Aare Fatai Odesile, the CEO of Grand Oak Limited is to step down from his post effective end of September.

His resignation comes after 27 years of meritorious service at the Nigerian Distilleries Limited (NDL) and Grand Oak Limited (GOL), two indigenous spirits firms owned by the Lexcel Group of Companies.

Odesile started his career with the Lexcel Group as a Quality Control/Production Officer with NDL in 1992 and rose through the ranks to the position of Managing Director/CEO of Grand Oak Limited, the marketing arm of Nigerian Distilleries Limited in 2016.

Remarking on his time at the company, Odesile said, “I have enjoyed every bit of my stay in both NDL and GOL having risen to become the first entry level graduate to become the managing director of the company.

“I remain eternally grateful to the shareholders and Board of Grand Oak Limited and Nigeria Distilleries for giving such a rare privilege to have risen to the top of my career within a space of 26 years,” he declared.

Odesile is an alumnus of the University of Ibadan, University of Lagos, London Cranfield School of Management UK, The Wits Business School, South Africa and Management Centre, Brussels.

He is a council member of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), a Trustee of the Distillers and Blenders sub group of MAN, and is currently an Executive Council member of Committee of Chief Executive of Association of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employers (AFBTE), among others.

There is no word on his replacement at the firm or his future plans.