American Heritage University of Southern California, USA has conferred an honorary doctorate degree in Business Administration, DBA, on Eric Opah in recognition of his commitment to industry and intellectual excellence. Opah is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Fortune Global Shipping & Logistics Limited, a major player in the sector. Known for its excellent services and distinctions in its relations with clients, Opah invested resources in preparing himself for the big stage. He said of the award, “The areas that the award emphasised are areas of interest to me. Education changes society quickly, and commitment to best practices in business has been a core value of Fortune Global’s services”. The award, he said, was a call to do the things he has been doing better.
American Heritage University of Southern California is renowned for its unique attention to “revolutionary education” which concentrates on business and accessibility of education to people in different circumstances. It found Opah’s long provision of valuable, reliable services, and his development of people and communities worthy of its doctorate. Holder of a B.Sc.degree in Business Administration, Opah started his career in the logistics industry with Panalpina World Transport Group. With his passion for excellence, he quickly gained considerable industry experience in the company, to set up Fortune Global. He is a board member of the Nigeria-America Chamber of Commerce; an Associate Member of the Institute of Directors of Nigeria, the President of Eric Opah Foundation; the of President of Umunna Nsulu Progressive Forum as well as President of Mbubo Transformation Group.
Over the years, Dr. Eric Opah has gained significant wealth of experience in the global forwarding, shipping and logistics industry. He has also demonstrated a sublime level of entrepreneurial ingenuity uncommon among his peers. Dr. Opah’s additional expertise in Air cargo handling operations contributed to the establishment of China Southern Airlines in Nigeria where he became the Director of Cargo Operations. His intense advocacy for transparency, trustworthiness, and compliance – his core business values – has helped to redefine freight forwarding business in Nigeria. In 2006, his unwavering passion for excellence in shipping and logistics business in Nigeria berthed Fortune Global Shipping & Logistics Limited, a foremost indigenous logistics company in Nigeria with the vision to become a first-choice African shipping and logistics company globally.
This vision has grown steadily, earning Fortune Global a prestigious award as the 10th fastest growing company in Nigeria in 2013, (Nigeria50 award) by the Tony Elumelu Foundation in conjunction with Professor Michael Porter’s All World Network, USA. For his excellence, Dr. Opah was nominated to participate in the All-WorldNetwork Executive Programme in Harvard University, USA. Dr. Opah is an outstanding Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Logistics, and a Fellow, Ports and Terminal Management Academy of Nigeria. His records of excellence extend to philanthropy. He is a grassroots community developer as well as a strong advocate of youth development and empowerment. He founded the Eric Opah Foundation which focuses on empowering the younger generation through educational grants and diverse support and the Mbubo Transformation Group through which community development projects are championed. In recognition of his devotion to humanitarianism and community development in Abia State, the Abia State Government honoured him with the title “Oke Ọji” Abia, meaning the “Great One” of Abia
