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The Vallis team, operating in the UK, across Africa and in the Middle East
Ahmad joined Vallis in August 2015 as an assistant warehouse supervisor. He was later promoted to a shift supervisor in 2017 and again to a country supervisor in April 2018.
He graduated from Petra University of Jordan in 2014 with a Bachelors degree in Graphic design. Ahmad worked as a shop assistant manager in a retail group for 3 years until 2015 and as a freelancer graphic designer in the same period.
He is married and loves watching football, cooking and reading.
Alexandra is Wiltshire based and earned her BA degree in History at the University of Reading, a subject which still remains a great passion of hers. After graduating, Alexandra yielded to her thirst for travel and further adventure with a move to Melbourne, Australia to complete a Masters degree at the University of Melbourne in International Relations. Melbourne remained her home throughout her university and professional life for four years before returning to the UK in search of challenging and exciting new opportunities in her career, which she has readily found at Vallis.
Alexandra enjoys travelling, discovering different cultures and reading widely. She has a keen appreciation for the outdoors and particularly enjoys walking to experience a new country. Alexandra likes to stay fit by running and playing sports such as netball, tennis and lacrosse.
Alice was born in New Zealand, but grew up and attended school in the UK in Wiltshire. She took a year out before university to travel New Zealand and to work as a counsellor at Camp Half Moon in America. Alice attended the University of Greenwich where she achieved a 1st class degree in Philosophy and Sociology. Alice joined Vallis Group in August 2014 as part of the Internal Audit team. When she has a free moment, she enjoys crochet.
I was born and raised in Dakar. I studied at the Sacré Coeur College and then at the Maurice Delafosse High School where I obtained my baccalaureate in Business Management. I completed my further studies at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Economics and Management. I joined Vallis in February 2014 as a tally for a few months and then joined the Fuel team where I became an assistant supervisor, working on both warehouses and oil facilities. I became Fuel Senior Supervisor in November 2018 on the oil facilities. I have worked on behalf of Vallis on operations in Mali, the Republic of Guinea and Guinea Bissau. I am a sports lover, especially football and basketball. I spend my free time watching movies, reading and playing sports. I am married and have one child.
After 7 years in the British Army, Andrew embarked on a career in commodities in 1987 starting with 5 years as a sugar broker in London, England. In 1992 he moved with his family to Durban, South Africa for 6 years as Export Manager for the South African Sugar Association managing the export programme of $400 million, before returning to the UK as a Commercial Director in Tate & Lyle Sugar’s trading division. After two years, Andrew then became a founding member of the website and information portal www.sugaronline.com. He set up and spent 5 years running his own private business supplying packaging to the international fruit industry, mainly for the transportation of citrus from Central/South America and Africa to Europe. In 2005, Andrew started the drive of the Vallis Group into Africa with its first CMA in Ghana and Mali. Since then, the company has grown to over 325 monthly operations managed through its 30 subsidiaries with operational units in a further 12 countries. Vallis Group has a geographical footprint in Africa and the Middle East of 51 countries through 35 subsidiaries, 5 sub-contract partners and operations in a further 11 run from neighbouring countries. Andrew was appointed in 2021 as a global board member of the TIC Council www.tic-council.org. Andrew is the Managing Director and a minority shareholder. He is married with two children and lives in England. His main interests are Tottenham Hotspur football club, international politics, and endurance sporting events.
Andy re-joined Vallis Group Limited in April 2021 as a Relief Country Manager, having previously held the position of Country Manager for Ivory Coast
A progressive and successful 24 year career in the British Army also saw Andy being awarded an MBE 2006 and the MSM in 2010.
Since retiring from the military Andy has worked in Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Dubai, and extensively in Afghanistan – as well as providing Workforce Planning consultancy for the NATO Communications and Information Agency out of Mons, Belgium.
Atif was born at Murree (Northeast of Islamabad Pakistan) and grew up at Islamabad.
After completing his secondary education. He pursued mechanical engineering.
In 2011, he visited Dubai to look for a job where he worked with one of the telecommunication firms in the Emirate of Dubai as an acting procurement officer, before joining Vallis in May 2016 as shipping & Cargo Controller.
Atif was recently promoted to Country Manager from Country Supervisor in the United Arab Emirates.
Atif is married and has a passion for sports, especially cricket and MMA. In his free time, he loves watching Tv Series on Netflix.
After completing a course in Business Administration and Management, Olabode Folorunsho joined Drum Commodities Nigeria (now Vallis Commodities Nigeria Limited) as a warehouse supervisor in October 2010. 3 month later, Bode was promoted to a senior supervisor and transferred to Immoiyame rubber factory (Delta state) in February 2011 where he worked as the site supervisor and thereafter worked all around Vallis operations in the North, South and South-Western Nigeria. Bode was made Country Manager for Vallis Commodities Nigeria Limited in 2019 and continues to work hard in this position. He enjoys married life with his kids and loves to read, learn new things, listen to music, and meet new people.
Currently living in Wiltshire, Brogan was born and raised in Dundee, Scotland. After completing college in 2014 and leaving with a in higher Social Science, Brogan then travelled for 2 years where she lived and worked in many countries before returning back to Dundee in late 2016.
On her return, Brogan secured a job working with a global petroleum company where she managed engineers installing and maintaining petroleum pumps throughout the UK. In early 2018, Brogan made the move down to the South West and joined Vallis as an Operations and Reporting Assistant for the Anglo-West Africa team where she managed Liberia and Sierra Leone.
In July 2019, Brogan was promoted to Operations Reporting Manager for the Anglo-West team where she now oversees all Anglo countries including Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ghana and Nigeria.
Caledonia graduated during the start of the pandemic with a BSc degree in Psychology. Before university, she spent 3 months travelling to Australia and Southeast Asia. She is currently living in Bath where she was born and raised. She joined Vallis in June 2021 as an Operations and Reporting Assistant in the Marine and Cargo Team. In her spare time, Caledonia enjoys keeping active with HIIT workouts and yoga. She likes reading, baking, and is looking forward to the opportunity to travel for work.
Cathy Gilmore started with Vallis Group in July 2019. Moving from a small payroll company in Frome, Cathy enjoys the friendly, bustling UK office.
As a grade 6 pianist, Cathy listens to all kinds of music, and has yet to find a genre she doesn't like. In her free time Cathy is learning Korean, crochets and plays video games. Her favourite food is Japanese style sweets.
Cathy is currently studying for a degree in Business Management with the Open University as a part-time student online. Coming from a technical and computer savvy family, she is contemplating turning this into a joint honours with computer as a side subject.
After his tertiary education in business studies, Charles worked with Uganda Electricity Distribution Company (Umeme Ltd) from 2006 to 2010. Charles joined Vallis in December 2010 as a Stock Control Monitor at Ugacof which is the leading coffee exporter in Uganda. Due to his hard work, he was promoted to Warehouse Supervisor in November 2013. Charles was transferred to Tanzania where he worked as a Stock Control Consultant in Morogoro and Dodoma from November 2013 and October 2014, where he watched over the operations of Export Trading Group (ETG). He went back to Uganda from October 2014 to April 2015 to work as a Site Operations Supervisor at ETG and Joseph Initiative Site. In June 2017, Charles was transferred to Rwanda, and has been working since then as a Country Supervisor. Charles has a passion for sports, especially football both locally and internationally, and he is a fan of SC Villa (Uganda) and Chelsea FC (UK). He is a family man with a lovely 8-year-old daughter.
Charlie is the Researcher and New Business Developer at Vallis. Her role involves researching and evaluating new markets for Supply Chains Assurance Services to implement and launch products and services throughout the supply chain, producing regular high-quality reports summarising findings and next steps for business development in addition to managing and producing content for all media, marketing and communications at Vallis.
Born to French-British parents and having studied Spanish at university she is fluent in all three languages. Charlie has a BA in Spanish and Russian from the University of Bristol during which she spent a year living in Seville and St Petersburg. She later studied a MA in Education, Gender and International Development at the Institute of Education in London. After qualifying as a teacher of English as a foreign language and teaching full time for three years in international schools and universities, Charlie worked as an institutional fundraiser for several international development NGOs, including Wateraid and Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor. During this time, she travelled to Mali and Zambia to deliver fundraising workshops. In 2014, Charlie moved to Colombia for three years working as an education specialist for an English language learning programme set up by the Ministry of Education in Colombia, training teachers of English and improving the English language curriculum in public schools.
She returned to the UK two years ago to work as a Tour Director for Education First Tours before joining Vallis in July 2019. Charlie’s passions include women’s rights, education and all things relating to performance and visual arts (dance, theatre, photography and film). As well as travelling to several countries in Africa and Asia, Charlie’s main travel experience has been in Central and South America.
Chris-Johan was born at Parakou (North of Benin) and grew up at Cotonou. After his secondary school in Mechanical system design drawing, he obtained the baccalaureate followed by one year of language study holidays in English at Accra ( Ghana) in 2004.
In 2005 he moved to Dakar (Senegal) where he continued his university studies with a High National Diploma in Administrative Data Processing, a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Information Technology followed by a master’s degree in Data Transmission and Information Security at University Cheikh Anta Diop of Dakar.
In 2012, after working as a freelancer during two years, Chris-Johan was training on flight dispatcher program following by a professional internship as Flight Coordinator at Dakar International Airport Leopold Sédar Senghor.
Chris-Johan joined Vallis in November 2013 for Morocco’s Operations but finally stayed in Senegal as Operations Supervisor.
Chris-Johan is married and loves watching movies, walking and sings in a choir. He is also currently studying a part-time Master’s degree in Business Intelligence.
Commencing his professional life enlisting into the British Army in 1988, Darren went on to enjoy a full and successful career spanning 22 years. During his varied military service, he undertook multiple world-wide deployments, including Afghanistan, Kosovo, Northern Ireland and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Particular highlights included being selected for Military Diplomatic Service within the British Embassy to the Republic of Albania and the design and delivery of training to the Armed Forces of Sierra Leone. Darren concluded his military career at NATO’s highest operational command, the Supreme Headquarters in Mons, Belgium. During the latter years of service, he participated in and led several audit requirements within both the operational and financial spheres and later qualified as a BSi Internal Auditor for ISO 9001:2008. Returning to Sierra Leone, Darren joined an international mining operation, initially employed as the Project Administration Manager. Responsible for all administrative and human resource matters for construction personnel across the multi-site location, he developed a tailored administrative and HR function incorporating internal audit requirements, both ahead of schedule and within budget. Darren joined Vallis Group Limited in August 2013 and leads the team of regional internal auditors, whilst retaining pan-African responsibility.
Dave spent 24 years in the British army completing his service as a stores and logistics manager. Moving into the oil and gas industry, Dave spent several years working in offshore subsea construction, again in a stores and logistics capacity.
A move into the petrochemical industry saw Dave employed as the production manager for an engineering company manufacturing pipe fitting and flanges.
Joining Vallis in January 2011, Dave was employed as the Country Manager for Nigeria to oversee the considerable growth of the company throughout West Africa. Appointed to the board of directors as Managing Director of Vallis Nigeria in March of 2011. Dave assisted in establishing operations in both Benin and Togo as well as supporting operations in Liberia, Senegal, Cameroon and Ghana.
In November 2014, Dave moved to Bahrain to establish company operations there before moving on to Egypt as the director of operation in February 2015.
November 15 saw Dave move back to West Africa to take over as Country Manager in Ghana.
In January 2019 Dave assumed his current position as Country Manager of Liberia.
Derek Fanning joined Vallis Group Limited in October 2015 as the Country Manager for Cameroon, since then he has been the Country Manager for Liberia, Egypt and Sierra Leone. Derek started his professional career in the British Military and served 24 years completing his service as the Assistant Defence Attaché for the British Embassy in Yemen. On completion of his military service, Derek has been employed in various international companies such as BMY Mellon, Hart International, AMBREY Risk and ROC Technologies.
Dudley Smith joined Vallis Group Limited in March 2013 as the Operational Risk Manager. In April 2016 he was appointed to the Vallis Board as a Director. The first 4 years of Dudley’s working life were as a fish farmer in Scotland and subsequently Ireland where he managed one of the largest trout hatcheries in the UK at the time. A career change to the printing industry was to be interspersed by a short period in the British Army, but this ended up as 32 years, which he completed in early 2013. Dudley specialized in information and communications management after completing a Masters’ course in Advanced Information Systems in 2005. He managed several major Defence projects and advised on a host of others. Latterly, Dudley was a programme manager for a wide range of office and frontline projects in his portfolio. Dudley is married to Oksana and they live in Dorset with their ferrets, Frazer and Walker.
Hi, I’m Emma. I live in Frome with my husband and two children. I have lived in and around Frome for over 20 years, having moved here from Kent. As a family, we are keen campers and enjoy spending weekends away in our camper van. I joined Vallis in January 2019 and am excited to learn new things and travel.
Born in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, Eslam studied Hotels, taking a diploma from the institute of the American Hotel and Motel Association. He worked in many hotel chains during his years in the Hotel industry such as the HYATT Regency and the Ritz Carlton.
He later worked at an outsourced company which provided customer service for companies like of AT&T and Yahoo. In 2004 Eslam started his own Agriculture project growing fruits and vegetables. Prior to joining Vallis he was working in an EU funded program managing their office in 2 subsequent Egyptian cities.
Eslam joined Vallis in November 2016, he started as a port manager then Operations manager, later Country supervisor and recently became Country manager for Egypt, where he is responsible for all management aspects of operational activities, reporting, administrative functions and personnel.
In his free time, he likes playing tennis and watching tennis tournaments, he enjoys reading and has an interest in international politics.
After completing a course in purchasing and supply, Geoffrey joined Unilever South East Africa then Lever Brothers as warehouse supervisor. Geoffrey joined National Food Reserve Agency 2004 where he worked as Depot supervisor and quality assurance officer. Before he joined Vallis Group Limited in 2013, Geoffrey was assistant regional manager for NFRA. He is currently the Country Manager for Vallis Malawi operations.
Godfrey was born in Gweru, Zimbabwe. He studied at Fort Victoria High School in Masvingo, Zimbabwe where he completed his O’levels. Following this Godfrey started working at Shabani Mine and qualified as an Overseer Miner and progressed through the ranks to Foreman in Mining and Shaft Inspection Foreman. In 2005 Godfrey joined Sasfuel as the Depot Manager in Victoria Falls and when the company liquidated he moved onto Exploration Drilling in Zambia and Zimbabwe. Godfrey joined Vallis in November 2015 as a fuel manager, and he is currently based in Liberia. In his free time Godfrey enjoys fishing, motor sports, snooker, rugby, and cricket.
Grant grew up and studied in Monmouth, South Wales, achieving A levels in English Literature, History and Psychology. After leaving school, he attended the University of Bath and graduated in 2016 with a 2.1 in Politics with International Relations. Immediately after finishing finals, he undertook an internship in the operations department at Etherlive, helping to build communication networks for some of the most prestigious events in the UK and France. In May 2017, Grant joined the Anglo West Africa team reporting on Liberia. Grant spends his free time Djing, producing music and supporting Swansea City FC.
Hamid served as Team Leader under the United Nations at Umm Qasr, a vital and strategic port in Iraq to ensure compliance after the Gulf war. He went on to begin inspection operations to Dubai. Here he and his team inspected cargo from various international suppliers and also conducted “on –sea” inspections. For the last 9 years, Hamid has been living in South Africa conducting pre-shipment inspections. Hamid has worked in over 45 countries and brings a wealth of inspection expertise to Vallis. His spare time is spent enjoying football and following Formula 1.
Hannah moved to Frome, Somerset from the New Forest in 2020 and joined Vallis Group in February 2021. She joined the Anglo-West team managing Sierra Leone and Liberia. Hannah graduated from Durham University in 2018 with a BSc in Geology. Between university and joining Vallis, she lived on the West coast of Scotland helping with a self-build house project, before moving to Edinburgh for a year. After enjoying a Scottish summer she moved back to her family in the New Forest, spending her time helping renovate two houses. Hannah enjoys walking and cycling throughout Somerset, and being surrounded by her family's dogs. As a keen cook and baker, she spends most of her weekends eating baked goods on walks.
Hayden was born and brought up in Durban, South Africa. Soon after graduating from Durban High School in 2012, he went on to pursue a degree in Finance and Economics. After graduating, he started working in Quality Control at a company in the Automotive industry. Keen to find something more fast-paced and interesting, he discovered Vallis Group. Shortly after, he joined the Vallis team in Durban, as a VTAS Operations and Reporting Assistant. Hayden is an avid sports fan, his hobbies including Rugby, Fishing, Soccer, and Cricket.
Jack was born and grew up in the east of England before moving to Burgundy with his family until 18 where he learnt French. He later settled on Bath University in the UK where he completed a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry. Jack joined Vallis in August 2018 as he was looking to make use of both his French language and analytical skills acquired at university to find a job that would be stimulating and fresh. In his spare time, Jack can be found wargaming, playing Handball and cross-country running.
Jack attended Welbeck Army 6th College where he gained both military training and academic qualifications. Upon completion, he changed course and after a brief spell as a chef, moved into the publishing industry, working for Parragon Publishing based in Bath. Starting as a Junior Production Coordinator he worked his way up to Senior Project Controller, coordinating the publication of over 1,000 titles including the prestigious Beano Annual along the way. Working with major licensees such as Disney and Nickelodeon, and with people from all over the globe, Jack developed a thirst for international business. Jack joined Vallis Group in November 2013 and enjoys focusing on the African market, having dealt primarily with the Asian market in print. Originally working as Commercial Manager for West Africa, he then spent 2 years as the Country Manager of Egypt before returning to the UK to take up the position of Commercial Manager for Vallis Commodities overseeing the CMA and SMA business across Africa and the Middle East. In his spare time, Jack enjoys watching motorsports such as F1 and BTCC.
Jean-Baptiste was born on the 12th of December 1983 in Tivigne Diassa, Western Senegal. At 13 years old, Jean-Baptiste left his home village to follow his dreams of being a part of the congregation of the Brothers of Saint Gabriel. He studied science at the Saint Gabriel college in Thiés and received a scientific baccalaureate (A level). Jean-Baptiste continued his studies in Science focussing on physical Chemistry at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar. He then went into training in Logistics transport and started work for Vallis as a tally in 2009. He was promoted to Assistant Supervisor in 2013 and then again to Warehouse Supervisor in 2016. Since his time with Vallis Jean-Baptiste has overseen operations in Mali, Mauritania, Guinea-Bissau, Morocco and Guinea, where he now holds the title of Country Supervisor as of March 2020. In his spare time, Jean-Baptiste enjoys playing football and working outdoors.
Joe grew up in Totnes, Devon and subsequently studied English Literature, Geography and World Development in the city of Exeter. He joined the Vallis Group as Compliance and Finance Assistant midway through 2018, having graduated in the same year with a 2.1 Bachelor of Science from Brunel University London after reading International Politics, subsequently receiving full Honours. Outside of work, he writes for his own political commentary website focussed on reflecting on historical political theory and its relevance in modern day political climate. Joe is also an avid outdoorsman, having overcome challenges such as Dartmoor’s Ten Tors.
JJ grew up in Cape Town, South Africa and attended the University of Cape Town, where he completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Accounting. Having completed his degree, JJ played professional rugby in South Africa and Italy. JJ represented the USA in Rugby Union from 2008 to 2011 and in 2011 participated in the 2011 Rugby World Cup. JJ represented the Golden Lions and Western Province in the Vodacom and Currie Cups. In 2013 after completing his Private Pilots Licence, JJ moved to the UK with his wife, Lisa. He joined Vallis in their Head Office in December 2013. He managed the East Africa desk for 4.5 years and in July 2018 moved across to lead Vallis Supply Chain Assurance Services. JJ and his wife have 2 daughters.
Justus was born and raised in Makueni County, Kenya. After his primary and secondary education, Justus went on to pursue his college education in Mombasa, where he graduated with a Certificate in Business Management. Justus worked with various companies in Mombasa as a Marine and Cargo Surveyor before joining Vallis in 2009 as a Warehouse Assistant where he has risen through the ranks to become the Country Manager in Kenya. He has served Vallis in different capacities including warehouse inspections, audits, warehousing and Marine and Cargo Services across Mombasa, Nairobi, and Kigali. Justus is happily married and blessed with one child.
Prior to joining Vallis Group in August 2016, Kenny enjoyed a full career in the British Army. In addition to serving on operational deployments around the world, he also spent two and a half years in America as the Training Officer teaching tactics to American officers and soldiers. Since leaving the army in 2012, he has found new adventures running a marine conservation centre in Montserrat for a year, supervising and assessing Duke of Edinburgh training, as well as leading numerous expeditions to South East Asia, North and East Africa. Kenny is relishing his role as an Internal Auditor and is looking forward to doing even more work in Africa. In addition to being a CIPD qualified Training Needs Analysis (TNA) practitioner, he is also a Skiing and Diving Instructor and qualified Mountain Leader. In his spare time Kenny enjoys trekking in the mountains, kayaking and Canadian open boat canoeing; he is also learning French (very slowly)!
Kevin was born in Kasama, Zambia (Northern Rhodesia at the time). He went to school in Kasama and then Broken Hill (Kabwe). Having also served his apprenticeship as a Motor Vehicle Technician in Zambia, Kevin considers himself a wholly Zambian product. In July 1977 Kevin started up a trucking company with his brothers. From the humble beginnings of 3 units, it grew to a fleet of 150 trucks, all running international routes from South Africa to as far north as Uganda. He retired in 2012 and led a busy life cooking and shopping while his wife Glenys ran her own accounting. They enjoy birdwatching and take every opportunity to disappear into the African bush when they get the chance. Kevin and Glenys have 11 children between them, some adopted, and a further 11 grandchildren with the 12th due to arrive in December. Their children live in Ireland, England, South Africa, Australia and Zambia - so holidays have now become visiting family members. With Vallis expanding in Zambia, Glenys was approached by Don Oliphant to handle the Payroll and Administration of the Zambian office. This led to the discovery that Kevin too was available for work and a phone call soon followed, offering the chance for Kevin to look after the Ndola operation in Zambia.
Kiara grew up in Kenya and went on to attend sixth form and university in the UK, whilst travelling back and forth to see her family in the holidays. Having graduated in July 2020 with a BSc Geography degree, she has permanently moved to the UK in search of new opportunities and adventures in her career. She has recently started at Vallis in October 2020 as an Operations and Reporting Assistant in the Supply Chain Assurance Services department.
Kiara has great appreciation of the outdoors and loves playing tennis and hockey. She enjoys travelling and exploring different cultures and landscapes, with a specific interest in wildlife and conservation.
Kieran was born in Durban, South Africa, where she attended school and University. Her love for sporting activities, especially on the hockey field, gained her a place in the Junior South African team as well as many other Provincial sports' teams. Kieran worked in the steel industry for 8 years, 3.5 of which were spent in Johannesburg. In December 2017, Kieran, her husband, and their 3-year-old little boy moved to the UK. She joined the Vallis head office in February 2018 as the Compliance Manager.
Kilian is from the North West region of Cameroon, born in 1981 into the family of Mr Ngwainmbi Joseph. He is now married with two children. After obtaining his advanced Technician Diploma in tendering estimating, quantity surveying and construction management in 2003, Kilian gained employment as a Senior Technician/Quantity Estimator at the Cameroon Baptist Convention. In 2010, Kilian obtained an industrial safety Diploma from Natalien Cameroon and continued his services with the Cameroon Baptist Convention health services as a Senior Technician and Procurement Officer. In 2012, Kilian was promoted as the Principal of a National apprenticeship and vocational training Centre in Cameroon (under the Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Services) where he worked for one year and later decided to go for a more challenging job before joining Vallis Group Ivory Coast Limited as a reporter and administrative assistant in November 2013. Kilian was later appointed as Operations Supervisor in January 2015,
Lucas spent his childhood in Brazil before moving to the United States. After putting his tennis career aside, Lucas attended Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia and received a Cum Laude degree in Business Administration and Management. After college, he moved to the United Kingdom and is currently undertaking his post-graduate course in Political Marketing. In his spare time, he enjoys playing tennis, catching up with politics, and a good movie.
Mahmoud Saeed, a Sudanese national, joined Vallis in July 2020 as Country Supervisor Sudan. After graduating from 'OAU' Omdurman Ahlia University with Bachelor’s Degree in Faculty of Arts, English Language in 2009, he began studying NGOs Management at 'UMST' University of Medical Science and Technology. Mahmoud has a wealth of experience and knowledge in supply chain management, which he eager to utilise in stock management and marine and cargo operations within Vallis. Mahmoud is married, loves travel and adventure, watching TV and playing basketball outside of work
Mame Thierno Birahim Pouye was born on 9th June 1986 in Pikine Guinaw rails. At the age of 9, he left the suburbs of Dakar to pursue his primary education in Kaolack alongside his father. Ten years later, he returned to Dakar to Seydina Limamou Laye technical high school before working in the retail industry for almost 4 years. In September 2009, he joined the port of Dakar with CECOMI, whilst also working as a tally for other companies. Mame Thierno joined Vallis in March 2013 and was promoted to Assistant Supervisor 5 months later. In 2017 he was promoted to warehouse manager before leaving for Mauritania, Morocco and then Guinea Bissau where he is now the Country Supervisor. Mame Thierno is married and a father to two children. In his spare time, he likes to read the books of Serigne Touba, play with his children and watch football.
Mario lives in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe where he attended Petra College, attaining City & Guilds diplomas in Business Studies, Business English, Accounts, International travel & tourism, he also holds qualifications in High pressure steam Boiler operation, Project Management from International Business Management Institute, Risk Management and a Certificate in off shore oil & gas. He is fluent in Afrikaans & currently studying to improve his French He started his career in Petroleum management in Beit Bridge, Zimbabwe where he managed petroleum Products for Sasfuel & Chem, He then moved onto transport & logistics managing 200 cross border haulage trucks at CARS transport, controlling their fuel imports and storage tanks, he also has experience in product manufacturing & development in Military ballistics & Demining PPE. Mario joined Drum Commodities / Vallis Group in 2012 as Country manager, running Petroleum & Agri operations in Tanzania, Liberia, Sierra Leone & Mozambique. Currently he is managing Vallis operations in Benin. Mario has a passion for free to air satellite hunting and in his free time he scans the skies for interesting free tv channels from around the world, he loves to travel and see new places, try new foods & coffee.
Matt has lived in Dorset his entire life and recently graduated from the University of the West of England with a First in Human Geography. He was attracted to Vallis because of the prospect of working in international finance and dealing with physical commodities. Capital markets are his passion and he thoroughly enjoys trying to understand the global macroeconomic environment as well as micro economic equity analysis. He also enjoys travelling and experiencing alternative cultures and climates whether that be an expedition across China, an adrenaline fuelled ski trip or business travel in Africa. In his free time, Matt enjoys reading and going to be the gym, being a firm believer in the healthy body, healthy mind philosophy.
Mike is a 4th generation Zimbabwean who has worked and consulted widely in Southern Africa. Ranging from hospitality to game capture Mike has assisted various companies to streamline and survive in difficult environments. He runs a successful apiculture business providing beekeeper training and does 500 hives for honey and crop pollination. He handled the initial Vallis work in Zimbabwe and in 2008 headed off to Ghana for a year to oversee operations there. Following that he went to Senegal in 2009 to handle the operations there. After these postings, Mike returned to Zimbabwe to restart and head operations which were restarted following a liberalising of the economy. Vallis Zimbabwe was established in 2019. Mike is an avid fisherman and herpetologist and spends many hours on the mighty Zambezi river catching the awesome Tigerfish.
Born and raised in Wiltshire, Miles attended Cardiff University and in June 2021 graduated from here with a BA History and French degree. As part of this degree, Miles spent 12 months living in Paris, France, where he worked as part of the HR and Communications team in a global pharmaceutical company. This was a far cry from life in the Southwest countryside and provided many lifelong memories and friends. Outside of work, Miles is a keen Bath Rugby fan, attending their home games throughout the season. He also spends his weekends on the golf course, playing hockey for his local team and clay pigeon shooting. Over the past year, Miles has discovered a passion for marathon running and can be found on many evenings plodding his way around the local trails. Miles has recently moved to Peasedown St John alongside starting at Vallis and is particularly looking forward to having the chance to travel to new and interesting countries across Africa, through his work.
Natasha grew up in Wiltshire and graduated from The University of Exeter with a BSc Anthropology and Psychology and Politics in 2017, where she spent her third year abroad at the University of Ottawa, Canada. Having also volunteered in Tanzania for 2 months, the majority of Natasha’s free time is spent planning her next trip. Natasha’s interest in commodities, emerging markets and the potential to travel drew her to Vallis Group Limited in January 2019, after returning from 12 months travelling, Australia, Asia and New Zealand. Originally a member of the West Africa team, as an Operating and Reporting Assistant, managing Togo, Ghana and Nigeria, Natasha then transferred to the Marine and Cargo Surveying team in April 2019. This new opportunity allowed her to contribute to the supervision of over 10 million tonnes in 19 operating ports, as well as managing the operations directly. Natasha has also had a significant role in the development of our bespoke in house Live Reporting application, Vallis Live and its successful launch in Africa and the Middle East. Since March 2020, Natasha now divides her time between her Marine and Cargo responsibilities and the MENA (Middle East, North Africa) team, where she has taken on the role of managing and overseeing Egypt and Jordan.
Nick grew up on a farm in East Sussex and went on to study a BA in Modern Languages and Cultures at Durham University, during which he also spent time living in Galicia and Paris, graduating in 2018. Nick spent three years interpreting for FIFA, teaching, and completing an MA in Translation and Interpreting from the University of Bath before joining Vallis in 2021. In his free time, Nick enjoys rock climbing, football and learning languages. He also likes to travel, with a growing bucket list of places to visit.
After full time education Nicola pursued furthering her career gaining qualifications in business administration which plunged her straight into an editorial role within the newspaper industry. Nicola spent several years within administration, which also included time spent as assistant to the CEO at The Patent Office. Eventually, deciding on a career within finance, Nicola has worked in various accounting roles at Barclays Bank and in the manufacturing industry leading on to her present role in the Finance team at Vallis Group Limited.
Born in Bradford in Yorkshire, Ollie moved down to Somerset when he was very young and has lived here ever since. He attended Plymouth University, graduating with a 2:1 in International Relations with Politics in 2019. In his spare time, Ollie enjoys cooking and watching rugby, supporting Bath and England. He is also an avid walker, completing a charity walk of the Offa’s Dyke path in Wales in 2016 to raise money for Raleigh International, a charity he volunteered with in Malaysian Borneo for 10 weeks. He also enjoys traveling and would like to explore Africa and South America next.
Olivia grew up in and around Frome, and now lives in Trowbridge with her partner and daughter. She has vast office administration experience, and joined Vallis Group in early 2021 looking for a change from the hospitality industry she previously worked in. In her spare time, she enjoys watching horror movies, healthy eating and cooking, and going for nature walks with her daughter when the weather is nice. She also spends time renovating and developing properties with her partner as a business venture.
Pythagore graduated from the University of Abomey Calavi in 2012 with a degree in Economics.
After graduating, he worked at the Ministry of Development in Economic Analysis and Foresight, in Benin. Here, Pythagore received training in strategic planning and macroeconomic management, which led to him receiving a diploma from the National School of Economics.
In January 2014, he was assigned to the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Benin as a Macro-economist. Pythagore’s main role was to provide analysis and forecasting for the economic situation in the Directorate General of Economic Affairs (GAAR).
With an interest in Supply Chain Management, Pythagore joined Vallis Benin in July 2014 as Assistant Supervisor, before becoming Senior Supervisor in April 2017. He moved over to Vallis Togo in May 2018 where he took on the role of Country Supervisor. Since then he has been managing all the Vallis operations in Togo and is now the Country Manager.
In his spare time, Pythagore enjoys spending time with his friends at the gym and has a keen interest in reading and travelling.
Rachel will graduate from the University of Bath in 2021 with a BSc in International Management and French. She has also spent a year working in Brussels for CEN-CENELEC, two European Standardisation Organisations. Rachel joined Vallis in June 2021 as a French-speaking Operations and Reporting Assistant and is responsible for Guinea, Senegal and Togo. She was drawn to Vallis because of her interest in international trade. Rachel grew up in North Dorset and currently lives in Somerset with her fiancé. As an animal lover, she has several rescue guinea pigs and a hamster. In her free time, Rachel likes going to the gym, cooking delicious vegetarian meals and looking after her animals.
Robert O. Ijewere is an entrepreneur with over ten years of professional experience primarily in private equity and investment management in Nigeria. He has served on the boards of many companies in a variety of sectors from IT, Trade, Agriculture, Food Servicing and Real Estate. Robert is the Managing director of Emson (Group) Nigeria, a private equity company that currently holds controlling interests in 9 distinct Nigerian companies as well as minority shareholdings across several varying industries. Robert has worked and travelled extensively across Africa, the Americas and Europe. After graduating from the University of Richmond in Virginia, he joined The Cochran Firm, one of the premiere law firms in Washington D.C. as legal counsel in their contracts division. He then went into Real Estate, working with Foxtons of London. Following this, he joined JD Capital, a Private Equity/Venture Capitalist firm in Nigeria where as the VP of business development, he focused on investment opportunities in the marine, oil and gas as well as real estate sectors in West Africa before finally joining Emson in 2008.
For her A-Levels, Sophie studied Mathematics, Business Studies, IT and Psychology at Writhlington school. She then went on to complete the AAT Accountancy Qualification and worked in a local accountancy practice as a Junior Accountant. Sophie joined Vallis Group in March 2018 as Budget Coordinator. In her free time Sophie enjoys going to the gym and socialising with her friends.
Steve studied a degree in Engineering at the University of Liverpool. He went on to pursue a career in accountancy and qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Kidsons Impey in Birmingham in 1993. He left practice in 1994 and furthered his accountancy career as Financial Controller and Finance Director in a variety of businesses in sectors including plastics, food, further education and textiles. In 1996 Steve moved to Somerset following a Management Buy In of a manufacturing business in Frome. He left accountancy in 2011 and qualified as a teacher of mathematics. After a brief spell teaching the AAT accountancy qualification Steve joined Vallis Group in March 2015 as Finance Manager. He has a German Shepherd called Lily and is a keen supporter of Aston Villa FC.
Tabuh Cyprain was born in Douala, Cameroon. After obtaining his A-Levels, he went to study Economics Sciences at the University of Yaoundé II - SOA, he later on specialised in Banking and Finance and obtained the Higher National Diploma (HND) at Ecole Superieur de Gestion (ESG) in 2010.
Since completing his education, he has gained experience in banking, marketing, accounting and administration. He worked as an intern at First Trust Savings and loans S.A. as a Marketer at EYES Sarl, then as Assistant Accountant at SCESCO Sarl and in 2013 as Assistant Office Administrator at AC Nielsen Cameroon.
He joined Vallis in 2015 as Operations and Reporting Administrator, and is now the Business Administrator for Cameroon, while still being responsible for reporting.
He loves playing football, watching movies, listening to music and spending time with his children on weekends.
Yves Norman Thomas Eduard was born on 13th September 1990 and now lives at Coastal Road Pointe aux Cannonier, Mauritius with his extended family. Thomas’ first job was as a DJ in a nightclub to pay for a school certificate examination which he successfully completed after three years. He has now been with Vallis for just over two years. During his free time, he loves football, swimming, mountain biking, snorkelling and spending time with his family. Thomas is now the very proud father of a little girl named Amy Morgane Edouard, born 31st July 2020 and is looking forward to finishing the construction of his to be family home with his future wife, Lyana, their stepson, Liam and little Morgane.
Raised in Frome, Tim graduated from Cardiff University in June 2021 with a BSc Business Economics degree during which he completed a 12-month placement at an Insolvency firm in Cardiff. Tim took a keen interest in development and international trade economics during his studies. Therefore, combining this with his enthusiasm to travel, Tim was looking forward to the opportunity of business travel upon starting with Vallis in August 2021. Tim follows football and formula 1, while also attending a handful of Bath Rugby games throughout the season and playing locally for Frome RFC.
Tony was born in Kwekwe, and grew up in Zimbabwe. When finishing school he worked as a tractor mechanic before moving to work in the pumps and irrigation industry. In 2006, Tony started his career in petroleum products operations and management with Sasfuel & Chem in Beit Bridge, Zimbabwe. The following year he relocated to the DRC with Sasfuel, where he managed a terminal supplying petroleum products to a large copper mine. Tony joined Vallis in 2012 as one of the fuel operations managers. He has since managed Vallis fuel operations in Kenya, Tanzania and Liberia.
Victoria joined Vallis in March 2019, moving away from sales and looking for a new challenge. Originally from the Midlands, Victoria moved south to attend university in Bristol and decided to stay. Victoria’s degree was in Forensic Science with an emphasis on Organic Chemistry and Environmental Forensics. Whilst at university Victoria was a keen Trampolinist and competed at a National level. In her spare time, Victoria likes to spend time at the gym, spending time with her dogs and watching rugby. She is also unable to function without caffeine.
Webster was born in Trans-Nzoia County in Western Kenya and was raised in Nairobi where I did both my primary and secondary education. He graduated from University in 2011 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Actuarial Science from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology.
Webster joined Vallis Kenya in October 2012 where over the years he took up the roles of warehouse assistant, Fuel assistant/ Supervisor for oil and LPG sites, Country administrator and finally as Operations manager overseeing the CMA and Marine & Cargo operations in Kenya. He performed inspections and Sampling and Analysis operations in countries such as Rwanda and Ethiopia.
Webster took up the role of Country Supervisor for Madagascar from October 2019 to present.
Webster is happily married and enjoys watching football in his spare time.
Born in London, Zeb finished an MA in Classics, with some English and Comparative Literature sprinkled in, at the University of St Andrews in 2019. Moving to the West Country as a teenager, Zeb takes his newfound identity very seriously. He enjoys driving and walking through the Mendips, in search of the best views, food and drink that Somerset has to offer. Ever fond of a working holiday, Zeb has lived abroad and taught for a year in both Melbourne and Japan on the slopes of Mt Fuji. He joined Vallis in June 2021 and is keen to immerse himself in all things Africa. Outside of work, Zeb takes great pleasure in walking the dog, slowly plodding on with his Japanese, playing the organ, and making up the numbers in village cricket.
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