•Women calling the shots in financial institutions in Nigeria
By Henry Umahi
On Saturday February 17, 2024, Dr Adaora Umeoji was celebrated at the prestigious The Sun Awards at Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos. That day, the glittering Humanitarian Service Icon diadem was placed on her worthy head.
The Sun had recognised her because beyond banking, she has devoted a better part of her life to serving humanity, deploying her resources and time to community service and care for the less privileged.
At the time of the award, she was the Deputy Managing Director of Zenith Bank. But few weeks after the award, she was rewarded again.
Subject to approval by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), she will serve as the new Group Managing Director/CEO of Zenith Bank from June 1, 2024, joining seven other female CEOs of major commercial banks in the country. She takes over from Ebenezer Onyeagwu, the outgoing GMD/CEO whose five-year tenure will elapse on May 31. In the beginning, men were fully in charge of the banking sector. But women are steadily closing the gap. In fact, the number of women leading major banks in Nigeria has increased in recent years.
In January this year, Yetunde Oni was appointed as the Managing Director/CEO of Union Bank of Nigeria. And in February, Bolaji Agbede was appointed as acting group CEO of Access Holdings, following the death of Dr. Herbert Wigwe.
Below are Nigeria’s Amazons of the Banking industry.
Adaora Umeoji, Zenith Bank
With effect from June 1, 2024, subject to approval by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Umeoji, adorably referred to as the “Golden Girl” of Zenith Bank will assume the position of managing director of the institution.
Umeoji is the first female GMD/CEO since the inception of the bank, and her appointment is consistent with the bank’s executive transition tradition, succession plan, and strategy of grooming leaders from within.
Prior to this appointment, Umeoji has been the Deputy Managing Director of the bank since October 28, 2016 and has close to 30 years cognate banking experience of which 26 years has been with Zenith Bank.
She is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School where she attended the Advanced Management Programme, (AMP) and an alumnus of Columbia Business School with a Certificate in the Global Banking Programme. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from the University of Jos, a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting and a First-Class honours in Law from Baze University, Abuja. She holds a Master of Laws from the University of Salford, United Kingdom, a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Calabar, and also has a doctorate in business administration from Apollos University, USA.
She holds a Certificate in Economics for Business from the prestigious MIT Sloan School of Management, USA, and has attended various management programmes in renowned universities around the world including the strategic thinking and management programme at Wharton Business School, USA. She also attended the executive programme in Strategic Management, and has a Certificate in Leading Global Business all from Harvard Business School, USA.
She is a fellow of notable professional bodies including the Chartered Banker Institute, UK, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, Nigerian Institute of Management, Institute of Credit Administration, Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Nigeria, Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators, and the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria among others.
In 2022, the Federal Government of Nigeria honoured Umeoji with the national honour, Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) as a recognition of her contributions to nation building. She is a Peace Advocate of the United Nations (UN-POLAC). She has impacted many lives through her philanthropic and humanitarian activities through her NGOs; Pink Breath Cancer Foundation and the Adorable Foundation that educates, caters for cancer patients and indigent children education especially the Girl-Child.
As a result of her passion for promoting professionalism in the banking industry and improving the well-being of the less privileged, Umeoji founded the Catholic Bankers Association of Nigeria (CBAN), a platform she uses to promote ethical banking and service to humanity.
She is a Lady of the Order of Knights of St. John International (KSJI), and was awarded a Papal Knight of the Order of St. Sylvester by His Holiness Pope Francis.
Bolaji Agbede, Access Bank
Access Holdings, on Monday, February 12, 2024, announced the appointment of Bolaji Agbede as the acting Group Chief Executive Officer, succeeding the late Herbert Wigwe.
Until her recent appointment, Agbede was the company’s most senior founding executive director in charge of business support.
She has nearly three decades of professional experience cutting across banking and business consultancy services. Agbede commenced her professional career in 1992 at Guaranty Trust Bank and served in various capacities within the Commercial Banking and Operations functions rising to the position of Manager in 2001. She subsequently served as the Chief Executive Officer of JKG Limited, a business consulting outfit in 2003.
Agbede joined Access Bank Plc in 2003 as an Assistant General Manager and was responsible for managing the bank’s portfolio of chemical trading companies. She served as the Bank’s Head, Group Human Resources between 2010 and 2022 and was appointed the Company’s founding Executive Director, Business Support in 2022. She has a track record in successful people integration in business combination and culture transformation.
She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics and Statistics from the University of Lagos (1990) and a Masters of Business Administration Degree from Canfield University UK in 2002. She is a member of the Chartered Institute of Management UK and the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria.
Ms. Agbede has attended several renowned leadership and professional development programmes including the High-Performance Leadership Programme organised by the IMD and the Strategic Talent Management Programme organised by the London Business School.
Commenting on this appointment, Mr Abubakar Jimoh, Chairman of the company said: “The appointment of Ms Agbede is in alignment with our robust succession planning practices. We are strongly convinced that Ms Agbede, being the company’s most Senior Executive with exceptionally rich, professional and leadership experience and understanding of the Access culture, would provide the much-needed leadership to steer the company towards the attainment of its strategic vision of building a globally connected community and ecosystem, inspired by Africa for the world.”
Yetunde Oni, Union Bank
Yetunde Oni is a highly accomplished financial services leader with a successful career spanning over 30 years. She has held senior positions in international and local banks, focusing on emerging markets. In January 2024, Yetunde was appointed by CBN as the Managing Director/CEO of Union Bank of Nigeria. Before this, Yetunde worked at Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Limited as the pioneer head of commercial clients in September 2014. She became the Managing Director & Country Head of Commercial Banking in West Africa in 2017. During her tenure, she developed and executed comprehensive business growth strategies, managed key relationships, and ensured compliance with group credit policy and local underwriting standards.
Before Joining Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Ltd, Yetunde started her career at Prime Merchant Bank in the Treasury & Money Markets Group. This was followed by an 11-year stint at Ecobank Transnational Incorporated as a Relationship Manager, where she demonstrated exceptional proficiency in client solutions. Relationship management, team leadership, and talent development.
Yetunde made history in January 2021 as the first female Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bank in Sierra Leone. During her tenure. she provided excellent leadership, strategic direction, and performance management, resulting in a remarkable 50 per cent year-on-year growth in income and a substantial 116 per cent year-on-year growth in profit before tax in 2022.
Yetunde is a University of Ibadan graduate with a Bachelor’s degree (Honours) in Economics. She has attained several international and local professional and leadership certifications, including an MBA from Bangor University. Yetunde is an alumnus of Oxford University, INSEAD Business School, Singapore, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Loans & Risk Management, an Honorary senior Member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers or Nigeria (HCIB), a member of Women in Management and Business (WIMBIZ) and an invested member of esteemed industry affiliations within and outside the bank.
Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, Fidelity Bank
Mrs. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe assumed office as Managing Director/CEO, Fidelity Bank on January 1, 2021.
She has been an integral part of the transformation team at Fidelity Bank in the last six years. She was formerly Executive Director, Lagos and South West, overseeing the bank’s business in the six states that make up the South West region of the bank. She led the transformation of the Directorate to profitability and sustained its impressive year-on-year growth, across key performance metrics, including contributing over 28 per cent of the Bank’s PBT, Deposits and Loans. She is a consummate professional of over 30 years’ experience across various banks including Standard Chartered Bank Plc, Zenith Bank Plc and Citizens International Bank Limited, where she held several management positions in Legal, Treasury, Investment Banking, Retail/Commercial Banking, Corporate Banking. She has been involved in the structuring of transactions in various sectors including oil & gas, manufacturing, aviation, real estate and exports. As an Executive Director at Enterprise Bank Plc, she received formal commendation from the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) as a member of the management team that successfully turned around Enterprise Bank Plc.
Onyeali-Ikpe holds Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and Master of Laws (LLM) degrees from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and Kings College, London, respectively. She has attended executive training programmes at Harvard Business School, The Wharton School University of Pennsylvania, INSEAD School of Business, Chicago Booth School of Business, London Business School and IMD amongst others. She is also a honorary senior member (HCIB) of The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN).
Tomi Somefun, Unity Bank
In August 2015, Tomi Somefun was appointed Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Unity Bank Plc. As one of the female Chief Executives heading banks in Nigeria, Somefun has in her years of leading Unity Bank Plc, proven her mettle, making it possible for other women to find a smoother path into top executive positions.
Somefun studied English language at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife and graduated with her first degree in 1981. She would later take important professional courses and certifications, became a chartered accountant in 1982 and is currently a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN).
She also did some graduate studies at the Harvard Business School and the University of Columbia, and attended an international training programme with INSEAD Fontainebleau, in France. First degree or not, Somefun has acquired sufficient training over the years. She is also a member to professional bodies like the Bank Directors Association of Nigeria (BDAN), the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), the Institute of Directors (IOD), and others.
The almost four decades’ journey to becoming the formidable banker she is today started with a role as Senior Audit Assistant with KPMG from 1982 to 1986. She moved on to Arthur Andersen, still in the capacity of Senior Auditor and spent another couple of years there before leaving in 1989 to join Ventures & Trusts Limited as an Associate. This would be the last step before Somefun started her three decades of banking career which would cut across core sectors like Treasury & Investment Banking, Corporate Banking, Retail and Commercial Banking Operations.
With Unity Bank Nigeria Plc, Somefun served as the Executive Director overseeing the Lagos and South-West Business Directorates, the Financial Institution Division and the Treasury Department of the Bank. This was before August 2015 when she succeeded Mr Henry James Semenitari as Unity Bank’s CEO. As CEO, she has reordered Unity Bank to the path of growth and profitability; de-risking the balance sheet, introducing products like UniFi (a mobile banking product with robust digital offerings which now stands as a flagship youth banking product); Corpreneurship (a youth banking initiative that targets entrepreneurship-minded fresh graduates completing the compulsory one-year national youth service). Under her tenure, Unity Bank also became the first Nigerian Bank to offer Multi-lingual USSD Banking in the three major Nigerian languages. She piloted the bank through the troubled waters in 2016 and 2017 when its financials were being bugged with a high volume of non-performing loans borrowed mostly by some former board members, which affected the bank’s capitalisation.
Mariam Olusanya, Guarantee Trust Bank
Mrs Miriam Olusanya is the Managing Director of Guaranty Trust Bank (Nigeria) Limited, a subsidiary of Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO).
Miriam joined the bank as an Executive Trainee in 1998, rose through the ranks and has garnered over 25 years’ banking experience that cuts across Asset and Liability Management, Financial Markets, Corporate Finance, Investment Banking, Investor Relations and Transaction Services.
She holds a Bachelor of Pharmacy (B. Pharm) degree from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria and a Master of Business Administration (Finance and Accounting) from the University of Liverpool, United Kingdom. She has also attended several executive management and banking specific developmental programmess in leading educational institutions around the world.
Prior to her appointment as the bank’s MD, she was appointed Executive Director in 2018 and served as the Group Treasurer and Head, Wholesale Banking Division, responsible for the bank’s Asset & Liability Management as well as Financial Markets dealings across all African subsidiaries.
Ireti Samuel-Ogbulie, Citibank
Ireti Samuel-Ogbu, CEO and country officer for Nigeria and Ghana for Citi Bank, obtained a BA Hons Accounting and Finance from Middlesex University, UK and has an MBA from the University of Bradford, UK.
Before she was appointed CEO, she was the Managing Director of Europe, Middle East and Africa payments and receivables head, treasury and trade solutions under Citi’s Institutional Clients Group based in London, UK. Samuel-Ogbu co-founded two impactful mentorship initiatives within Citi – the Sapphire Leadership Program for Middle East and Africa, and the Momentum Programme in the UK.
Yemisi Edun, FCMB
Yemisi Edun holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Ife, Ile-Ife and a Master’s degree in International Accounting and Finance from the University of Liverpool, United Kingdom.
She is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and a CFA® Charter holder. She is also an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers; an Associate Member of the Institute of Taxation of Nigeria; a Member of Information Systems Audit and Control, U.S.A; and a Certified Information Systems Auditor.
She began her career with Akintola Williams Deloitte (member firm of Deloitte Touché Tohmatsu) in 1987, with main focus in Corporate Finance activities.
She was also involved in audit of Banks and Other Financial Institutions. She joined FCMB in year 2000 as Divisional Head of Internal Audit and Control before assuming the role of Chief Financial Officer of the Bank.
She was appointed Managing Director of the bank following CBN approval effective May 1, 2021.