About Me
A life-long learner, an educator, and a lead engineer par excellence who firmly believes that one’s consequences of actions are eternal; hence, this globally competent professional has been accustomed to practicing ways and cultivating habits that would lead to a desirable future. Reading the personal, educational, and professional background of this man is worth noting for, as he developed and nurtured valuable relationships with all the people he met along the way—toward Dr. James Arukhe’s own roadmap to success. Who would think that Dr. James Arukhe was destined to be born for a greater purpose? At eight years old, he had saved his family from a potentially fatal car accident when he was able to stop a fast-moving car where he and his family rode as it raced down a slope, before it went into a deep ravine. By the time he reached 12, James has seen himself, and desired, to manage a global organization in the future. But that did not remain as a childhood
dream because he has and have been putting forth much effort to ensure that hejames-dp-02 is on the right track toward the realization of his dream.
Starting off with a strong educational foundation, James was a recipient of Chevron/NNPC Scholarship throughout his Bachelor’s degree in Petroleum Engineering. Prior to this time, he initially had undergone extensive training with top, multinational companies as Drilling Engineer trainee at Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) and as Petroleum Engineer trainee at Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC). Shortly after he finished his undergraduate studies, he was employed as Junior Field Engineer/FMT Specialist at Atlas Wireline Services where he honed his skills in tool maintenance and diagnosis of faulty equipment.
After which, he had assumed various roles with bigger responsibilities as he worked from one company to another in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria; and as he pursued higher education at University of Lagos, taking up Advanced Diploma in Management and Executive MBA, and was honored the Best Graduating Student in Marketing.
The biggest leap in his career was in November 2004 when James had the opportunity to work at Shell Canada Limited in Calgary, Alberta, Canada as Senior Production Engineer. Faced with more challenging roles, he embraced the adversities and responsibilities that went with the job as he efficiently oversaw the full life cycle field development from conceptual design through to the production phase, and eventually abandonment; including inflow into the well, production facilities, and to the point of sale. His being a recipient of Shell
ja-02Canada Top Performance Award in 2004 could vouch of his exemplary work performance and dedication toward work. In March 2006, he accepted yet another challenging position as Production Engineer Specialist at Petro-Canada Oil and Gas Unlimited where he was regarded for designing deep horizontal sour gas well completions that led to him receiving the Petro-Canada Exceptional Contributor Award in the same year.
While efficiently functioning as Team leader, responsible for the timely delivery of production engineering activities to the Southern Asset Team, he simultaneously worked on completing his Master of Science in Petroleum Engineering (with Distinction) as ConocoPhillips/NSERC/AERI Scholar at the University of Calgary, finishing the course with flying colors as summa cum laude with a 3.88/4.00 GPA. Still hungry for knowledge, he pursued his Doctorate degree of Management in Organizational Leadership at the University of Phoenix with a perfect 4.0/4.0 GPA. Though it took him almost four years to finish the course, it was well worth it because he continuously put forth all his efforts to excel both in his professional and personal life as a tenacious leader and as a responsible family man. Now as a Lead Petroleum Engineer at the world’s largest oil exporter, Saudi Aramco, he plays a vital role in ensuring that all change initiatives are implemented in such a way that they meet both budget and time constraints. His futuristic and all-inclusive leadership approach has been found effective not only in overseeing projects, but also in establishing and maintaining robust relationships with colleagues, business partners, clients, and project stakeholders. His dedication and unparalleled work ethic has made him contribute significantly to good governance and critical organization change efforts.
Likewise, Dr. Arukhe’s passion for education, desire to impart knowledge, and gift to motivate others has been fulfilled through working as an Adjunct Faculty at Baker College since 2013. But what really distinguishes Dr. James Arukhe from others are not only his professional and academic achievements, but his work-life balance concept—properly managing career and his personal life, from which he gets much inspiration. Not only is he a supportive husband of Inese and a doting father to his three sons, he also finds fulfillment in serving the needy and providing shelter for them. As a volunteer of United Way and Rotary International, James selflessly provides support to help families and individuals reach their full potential and improve their quality of lives. Indeed, Dr. James Arukhe is an epitome of a successful professional who knows the ways toward the realization of his dreams and aspirations, as he fulfills his passion to end world poverty by creating equal opportunity for the less-privileged people in the society.