The management of Zenith Bank Plc has announced the appointment of Ebenezer Onyeagwu as its new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer.
According to a notice sent by the bank to the Nigerian Stock Exchange on Monday, the appointment is subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The tenure of Peter Amangbo, who is currently the bank’s MD/CEO, expires on May 31, so Onyeagwu is expected to take over from June 1, 2019.
Onyeagwu, a vastly experienced banker and financial expert, trained in reputable institutions of learning in Nigeria, the United Kingdom and United States of America.
He is a graduate of Accounting from Auchi Polytechnic, where he obtained the Ordinary National diploma in 1984 and Higher National Diploma in 1987. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1989 while still undergoing the compulsory National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) post-graduation, and was named a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (FCA) in 2003.
He is an alumnus of the prestigious University of Oxford, England, from where he obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Financial Strategy, and certificate in Macroeconomics.
He also undertook extensive executive level business education in Wharton Business School of the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia Business School of Columbia University, the Harvard Business School of Harvard University (all in the United States) and the Lagos Business School of the Pan African University, Nigeria.
He has nearly 30 years experience in the Nigerian banking industry. He joined 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 set objectives of the bank saw him rise swiftly between 2003 and 2005, first, as Assistant General Manager, then Deputy General Manager, and eventually as General Manager of the bank.
In these capacities, he handled strategies for new business and branch development, management of risk assets portfolios, treasury functions, strategic top level corporate, multinationals and public institutional relationships, among others.
As Deputy Managing Director, Onyeagwu has oversight over the bank’s Financial Control and Strategic Planning, Risk Management, Retail Banking, Institutional and Corporate banking business portfolios, IT Group, Credit Administration, Treasury and Foreign Exchange Trading, as well as general administration of the bank, among others.
He was named Executive Director of the bank in 2013, and put in charge of Lagos and south-south zones as well as strategic groups/business units of the bank, including Financial Control and Strategic Planning, Treasury and Correspondent Groups, Human Resources Group, Oil and Gas Group, and Credit Risk Management Group, etc. He was named Deputy Managing Director of the bank in 2016.
Onyeagwu has been on the board of Zenith Bank Ghana, Zenith Pensions Custodian Limited, Zenith Nominees Limited and African Finance Corporation (AFC) within the last six years. In AFC, he serves on the Board Risk & Investment Committee (BRIC) and Board Audit & Compliance Committee (BAAC). At Zenith Bank Ghana, he chairs the Board Credit and Governance Committees.
He brings to his job strategic thinking, inspirational leadership, energetic and entrepreneurial skills. He is married with children. The Board of Directors of Zenith Bank Plc has appointed Mr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu as the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive of the financial institution.
The appointment becomes effective from June 1, 2019.
The letter signed by the Company Secretary/General Counsel, Michael Osilama, added: “The appointment is consistent with the bank’s tradition and succession strategy of grooming leaders from within.”
