD from the University of Sussex in the UK in 1986. He has an MSc in Management Technology from the University of Wales Institute of Science & Technology (now Cardiff University).
PROFESSOR ATTAHIR YUSUF’S PROFILE:
A former Group Executive Director with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Professor Attahir Yusuf, received his PhD from the University of Sussex in the UK in 1986. He has an MSc in Management Technology from the University of Wales Institute of Science & Technology (now Cardiff University) in 1984. Professor was among the first set of graduates of Business Management from the University of Maiduguri graduating in July 1981.
Following a long and productive international academic career, in 2005, Dr Yusuf was appointed as General Manager Corporate Planning, NNPC, and a year later was promoted to Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Development, a position from which he oversaw Strategy, Budget, and Business Development matters. He rose to the position of Group Executive Director, Corporate Services, in April 2009 and was in charge of Human Resources, Medical, Pension, Security, and the London Office. He later became the Group Executive Director, Commercial and Investment. In this position, he oversaw nine subsidiaries. Dr Yusuf was also the Group Executive Director of Business Development and a member of the Board of NNPC.
Professor Yusuf has chaired the Boards of several other companies and is credited with establishing several companies for NNPC, including Crude and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Shipping companies, and revamping the NNPC Retail Ltd into a profitable venture.
Before joining the NNPC, Professor Yusuf taught at many Universities in Nigeria and abroad, including the University of Maiduguri; The University of the West Indies, Barbados; PNG University of the Technology, Papua New Guinea; the University of the South Pacific, Fiji; Massey University, New Zealand; Sultan Qaboos University, Oman, and the University of Sharjah, UAE.
Professor Yusuf has also consulted for companies in New Zealand, the Middle East, the West Indies, the South Pacific, and Africa. He has consulted for many organizations in the areas of Organizational Development, Strategy Implementation, Change Management, Strategic Information Systems Management, and Small Business Development.
Professor Yusuf’s scholarly research and professional activities have included the publication of more than 20 articles in academic journals such as the Journal of Small Business Management, the Journal of Entrepreneurship, and the Journal of International Management. He has also given over 30 international conference presentations and is a member of several international professional organizations. He joined the American University of Nigeria in May 2017 as Dean of the School of Business and Entrepreneurship, later he was appointed as Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost in July 2020 and served as Interim President of the University in 2021. His area of specialization is Strategy and Entrepreneurship.