By Ola Kay
Zenith Bank (Nigeria) has appointed Adaora Umeoji as its new Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, GMD/CEO.
This was made public on Tuesday, in a corporate filing on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX), signed by Michael Osilima, its secretary.
The bank stated that, Umeoji’s appointment takes effect from June 1, 2024.
By this appointment Umeoji is now the first female to take up the position, according to the Zenith Bank’s statement
.The statement also confirmed that she will replace Ebenezer Onyeagwu whose five-year tenure as GMD/CEO comes to an end on May 31, 2024.
According to the bank’s corporate filing ,prior to Umeoji’s appointment as CEO, the new appointee has over 30 years of experience in banking out of which 26 years had been with the Zenith Bank.
“She is an alumnus of the prestigious Harvard Business School where she attended the Advanced Management Program (AMP) and an alumnus of Columbia Business School with a Certificate in the Global Banking Program,” Zenith said.
Continuing on her profile, the statement said that, “She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from the University of Jos, a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting and a First-Class honors 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 program in Strategic Management, and has a Certificate in Leading Global Business all from Harvard Business School, USA.
”Umeoji is also a fellow of notable professional bodies including the Chartered Banker Institute, UK; Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, and the Nigerian Institute of Management, among others.
According to the Zena the Bank statement, in 2022, the federal government of Nigeria honoured Umeoji with the title of Officer of the Order of Niger, OON, in recognition of her contributions to nation-building.
The banker is said to be a peace advocate of the United Nations (UN-POLAC).Zenith Bank also said the new CEO is the founder of the Catholic Bankers Association of Nigeria, CBAN, a platform she uses to promote ethical banking and service to humanity.
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