Dr. Deborah David is a multiple award-winning strategic Chief Financial Officer, board-ready executive, mentor, coach, speaker, and author with over 25 years of progressive experience in finance, corporate governance, risk management, treasury, regulatory compliance, and profitability optimization.
Her career spans key sectors including energy (particularly compressed natural gas and clean energy solutions), maritime services, manufacturing, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, and professional services. She is recognized for transforming financial functions, driving operational efficiency, implementing robust systems, and delivering significant cost savings and value creation in complex, high-stakes environments.
She currently serves as Chief Financial Officer at Powergas Ebedei Limited (Powergas), Nigeria’s largest producer and distributor of compressed natural gas (CNG).
Dr. David has played a pivotal role in advancing the company’s mission to provide reliable, cost-effective, and environmentally sustainable energy solutions for commercial enterprises, individual consumers, and especially off-grid and captive power sectors across Nigeria. With a strong emphasis on corporate governance, financial profitability, treasury management, and regulatory compliance, she contributes to scaling operations in the growing clean energy landscape.
In parallel, Dr. David has operated as Chief Mentor (Board-Ready CFO · Freelance), remotely empowering CFOs and senior finance leaders worldwide. She specializes in elevating their communication and influence skills—from shifting vague language to precise, impactful articulation—to enable stronger contributions in board-level strategic discussions, governance, and risk management. Her vision is to mentor and transform the journeys of 1,000 professionals in this space.
Previously, as Chief Financial Officer at African Circle Pollution Management Limited (ACPML) in Ikoyi, Dr. David reengineered a previously weak finance department into a high-performing unit supporting an established enterprise with annual turnover in the tens of millions of USD. She oversaw comprehensive financial operations including analysis, forecasting, internal controls, corporate finance, accounting, and risk management.
Earlier, she founded and led Debby David Consulting as Chief Executive Officer & Principal Consultant in Lagos State, delivering tailored support to SMEs in financial planning, sales analysis, marketing, strategy, and business development.
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As Management Accountant at Centrica (a Fortune 500 multinational), she co-launched and built the finance department for Centrica Energy’s Nigerian operations as part of a three-person pioneer team. The unit was twice nominated for the internal “Team of the Year” award, reflecting strong performance in a startup environment within a global organization.
She served as Accounts Payable Reconciliation Manager (contract) at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in Lagos, where she reviewed and restructured the accounts payable function for improved efficiency and controls.
Her career began in professional services at KPMG Nigeria as an Auditor, delivering audit and advisory services to private and public companies across industries. She was recognized as the best trainee in KPMG’s Basic Accounting course during induction.
Dr. David’s professional journey started at MTN Nigeria as a Friendship Centre Executive among the pioneer staff. In this role, she excelled in resolving complex stock and cash reconciliations, streamlining workflows, and enhancing customer experience during the early days of telecommunications in Nigeria.
TheCFO Magazine’s CFO of the Week recognizes exceptional Chief Financial Officers across the globe, celebrating their outstanding leadership, impactful achievements, innovative solutions, extensive industry expertise, and invaluable contributions to their organizations.
