Fabian Michael Lai is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL). He brings more than fifteen years of progressive experience in upstream oil and gas operations, audit, accounting, and financial management across public- and private-sector environments. A Certified Internal Auditor, he specializes in petroleum fiscal modeling for competitive regimes in frontier markets, as well as negotiating production sharing contracts (PSCs), oil and gas accounting, valuation, and risk and uncertainty assessment, all underpinned by rigorous financial modeling.

Fabian holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Economics (Summa Cum Laude) from the African Methodist Episcopal University, an MBA from Cottington University, and a Master of Science in Petroleum Accounting with Distinction from Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, United Kingdom.

His public-sector career began in 2007 as a Government Auditor with the General Auditing Commission, where he progressed to Engagement Manager. In 2010, he joined NOCAL as Internal Audit Manager. His private-sector experience includes roles with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and as Audit Manager at International Bank Liberia Limited. He also served as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Authority (LPRA), contributing to upstream regulatory oversight, and most recently held the position of CFO at TipMe, Liberia’s leading fintech company.

As Acting President/CEO of NOCAL, he directs the organization's strategic and operational agenda, leveraging his regulatory, commercial, and financial expertise to reposition NOCAL as a value-driven national oil company.