Unveiling, The Big Boys Managing Nigeria’s Biggest Banks (1)

Unveiling, The Big Boys Managing Nigeria’s Biggest Banks

It is a moment of unveiling of ten of the big boys calling the shots in ten of the topmost banking outfits in the country.

As you know, behind every successful business enterprise, moreso, a money market institution,  is obviously a thoroughbred professional, what you could call a best among equals.

Though surrounded by no less qualified financial and banking wizards, they buck normally stops on their table, so they take the credits when the transactions return in all green, and also carry the cans, when the figures hit red.

 The sector has become very sophisticated and the environment overtly challenging, and if anyone needs more than mere guts to stay on, it is these CEOs..

Of course, this is not the result of a scientific survey, but you cannot but acknowledge that these ones stand out. Follow us:

Dr. Adesola Kazeem Adeduntan (FCA), MD/CEO, First Bank

Sitting atop a banking brand that is synonymous with the sector itself is not a tea party. From its founding in 1894 as The Bank for British West Africa, FirstBank was the very first banking institution to be established on the African continent.

It boasts of over 124 years of experience, and draws the best of banking experts overtime, such that you must know your onions to lead.ector, CEO

And there is no doubt that Dr. Adesola (“Sola”) Kazeem Adeduntan (FCA) has been equal to the task.

Recall that prior to this appointment, he was an Executive Director and the Bank’s Chief Financial Officer, had been a Director and the pioneer Chief Financial Officer/Business Manager of Africa Finance Corporation, Senior Vice-President & Chief Financial Officer at Citibank Nigeria Limited, a Senior Manager in the Financial Services Group of KPMG Professional Services and a Manager at Arthur Andersen Nigeria amongst many others.

This guru in Corporate Finance, Business Performance Management, Financial Advisory, Investors, Regulators and Rating Agencies Relationship Management etc  attended the University of Ibadan, where he obtained a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree, and equally holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from Cranfield University Business School, United Kingdom. MBA

There is no doubt that he is doing commendably well towards sustaining the leading position that the bank has attained overtime

Check the portfolio – FirstBank is Nigeria’s biggest bank with a total asset of N4.5 trillion, a net income of N13.5 billion and an operating income of over N298 billion.

READ ALSO: Firstbank Takes Another Lead With Agric Expo, August 30

It is Nigeria’s biggest bank by total deposits and gross earnings with 795 branches and 750 business locations across Africa.

It has over 7,000+ employees and has been named “best bank brand in Nigeria” 5 times in a row.  Its subsidiaries includes; FBN China, Guinea, South Africa, Sierra Leone, UAE, Democratic Republic of Congo, Paris and the UK.

It is truly kudos to the man whose task is to ensure that these premium attainments, are maintained, and new bamking frontiers conquered.

Segun Agbaje, Managing Director / CEO, Guaranty Trust Bank

If you talk about reputation in the Nigerian banking sector, Mr Segun Agbaje possesses a tall one. And this he has built over the years, by a combination of sheer grit, cutting edge ideas and one of the best work place values. He therefore deserves this unveiling.

Today, if you talk about customer trust and preference; you would most likely mention Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB). This trust is partly demonstrated by the unrelenting flow of customers to the bank’s outlets, moreso  its ATM outlets, where they are sure of prompt and stress-free transaction.

Besides, the bank unveiled a trading result unveiling N49.303 billion PAT in Q1 2019 compared to N44.670 billion  for the same period of 2018.

Its unaudited Financial Results for the quarter ended March 31, 2019 to the Nigerian and London Stock Exchanges, showed positive performance across all financial metrics.

Gross earnings for the period grew by 1.2per cent to N110.3billion from N109.0billion posted in March 2018.

Profit before Tax improved to N57.0billion from N52.6billion recorded in the corresponding period of March 2018, representing a growth of 8.3 per cent.

Though Mr Agbaje, credits strategy and unwavering focus on delivering value for customers and shareholders for the impressive result, analysts see it as a modest proof of his positive leadership qualities.

Mr. Agbaje was appointed Acting Managing Director of Guaranty Trust Bank plc in April 2011, and as Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer on June 22, 2011.

He is not just the Managing Director of Guaranty Trust Bank, he has had over twenty-five years experience as backing.

Prior to joining Guaranty Trust Bank plc, he worked with Ernst & Young, San Francisco, United States of America (USA). He subsequently joined Guaranty Trust Bank as a pioneer staff in 1991 and rose through the ranks to become an Executive Director and Deputy Managing Director in August 2002.

Mr. Agbaje serves on the boards of several other notable companies including Guaranty Trust Bank (Ghana) Limited, Guaranty Trust Bank (Gambia) Limited, Guaranty Trust Bank (UK) Limited and also a Director on MasterCard Advisory Board Middle East and Africa.He is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School and holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of San Francisco, USA.

Mr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu, GROUP MANAGING DIRECTOR / CEO,  Zenith Bank

When its comes to prestige served with first rate efficiency, you cannot but give it to Zenith Bank. Aside the inviting exteriors wherever the bank has an outlet, to the cozy ambience inside, the value proposition of the Zenith Bank staff is one that you cannot but notice.

No doubt, it is someone that ensures that those valued philosophies as enunciated from the topmost are carried out even at the lowest cadre.

That fellow is none other than Mr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu, with an impressive portfolio of experience to the table, having practiced as a Chartered Accountant and a knowledgeable and astute financial expert, trained in reputable institutions of learning in Nigeria, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

Mr. Onyeagwu is a graduate in accounting from Auchi Polytechnic, qualified as a Chartered Accountant (ACA) of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) in 1989, became a Fellow (FCA) of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), in 2003, before plunging into the realm of real time banking.

This is did not begin with Zenith but at Citizens International Bank Limited in 1991.

He however joined the Zenith Bank Plc in 2002 as a Senior Manager, in the Internal Control and Audit Group of the bank. His professionalism, competence, integrity and commitment to the objectives of the bank saw him rise swiftly between 2003 and 2005, first, as Assistant General Manager, then Deputy General Manager, and eventually, General Manager of the bank.  He was appointed and rose rapidly before being appointed as Executive Director of the bank in 2013.

Mr. Onyeagwu is an alumnus of the prestigious University of Oxford, England, from where he obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Financial Strategy, and a certificate in Macroeconomics. He also undertook extensive executive level education in Wharton Business School of the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia Business School of Columbia University, the Harvard Business School of Harvard University, in the United States.  

Aside the academic accolades, he is a tenacious banking personnel, reputed for a high sense of innovation and creativity and very inspirational leadership skills, same skills that have seen him excelling in the premium banking institution.

In fact, only individuals in his class could step into operational shoes that had been vacated by the banking czar, Jim Ovia.

–Watch out for the Part Two