Ikponmwosa Ogunmwonyi (Ikay) is a senior global energy executive with nearly three decades of experience in upstream oil, gas, and LNG operations across Africa, North America, and Asia-Pacific. He currently serves as Managing Director, Offshore Business at Seplat Energy, where he provides executive leadership for large-scale offshore operations, sets strategic direction, ensures regulatory compliance, and represents the business at the Board and government levels.
Previously, Ikay held senior executive roles at ExxonMobil, including Senior Vice President, Production for PNG LNG, where he was accountable for multi-site operations spanning gas fields and LNG facilities with significant production capacity and complex stakeholder interfaces. His career also includes leadership of deepwater FPSO operations, joint venture production businesses, and major divestment and regulatory transformation initiatives, including Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) implementation.
Ikay has led organizations of over 1,200 personnel, overseen multi-billion-dollar operating budgets, and delivered strong financial, safety, and operational performance in high-risk, regulated environments. He is recognized for his ability to balance operational excellence with sound governance, stakeholder engagement, risk management, and long-term value creation.
He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical/Electronics Engineering from the University of Benin and has completed advanced executive programs at the University of Michigan (Ross), Thunderbird School of Global Management, and UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School. Ikay is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers.
