Puma Energy, a global integrated mid and downstream energy company, has held its 2020 Retail Conference and Awards, as part of efforts to reward and recognise hard work and excellence.

The event which took place at Royal Senchi Hotel in Akosombo in the Eastern Region, marks the fourth edition. Themed: ‘Commitment to Excellence’, was used to recognise hardworking staff of the oil marketing company across Puma’s 84 retail outlets in the country for their remarkable performance during the 2019 year under review.

“The year 2019 was a remarkable year in our operations in Ghana as our company made giant strides albeit despite the difficult market conditions of our business,” said Managing Director of Puma Energy Ghana,” Henry Yaw Osei.

Mr. Henry Osei also commended all dealers for contributing to the growth of the Puma Energy brand in Ghana and added that the event formed part of Puma Energy’s mandate to foster development opportunities and reward the exceptional performance of its employees and partners, who all contribute to its rapidly expanding business, bringing quality service to all Ghanaians.

Through the collective hard work and efforts of the Puma Energy team in the country, he said, the company received a number of awards in 2019 which include 2019 Road Safety Education Award, 2019 HSSE CEO of the Year Award and 2019 CSR Excellence Award all at the 2019 Ghana Oil and Gas Awards.

Apart from the awards, he said, the company reinforced its safety records by recording zero incidence at all of its 84 branded stations, while maintaining its position as the leader in aviation fuel supply in the country.

Awards

The awards were categorised into two, Non-Fuel and Trailblazing awards, with the overall winner being Dealer of the Year, which went to John Yeboah. He received US$5,000 cash prize, a citation and plaque for his remarkable achievements.

In the Non-Fuel category, winners include: Freman Owusu, Non-fuel Retailer of the Year; James Ashinvo, Pump Attendant of the Year, with 1st Runner up going to Ferida Boatemaa and; Abu Zakaria as Supervisor of the Year.

In the Trailblazing category, Emmanuel Kwame Ansah from Sunyani won the Northern Sector, Siiba Yakubu from Atebubu, was adjudged winner of the Middle Belt; Francis Akwetey from Adenta station, for Accra Main; with the Western and Southern winners going to Kenneth Avoka and Hamidu Mohammed respectively.

Other winners include: Lubricant Station of the Year – Godwin Tamakloe; HSSC Site of the Year – Emmanuel Kwame Ansah, Sunyani; Financial Discipline Dealer of the Year, Hamidu Mohammed; Customer Experience Station of the Year, Justice Brobbey, Tema; Promising Station of the Year, Siiba Yakubu, Atebubu and; Social Spirit Award in community service, Godwin Tamakloe.

The GM Special Recognition Award was also won by Godwin Tamakloe. All the winners received cash prizes in addition to plagues and citations.

“I have worked hard but I couldn’t have done it without the people who work with me,” an excited Mr. Yeboah said after been crowned overall winner.

Mr. Osei also congratulated all the awardees for contributing to the growth of Puma Energy in the country, saying: “All the progress made has been largely due to your commitment and dedication to the brand.

“But as we celebrate all the achievements, it is imperative to single out those outstanding individuals whose extra efforts have contributed immensely to the growth of our brand in Ghana and reward them accordingly. This is in order, and I join the management team to congratulate all awardees tonight.”

Marketing and Corporate Affairs Manager for West Africa, Selassie Tettey, said: “At Puma Energy, one of the values is to energise communities through collaborations; we enjoy collaborating with our key stakeholders and business partners to bring value to the customer.”

“The conference and awards ceremony, is an annual gathering where we get to sit and deliberate what better ways, we can actually improve the business and as we journey along, we need to reward hardworking staff for the good job they have been doing,” she added.

Key focus areas for 2020

According to the Managing Director, this year will see more attention paid to growing Puma’s footprint in the retail business, delivering excellent customer service, ensuring Operational Excellence and driving innovation.

“All in all, we want to improve on customer experience at all Puma Energy service stations,” he said, adding that, one of the initiatives rolled out to give meaning to customer-centric focus of the company is the Puma Card, which he said provides seamless and mobile payment by system option for all customers.”