Africa Energy Corp. announced the appointment of Robert Nicolella as Chief Executive Officer to replace Garrett Soden effective June 22, 2023, following the Company's annual shareholder meeting. As previously announced, Mr. Soden is expected to be appointed Chairman of the Board on June 22, 2023, following the departure of William Lundin.

Robert Nicolella is the financial director of Hosken Consolidated Investments Limited (HCI), a black empowerment investment holding company listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). He serves on the boards of several JSE-listed subsidiaries of HCI, including Southern Sun and Frontier Transport Holdings. Robert is also on the board of Impact Oil and Gas Limited, a private oil and gas exploration company that is partners with TotalEnergies in the recent Venus discovery offshore Namibia.

Prior to joining HCI in 2011, Robert was employed by Investec Bank Limited for seventeen years, including as Head of Corporate Banking and subsequently Head of Private Banking for the Western Cape. Mr. Nicolella holds a Bachelor of Accounting Science and Honours in Accounting Science. He has been registered as a Chartered Accountant CA (SA) with the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants since 1994.