Udom Inoyo’s journey to the peak of his career has been an unmitigated product of commitment, dedication, honesty, hard work and tenacity. He started early when he joined the service of Cross River state government as an Administrative Officer. His stark diligence and absolute willingness to learn saw him working in many important committees and departments of the Ministry of Works, serving as coordinator and Secretary to public procurement and logistics boards and agencies such as the Central Contractors Registration Board, Tenders Board and the Essential Commodities Distribution Committee, and later in the Cabinet Office.

In 1986, he was assigned to the Cross River State Liaison Office, Lagos, as Administrative officer, and remained in that role until the creation of Akwa Ibom state in 1987. As one of the very few senior officers of Akwa Ibom origin, Inoyo had the onerous responsibility of managing the office during the transition phase with the responsibility of providing onboarding support to the pioneer Governor, then, Colonel Tunde Ogbeha.

Udom Corporate Career began in his joining Mobil Producing Nigeria in 1989 in the Administration department (now HR), and progressed through a number of positions as a Human Resources Advisor, including having successful assignments in Mobil Exploration and Production, US, as a Human Resources Advisor, in New Orleans, supporting the Gulf of Mexico business. and shortly after the merger, with ExxonMobil Inter-America, Coral Gables, Florida, and the ExxonMobil office in Houston, Texas office where he participated in the Africa Staffing Study Team. Thereafter he was assigned to the Compensation & Benefits Center of Expertise (CoE) in Brussels in 2000, where he held positions of increasing Supervisory responsibility and specialization. He had responsibility for the national salary programs of 10 African and 4 European countries. Upon return to Nigeria in 2001, Udom was appointed Manager, HR Policies & Programs and in 2002, assumed the position of General Manager, External Relations and member of MPN Leadership Council with responsibility for Government, Community, and Media Relations for all ExxonMobil affiliates in Nigeria.

In 2004, he was elected to the Board of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited as an Executive Director and returned to HR in 2006 as the In-Country HR Manager/Executive Director for ExxonMobil subsidiary companies in Nigeria. In this role, he had direct responsibility for over 2,000 employees of the 3 ExxonMobil companies and approximately 3,000 personnel of various third-party contractors. Udom has chaired both the external affairs and human resources committees of Oil Producers Trade Sector (OPTS): a body representing the interests of all Upstream oil and gas producing companies in Nigeria. Udom was appointed the Vice Chairman of ExxonMobil companies in Nigeria in 2018.

Udom served at various times as the Chairman of the Public & Government Affairs and Human Resources Sub-Committees of the Oil Producers Trade Sector (OPTS), and given his experience and understanding of people issues, was in 2016 elected the National President of Nigeria’s HR professional body, The Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (CIPM). During his career, Udom has leveraged his Board responsibilities, and various platforms to significantly promote Oil and Gas Projects Resourcing, Influencing and Public Policy Advocacy, to the overall benefit of the industry and the Country.

During his over 30 years of working life, he has attended several management and leadership programmes in Nigeria, Europe and United States of America.

Udom Inoyo is the brain behind Concerned Akwa Ibom Professionals based in Lagos (CAKPIL), a group which has served as a rallying point for Akwa Ibom professionals in different spheres, providing an atmosphere for bonding, support and celebrating each other’s successes.

Following in his father’s footsteps of honesty and accountability Mr. Inoyo’s guiding principle is “keep it simple, know thyself, be diligent and above all, be honest”. These principles have seen him through the career ladder – including his emergence as the first Akwa Ibomite to be appointed as General Manager of Exxon Mobil.