The general director of fuel company Enacol, Luís Soares, held a press conference yesterday to announce his decision to leave the post he has held for the past six years in May. Using figures and images, Soares showed how he managed to turn Enacol’s market position around - according to data from the Economic Regulation Agency (ARE), the company now holds 50.5% of the Cape Verdean market.

Luís Soares said he was leaving Enacol at its best moment because a new cycle of management. “My staff and I did some very good work, work that I obviously could not have done alone. I came to Enacol and found a motivated team with a desire to move forward and with a true passion for business. This, alongside my passion and desire to get things done, helped us turn things around in six years’ time.”

According to Soares, the company underwent renovation in all areas, ranging from its installations to its sales points, and saw the acquisition of a new land and sea fleet more suited to its needs. “We’ve nearly tripled our revenues since 2002. We paid the enormous debts we had to our shareholders of reference. In 2002, we owed our shareholders close to 14 million euros, and today this debt does not even reach 700,000 euros,” said Soares.

But the most important achievement, he guaranteed, was the market share the company managed to gain, and which was one of the main objectives he had outlined at the beginning. “Within out spirit of a Cape Verdean company, we believed that it was imperative for us to be ahead of our competitors, especially because our shareholders of reference, Galp and Sonangol, are market leaders in Portugal and Angola, respectively. And we achieved our objective,” he said.

After six years at the helm of the company, Luís Soares believes that the company now needs people with different ideas able to contribute further to its growth. He also warned that the company cannot afford to be complacent with its 50.5% market share.

“I’m leaving Enacol with a certain degree of sadness, and I miss it already, but I have a feeling of having fulfilled my duty and I’m proud of the work we’ve done.”

Source: A Semana