With total assets estimated at N22.64 trillion ($138b) and robust annual profit that pale the figures posted by some multinationals, banks no doubt make some of the most significant contributions to Nigeria’s economic growth. That fact inevitably implies that chief executive officers of banks should rank among the most influential personalities in the country.
But the self-effacing ethos of the banking world has made ample knowledge of these individuals a very remote possibility.
Today, New Telegraph, beams its searchlight on the CEOs of Nigeria’s 24 banks whose strength is evident in the many stress tests they have survived, from the recapitalisation of the Prof. Charles Soludo era as CBN governor. The series is essentially a celebration of success exemplified in the careers of these professionals over the years. It will highlight their work and the philosophy that shape their work ethic, and help put a face to the enduring brands that Nigerian banks have become.
…How they run the economy
Although lenders have been facing a profit squeeze since last year as a result of regulatory measures put in place to get them to lend more to domestic businesses and consumers, chief executive officers of these institutions have no doubt contributed in diverse ways to the growth of the Nigerian economy. New Telegraph profiles these CEOs
Mr. Olusegun Agbaje
MD, Guaranty Trust Bank,
Described as a core professional, Mr. Olusegun Agbaje has been the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc since July 12. He served as Deputy Managing Director of Guaranty Trust Bank from August 2002 to April 20, 2011 and its Divisional Head Institutional Banking Division. Agbaje also served as Acting Managing Director of Guaranty Trust Bank (Ghana) Limited since April 20, 2011.
Prior to joining Guaranty Trust Bank, he worked for Ernst & Young, San Francisco, from 1988 to 1990 as a staff Auditor. He helped to develop the Interbank Derivatives market amongst dealers and introduced the Balance Sheet Management Efficiency System in Nigeria. As Head of the Settlements Group of Guaranty Trust Bank, he supervised the conversion of its operations from a cost centre to a profit centre by the year 2000.
Being a project-oriented person, he was very instrumental in the introduction of Valucard (an electronic payment system) and Western Union Money Transfer. He was also directly responsible for Guaranty Trust Bank’s Initial Public Offer of N2.5 billion in July 2002. Agbaje holds a first degree in Accountancy from the University of San Francisco, California (1986), and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the same university in 1988.
Herbert Wigwe
MD, Access Bank
Labeled a ‘stricter for results,’ Mr. Herbert Wigwe, serves as the Group Deputy Managing Director of Access Bank Plc. He has in his possession an impressive and intimidating CV to earn him the raise to be the post. He started his professional career with Coopers and Lybrand Associates, an international firm of Chartered Accountants.
He spent over 10 years at Guaranty Trust Bank where he managed several portfolios including financial institutions, Corporate and Multinationals. He serves as the Chairman of Intercontinental Homes Savings & Loans Plc. He has been a Director at Associated Discount House Limited since December 1, 2011. Wigwe, who served as an Executive Director of Access Bank, is also a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN).
He is also an Alumnus of Harvard Business School Executive Management Programme and holds a Master’s degree in Banking and International Finance from the University College of North Wales; a Master’s degree in Financial Economics from the University of London and a B.Sc. degree in Accounting from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
Yemi Adeola
MD, Sterling Bank
Known as a ‘silent operator’, who lets his works speak for him,’ Mr. Yemi Adeola is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Bank Plc – a position he has held in a substantive capacity since February 2009.
Under his leadership, the bank has been transformed into a fast-growing, competitive institution with a strong foundation in spite of challenging economic conditions in recent periods. Following the evolution of Sterling Bank in January 2006, he served as Executive Director, Corporate & Commercial Banking.
Prior to this, Adeola was the Deputy Managing Director of Trust Bank of Africa Ltd – a position he held from June 2003 till December 2005. Earlier in his career, he served in various general/executive management roles at Citibank spanning a 16-year period (notably Chief Legal Counsel, Executive Director, Emerging Target Markets (Commercial Banking) and Head, Public Sector & Infrastructure Finance).
He holds a Master of Laws (LL.M) with specialisation in Secured Credit Transactions, Comparative Company Law and International Economics Law, from the University of Lagos, Nigeria.
He is a JFK Scholar.
Sola David-Borha
MD, Stanbic IBTC Holdings
Acknowledged as ‘driver for excellence,’ for Sola David-Borha serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC (a member of Standard Bank Group). Prior to this, she served as the Chief Executive Officer of Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC. She was Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC from March 2008 to April 2011 and also served as Head of Investment Banking Coverage for Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding South Africa).
She currently serves as a Director of Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC & Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers Limited and is Chairman of Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited, Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Limited and Stanbic IBTC Asset Management Limited. She is a director of CR Services (Credit Bureau) PLC.
She holds a B.Sc. Economics degree from the University of Ibadan, and an MBA from Manchester Business School, United Kingdom. Her executive educational experience includes the Advanced Management Programme of the Harvard Business School. She is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers (CIBN) and the Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group.
Faith Tuedor-Matthews
MD, Mainstreet Bank
Branded as a ‘perfectionist,’ Faith Tuedor-Matthews, who is the Managing Director of Mainstreet Bank Limited, is a Harvard Business School alumnus and holds an MBA from the Aston University, Birmingham, UK.
Armed with extensive experience garnered from working with leading lenders in Nigeria, she started her career with the United Bank for Africa in 1985 after her Youth Service. She then joined Ecobank Transnational Inc. in 1992, where she rose to the position of General Manager before taking up an appointment as Executive Director with Standard Trust Bank/United Bank For Africa Plc.
She left UBA as Deputy Managing Director in 2011. Her over 26 years banking experience spans all facets of banking from junior to Executive management levels. A highly accomplished Banking Executive, with a track record in driving complex, high-level business transformation and change, Tuedor-Matthews is able to deliver results for large private and public sector organisations.
Henry James Semenitari
MD, Unity Bank
Semenitari has valued and consistent banking experience in operations, internal control, commercial and retail banking, consumer banking, corporate banking (Energy) among others, acquired from various banks over a 22-year career.
He has worked with First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Zenith Bank, Diamond Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA), ACB International Bank and Continental Trust Bank.
Sementari has held senior management positions in UBA Plc as an assistant general manager, Commercial and Retail Banking Group; general manager (Credit and Marketing) in ACB International Bank Plc; acting managing director/CEO, ACB International Bank Plc; executive director (Business Development) in Continental Trust Bank Limited and general manager, Afribank Nigeria Plc, in charge of Consumer and Retail Banking with the responsibility of supervising and developing business activities across over 150 branch network.
He was also an executive director, Retail and Enterprise Banking at FCMB with responsibility for developing and growing Retail and Enterprise Banking business across the entire branch network.
Semenitari holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Lagos and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from International Graduate School of Management, University of Navara (I.E.S.E) Barcelona, Spain.
Ifie Sekibo
MD, Heritage Bank
Sekibo is the Managing Director Heritage Bank, the lender with unbridled passion to surpass the existing big names in the banking industry. He has a proven track record of giving life to hitherto moribund entities.
Few years back, he successfully steered indigenous oil company, MoniPulo Limited to profitability by paying off all debt and even going as far as buying out its foreign technical partners.
A passionate game changer, he took on Global Assurance and transformed it into International Energy Insurance (IEI). This led to the listing of IEI on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
An Alumnus of Harvard Business School and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Sekibo holds B.Sc, Accountancy from University of Science and Technology Port Harcourt.
Michael Larbie
MD, Rand Merchant Bank
Larbie is the Chief executive Officer of Rand Merchant Bank (RMB), a division of FirstRand Bank Limited, one of the leading African corporate and investment bank and part of one of the largest financial services groups in Africa. He is a strategic advisor to leading corporations and governments across Africa and the USA.
Prior to assuming his current position, Larbie, was a Vice President in Merrill Lynch’s Investment Banking Financial Institutions Group where he focused on Mergers & Acquisitions and Financing transactions.
He has worked as Head of Investment Banking and Coverage for Africa, Financial Controller for Participant Service Group, Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. Under his leadership RMB offers clients advisory, funding, trading, corporate banking and principal investing solutions. RMB has funded several infrastructure and resource finance projects, mergers and acquisitions, and developments across 35 African countries over the past decade. Larbie attended University of Ghana
Ladi Balogun
MD, FCMB
Ladi Balogun, who is the Group Managing Director / Chief Executive Officer of First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Ltd, began his banking career in 1993 at Morgan Grenfell and Co Limited and worked at Citibank in New York.
Subsequently, he worked at Citibank New York before returning to Nigeria as the executive assistant to the chairman and chief executive of FCMB in 1996. With over 20 years experience in commercial and investment banking in Europe, the United States of America and Africa, he was responsible for managing the bank’s trading and investment positions in debt instruments numerous complex debt deals in Latin America, Eastern Europe and the Asian sub-continent. In 1997, he was appointed executive director, and deputy managing director in 2001. He became Managing Director in 2005.
During his tenure as managing director and subsequently group managing director, he has led the organisations transformation from a privately owned merchant bank to one of Nigeria’s top 10 banking groups with over 500,000 shareholders, 270 branches, two million customers, 20 per cent market share in personal loan origination and a presence in two continents.
He has also led the acquisition and integration of four banks with FCMB in the last eight years. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of East Anglia, United Kingdom and an MBA from Harvard Business School, USA.
Omar Hafeez
MD, Citi Bank
Prior to his appointment as managing Director / CEO, Omar Hafeez, came to Nigeria in 2010, as Executive Director responsible for Corporate and Investment Banking at Citi Nigeria.
He started his career at Citi in 1994 in Pakistan, and served as Head of Corporate Banking from 2004 to 2007. Prior to relocating to Nigeria, he was the Managing Director for Citi in Tanzania. Hafeez has 18 years of experience operating in emerging markets, covering a cross-section of industries.
He has extensively advised both private sector clients and governments on financial solutions across a range of products. He has represented Citi at various forums and presented papers both nationally and internationally. Before joining Citi Bank, he spent five years with Kershen Fairfax & Co. Chartered Accountants in the United Kingdom as audit manager between 1989 and 1994.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in law from the University of London. He is also a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP)
Rilwan Belo-Osagie
MD, FSDH Merchant Bank Limited,
Rilwan Belo-Osagie is a pioneer member of staff of FSDH Merchant Bank Limited and was appointed the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer in 1998. Belo-Osagie has worked at First Securities Discount House, Chartered Bank Plc., Lagos, Nigeria. (Now Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc.). He was appointed the Managing Director and CEO in 1998 after serving as the General Manager and Chief Operating Officer for two years.
Belo-Osagie had worked with African International Bank Limited and Chartered Bank Nigeria Limited in managerial positions. Also, he served as the chairman of the Nigeria Discount Market Association from January 1998 to January 1999. His area of specialization include: investment banking, corporate finance, private equity, portfolio management, investments, emerging markets, financial modeling, risk management, business strategy and financial analysis.
He is a graduate of the Imperial College of Science and Technology, London and Strathclyde University, Glasgow. He also holds a Masters in Business Administration degree from the London Business School, B.Sc., Mechanical Engineering (1976 – 1979) and MSc., Production Management & Manufacturing Technology (1980 –1982) Imperial College London.
Peter Amangbo
MD, Zenith Banks Plc
Known as a ‘motivator and mentor,’ Peter Amangbo, holds an MBA from the Warwick Business School and a B.Eng in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the University of Benin. He is also an alumnus of INSEAD and a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria.
Amangbo is the third chief executive officer of the 24-year-old bank. He has over two decades of banking experience with Zenith Bank in corporate finance and investment banking, business development, credit and marketing, treasury, financial control and strategic planning and operations.
He was appointed to the board of the bank and its subsidiary companies in 2005, and was a pioneer Non-Executive Director of Zenith Bank UK. As an Executive Director of Zenith Bank for the last nine nine years, Amangbo was responsible for the supervision of corporate and commercial banking, corporate finance, trade services and all the subsidiaries of the bank.
He was part of the team that drove the strategic planning and successful execution of positioning the bank as one of the best in the country. His leadership skills continue to make significant contributions to the bank’s growth. Before joining the banking industry, he was a senior consultant with PriceWaterhouseCoopers where he covered assignments in financial services, manufacturing and general commerce.
Emeka Emuwa
MD, Union Bank
Emeka Emuwa is the Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. He joined Union Bank Nigeria PLC after 25 years with Citigroup.
He began his banking career in 1986 as a Management Associate with Citibank Nigeria Limited and eventually rose through the ranks to become its first Nigerian Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer.
During his career with Citi, Emuwa held various senior positions within and outside Nigeria including assignments as Country Officer and Country head in Cameroon where he had regional responsibility for the bank’s Central African businesses in Gabon and Congo. He was also Country Officer for Citi in Tanzania, Ghana and Niger. Prior to his external and regional roles, Emuwa held several operational and client facing roles in Nigeria.
He was appointed Country Officer and Managing Director in 2005 and held the position until his departure in 2012. Emuwa is a graduate of Finance from the University of Lagos and holds M.Sc. in Management from Purdue University’s Krannert School of Management.
Bola Adesola
MD, Standard Chartered Bank
A seasoned financial services expert, Adesola is the Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bank Plc. As the CEO of Standard Chartered Bank, her main responsibilities include the provision of leadership for the Group in Nigeria, through the development of overall country strategy/direction; the provision of leadership on corporate governance issues; and the achievement of the overall country’s financial and headcount budgets.
Adesola had worked as the Managing Director/Chief Executive of Kakawa Discount House Limited, a company she successfully repositioned from an essentially mono-product profile into a multi product enterprise. She spent nine years in Citibank Nigeria (Nigeria International Bank, a member of Citigroup). She was also part of the start-up team for Citibank, Tanzania, Dar es Salaam where she served as pioneer Treasurer. Adesola holds a Law degree from the University of Buckingham, United Kingdom, and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1985.
Mr Timothy Oguntayo
MD, Skye Bank
An alumnus of the prestigious INSEAD, Fontainebleau in France and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, Mr Timothy Oguntayo is the Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of Skye Bank Plc.
He is also an Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and has over two decades of banking experience in corporate finance and investment banking, business development, credit and marketing and operations.
Prior to his appointment as the CEO of the bank, Oguntayo was the bank’s executive director responsible for the supervision of corporate and investment banking group, commercial banking in the South-West region and all the international banking subsidiaries of the bank.
His vast knowledge of banking easily advertises him as a cerebral authority within industry circles where he has benevolently enriched the existing literature and knowledge base of professional bankers through his well researched and properly documented views and insights on industry issues.
Oguntayo started his banking career in 1981 with United Bank for Africa Plc. Having acquired extensive experience in Commercial and Retail banking, he joined the then Prudent Merchant Bank, in 1990. Timothy was appointed to the Board of the Bank and its subsidiary companies in 2009.
He was the pioneer MD/CEO of Skye Financial Services Limited (the investment banking arm of Skye Bank) before the Bank’s divestment from it in 2012.
Philip Ikeazor
MD, Keystone Bank
Mr. Philip Ikeazor is the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Keystone Bank, acquired by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) in 2011. A chartered accountant and graduate of Economics, University of Buckingham, England, Ikeazor is a professional banker with over 22 years cognate experience (largely in corporate and investment banking).
He started his banking career in 1990 working for Nigerian American Merchant Bank, then affiliated to Bank of Boston, United States of America where he trained as a loan officer (1990- 1996) and also worked at Merchant Banking Corporation (MBC), then affiliated to Bank Paribas (1996-2003). He was also director, Wholesale Banking with United Bank for Africa (UBA).
Ikeazor had handled commercial and offshore banking assignments in Ecobank Nigeria Limited. He was the pioneer Managing Director/Chief Executive of Ecobank Kenya Limited; a medium- sized commercial bank in Kenya affiliated to the Ecobank Group, between May 2008 and February 2009.
Nurul Islam
MD, Jaiz Bank
Mr Muhammad Nurul Islami from the Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited is the Managing Director/Chief Executive steering the affairs of Jaiz Bank Plc, Nigeria’s prominent Islamic finance institution. Until his appointment, Nurul Islami was a deputy managing director at the Islam Bank Bangladesh. He took over from Hassan Usman, who had been acting managing director of Jaiz Bank since April.
Nurul Islam has vast knowledge of non-interest Islamic banking experience garnered for over three decades. He joined the Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited on the March 30, 1983 as an officer and within a decade he rose to the position of Assistant Vice President (AVP) in 1993, Vice President 1996, Senior Vice President (SVP) in 2000, Executive Vice President (EVP) in 2003, and then Deputy Managing Director (DMD) on February 10, 2010, a position he held until his appointment as MD/CEO by Jaiz Bank PLC.
Prior to joining IBBL, he served at Agrani Bank Ltd from 1976 to 1983 as a Computer Professional recruited through IBM worldwide Corporation, USA. He is a member of many professional associations, including Life Member, Association of the Bankers’ Bangladesh.
He holds Masters in Business Administration from the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), University of Dhaka in 1982, with a major in finance. He obtained a first class honour division in his MBA.
Ahmed Lawan Kuru
MD, Enterprise Bank
Ahmed Lawan Kuru is the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Enter of Enter Prior to his appointment, he was Executive Vice Chairman, Emeritus Capital Limited, a financial services firm, with specialty in international business development focusing in sub-Saharan Africa.
He also played at the top echelon of Bank PHB Plc as an Executive Director, overseeing critical areas like, Risk Management, Compliance, Commercial Banking, Northern Operations, Public Sector, Multilateral Agencies and the West Coast, East and Central Africa expansion programme of the bank.
He held several other top positions, including General Manager/Regional Manager in charge of bank operations at Habib Nigeria Bank. He holds the Bachelor of Science (B.Sc) and Master’s degrees in Business Administration of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria.
He attended many local and international courses including, the Senior Management Development Programme by Philip Consulting in South Africa and Leadership Programmes at the London Business School.
Segun Oloketuyi
MD, WEMA Bank
A consummate banker with several years of banking and managerial experience, until his appointment, The Managing Director of Wema Bank Plc, Mr. Segun Oloketuyi he was an Executive Director, Skye Bank with the responsibility for business development across Lagos and South-West directorates of the bank.
A Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accounts of Nigeria (ICAN), a Second Class Upper Division graduate of Chemistry and MBA Alumnus, University of Lagos and the Advanced Management Programme of INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France, Oloketuyi has also attended various professional and leadership training programmes in the course of his banking career.
He began his career in 1985 as an Auditor with the then Akintola Williams and Co. (Chartered Accountants). Prior to that, he was appointed the acting Managing Director of Bond Bank Plc in October 2005 during which he steered the bank through a successful merger process with Skye Bank Plc. Following the successful and hitch-free merger, he was appointed an Executive Director (Finance & Enterprise risk Management) in January 2006.
He was also the Post-merger Integration Coordinator that worked with different integration teams and external consultants following the merger of the different legacy banks that formed Skye Bank Plc. A 2007 recipient of the distinguished Alumni Merit Award of the University of Lagos, Segun holds the memberships of the Institute of Directors (IOD) and the Ikoyi Club 1938.
Mr. Jibril Aku
MD, Ecobank Nigeria
Mr. Jibril Aku has been The Managing Director and Chief Executive of Ecobank Nigeria Plc since March 2010. Until his appointment, he was also Executive Director of Ecobank Nigeria, since May 2006. Aku also served as Acting Treasurer of Citibank Tanzania and Country Treasurer at Citibank Nigeria. He started his banking career in 1979 with the United Bank for Africa Plc, where he worked for three years.
Between 1986 and December 1987, he served at Continental Merchant Bank Plc, where he worked as a Credit and Investment Analyst. In 1988, he moved to Citibank Nigeria where he served in different capacities; holding many key management positions.
He was Interbank Dealer from 1988 to 1991, Head of Dealing from 1991 to 1993 and Head of Treasury Marketing Unit from 1993 to 1996. He served as Executive Director of Operations & Information Technology of Afribank Nigeria Plc.
Aku, who served as Acting Treasurer of Citibank Tanzania, was also Country Treasurer at Citibank Nigeria. As an experienced banker, Aku served the Money Market Association of Nigeria (MMA) at different levels, first as vice president since 1993 and later President since 1995.
He served as Chairman of Risk Management Committee of First Securities Discount House Limited; Member of The Nigeria Inter-Bank Offered Rate (NIBOR) and a Director of Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) Plc. Mr. Aku studied Business Administration in Banking and Finance at the Ahmadu Bello University where he graduated with Honours in 1986. He also holds a Diploma in Insurance in 1993 at the Institute of Administration, ABU Zaria and Masters of Business Administration, from the University of Benin.
Nnamdi Okonkwo
MD, Fidelity Bank
Okonkwo assumed duties as the substantive Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Fidelity Bank Plc of effective January 1, 2014. Until his appointment, Okonkwo was the Executive Director in charge of the South Directorate of the bank. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Benin and an MBA in Banking & Finance from Enugu State University.
He is also a graduate of the Advanced Management Programme of INSEAD Business School, Fontainebleau, France, as well as an alumnus of Harvard Business School and Wharton School University of Pennsylvania. In addition, he has attended various other business and management training programmes locally and overseas.
Okonkwo comes with over 24 years experience in various aspects of banking covering Domestic Operations, Corporate Finance, Corporate Banking, Retail, and Commercial/Consumer Banking.
Before joining Fidelity, he had a shiny career in United Bank for Africa (UBA) where he rose to the position of Managing Director and CEO, UBA Ghana, and later doubled as the Regional Chief Executive Officer for UBA West African Monetary Zone, with responsibility for Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Between 2004 and 2006, Okonkwo was General Manager in Standard Trust (which later became UBA) and later in 2005 was Regional Director of UBA in charge of branches in the FCT, Niger and Kogi States.
He later became Divisional Head for the Corporate Bank Directorate between 2009 and 2012, before coming back to Fidelity Bank Plc, as Executive Director, having earlier worked in Fidelity Bank (old FSB that consolidated to form the enlarged Fidelity) between 1998 and 2000. In that period he had been Senior Manager in branches both in Lagos and Port Harcourt.
Stephen Olabisi Onasanya
MD, First Bank of Nigeria
Until his appointment as GMD/CEO of First Bank of Nigeria Plc, Stephen Olabisi Onasanya was Executive Director, Banking Operations & Services. Prior to joining the Board of FirstBank he was the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of First Pension Custodian Nigeria Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of First Bank of Nigeria Plc. Onasanya, who has over 23 years post-qualification experience, began his banking career as Senior Accountant with Wema Bank in 1985.
He joined FirstBank in 1994 as a Senior Manager and held several positions. He was Deputy General Manager and Group Head, Finance and Performance Management Department, as well as Coordinator, Century 2 Enterprise Transformation Project, before his appointment as MD/ CEO of First Pension Custodian in 2005.
He holds an HND Upper Credit in Accountancy from Lagos State College of Science & Technology and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and an Associate Member of the Nigeria Institute of Taxation. He is also a Director of FBN Bank (UK) Limited and FBN Insurance Brokers Limited
Uzoma Dozie
MD, Diamond Bank
Mr. Uzoma Dozie, the first son of the founder of Diamond bank Plc, Mr. Pascal Dozie, was last Friday appointed the Group Managing Director/ CEO of the bank. Prior to the appointment, Dozie served as Deputy Managing Director of Retail Banking. He had also served at different times as Executive Director of Retail Banking and Executive Director of Corporate Banking, as well as Executive Director of Regional Business – Lagos and West.
He has over 15 years cognate banking experience in three different financial institutions in Nigeria on the job. Dozie, who joined Diamond Bank in 1998 as an Assistant Manager and Head of Diamond Bank’s Oil and Gas Unit, also served as Financial Controller of Diamond Bank, from June 2001 to April 2004.
He has been a Director of one of the faculties at the Lagos Business School since 2007 and has been an Executive Director of Diamond Bank Plc since 2005. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from the University of Reading, Berkshire, a Master’s of Science degree in Chemical Research from the University College, London and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Imperial College Management School of London 1998.
Phillips Oduoza
MD,UBA
Mr. Phillips Oduoza, the GMD/CEO of UBA Group commenced his banking career in 1987 with International Merchant Bank (IMB) as a Credit Officer, where he trained in credit analysis.
Prior to that, he had a stint between 1988 and 1991 at Citibank, the world’s largest financial services institution, a period during which he was equipped with an indispensable knowledge of banking operations, relationship management, credit/marketing, efficient implementation of technology, risk management and lean banking methods.
Consequently, in 1991, he worked with a small team of young and talented professionals to pioneer Diamond Bank PLC and built it into one of the strongest brands and most successful financial services entity in the country. As Executive Director, Operations & Technology at Diamond Bank in 1999, he transformed IT within the bank to global standards. In 2002, he became the Executive Director, Commercial/Retail Banking at the same bank until 2004.
He joined Reliance Bank Limited in August 2004 as Deputy Managing Director, where he worked briefly before joining the Management and Board of Standard Trust Bank PLC in December 2004.
He holds a 1st Class B.Sc. (Hons.) degree in Civil Engineering and an MBA (Finance), both from the University of Lagos. He has also undertaken the Advanced Management Programme of Harvard Business School and attended numerous banking, management and leadership courses. He has strengths in execution, talent management, technology integration and lean banking.