As Wigwe Resigns, CBN Approves Ogbonna’s Appointment As Access Bank’s MD
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has approved the appointment of Mr Roosevelt Ogbonna as the new Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Access Bank as the current occupier of the position, Mr Herbert Wigwe, plans to leave.
A statement from the lender said Mr Ogbonna, who is presently the Deputy Managing Director of the bank, will assume office on May 2, 2022.
The new MD is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy Business School. He holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from IMD Business School, Switzerland.
He is taking over from Mr Wigwe, who has now been appointed as the Group MD of Access Holdings Plc following the completion of the scheme of arrangement between Access Bank Plc, which is now a banking subsidiary, and holders of its fully-paid ordinary shares of 50 kobo each resulting in the listing of Access Holdings as the parent entity of the lender and related group companies on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
Mr Wigwe, a financial expert with over 30 years of professional experience, has been the MD/CEO of Access Bank since 2014.
He joined the company in 2002. Before then, he worked at GTBank and spent more than 10 years, rising to become the Executive Director in charge of Institutional Banking.
Also, the CBN has approved the appointment of Mr Victor Etuokwu as the Deputy MD of Access Bank in charge of Retail North.
Mr Etuokwu was appointed as an Executive Director of the bank in 2012 and was renewed in 2022 following the expiration of his second tern. He has nearly 30 years of banking experience cutting across Operations, Information Technology, Business Development and Retail Banking.
He started his professional career in Citibank Nigeria where he served in various capacities, including Head of Operations and Records and Reconciliations. He joined Access Bank in 2003 and has led several critical projects including the merger with the defunct Intercontinental Bank and Diamond Bank.
In addition, the appointment of Mrs Chizoma Okoli as the Deputy MD for Retail South has been authorised by the apex. She was an executive trainee in the defunct Diamond Bank and rose to become an Executive Director in 2016.
Mrs Okoli joined the board of Access Bank after Diamond Bank merged with Access Bank in 2019 and was appointed as the Executive Director for Business Banking Division.
Speaking on the appointments, the Chairman of the board, Mr Bababode Osunkoya, said the development reflects the “robustness of our leadership succession plan and our decision to considerably strengthen our retail business while harnessing the potentials of SMEs and financial inclusion towards the attainment of the group’s strategy.”
He further said the “appointees have been selected based on their exceptionally rich, professional, academic and corporate board experiences, which are all relevant to the needs of our board.
“We are deeply convinced that their skills will no doubt continue to add significant value to our bank’s quest to become Africa’s Gateway to the World.”
Meanwhile, Mr Adeolu Bajomo has resigned his position as the Executive Director in charge of Information Technology and Operations of Access Bank with effect from September 30, 2022, to pursue “other personal interests.”
Source: businesspost
