The Board of Directors of Zenith Bank Plc yesterday announced the appointments of Mrs. Adobi Stella Nwapa and Mr. Anthony Akindele Ogunranti as Executive Directors of the Bank.
Both appointments are consistent with the Bank’s tradition and succession strategy of grooming leaders from within.
Also, the Board approved the appointments of Mr. Peter Olatunde Bamkole as an Independent Non-Executive Director and Mr. Chuks Emma Okoh as a Non-Executive Director respectively of the Bank.
These appointments the bank said have been approved by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) with effect from April 12, 2022.
Mrs. Adobi Stella Nwapa comes to the board of Zenith Bank Plc with over thirty years’ cognate experience in banking, being a pioneer staff of the Bank since 1990. She possesses robust institutional memory and background, honed from the Bank’s foundation as the pioneer customer service officer. She has held several senior management positions in the Bank, including business development and branch and zonal management, and treasury. Until her appointment as Executive Director, she was General Manager and Group Zonal Head of Ikoyi Zone as well as Group Head of Diaspora Banking.
Mrs. Nwapa holds a Bachelor’s Degree (BA) in History from Imo State University, a Master’s in Public Administration (MPA) from Strayer University, Houston-Texas, a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from Jack Welch Management Institute and an honorary doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) from Abia State University.
She has attended several local and international courses and programmes, including Leading Change and Organisational Renewal (Harvard Business School), Key Executive Programme (Harvard Business School), World Finance/Winning Negotiation Strategies (HSM Americas), Developing Strategies for Value Creation (London Business School) and the Senior Management Programme (Lagos Business School).
She is a Fellow of several institutes, including the Institute of Management Consultants (IMC), the Institute of Credit Administration (ICA), the Institute of Chartered Management Accountants (ICMA) and the Institute of Management Specialists (IMS), United Kingdom. She is also a member of the Nigeria Institute of Management (NIM) and an honorary member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers (HCIB).
Mr. Ogunranti Akindele is a consummate professional banker with over 30 years’ experience in the Banking Industry. His expertise cuts across Banking Operations, Corporate, Commercial and Retail Banking, Multilaterals, Public Sector, Structured Trade & Project Finance, as well as General Management.
He holds a B.Sc. (Hons) in International Relations from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-lfe, an MBA in Marketing, and M.Sc. in Banking and Finance, University of Ibadan. He has attended the Moody’s Credit Academy, the Executive Development Program (EDP), Wharton Business School, USA and the Leading Change and Organizational Renewal Program (LCOR) at Harvard Business School, USA.
Mr. Ogunranti joined Zenith Bank Plc in 2004 as a Senior Manager and has held various leadership positions in the bank. Prior to his appointment as Executive Director, he served as the MD/CEO, Zenith Bank Ghana Limited, where he led the Bank to achieve exceptional performance. Under his leadership, the Bank received several laurels and awards, notable among which was the Bank of the Year 2020 and the Best Bank in Ghana 2021. He was also a two-time winner of the CEO of The Year Award in Ghana.
He was until his appointment a Member of the Executive Committee of the Ghana Association of Bankers (GAB) and a Member of the Governing Council, of the National Banking College, Ghana. He was also conferred with the Distinguished Alumnus Award 2021, by the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-lfe.
He is an Honorary Senior Member of Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (HCIB), Honorary Fellow Chartered Institute of Credit Management, Ghana (FCICM) and a Member Nigeria Institute of Management (MNIM).
Mr. Peter Olatunde Bamkole joins the Board of Zenith Bank Plc as an Independent Non-Executive Director with robust experience spanning several sectors including oil and gas, public utilities, and executive education.
Mr. Bamkole graduated with B.Sc (Hons) Mechanical Engineering from the University of Greenwich, London, United Kingdom in 1984 and holds an Executive MBA from IESE Spain/Lagos Business, Lagos (1988 and 1999) respectively.
He worked in African Petroleum Plc between 1985 and 1986 as a Technical Sales and Services Engineer responsible for industrial customers in the entire north and with Elf Oil Nigeria now Total Nigeria Plc as the Technical Sales and Services Engineer between October 1986 and April 1996.
He also served as an Assistant General Manager with Lagos State Water Corporation between 1996 and 2002.
Mr. Bamkole has been with the Pan Atlantic University since January 2003 where he is currently a Director with the Enterprise Development Centre of the University.
He had served at various times in National Council MSME – (2013-2015), Youth Learning Advisory Committee of the Mastercard Foundation, Canada (2013-17), Advisory Board Chair, Supreme Education Foundation (20172019) and Steering Committee Chair, ANDE West Africa (2012-2018) Board Chair STEM Academy (2017-2021).
He is currently serving as Advisory Board Chair of International Breweries, Foundation Board Chair of Nigeria Climate Innovation Center, BOT Chair, Global Entrepreneurship Network, Nigeria, Board member of AIFA Reading Society, Member, Pan-Atlantic University Management Council Member, Lagos State Science, Research and Innovation Council (LASRIC), Board Member, Novare Real Estate Companies in Nigeria as well as Board Member, JNC International Limited.
Mr. Bamkole is a Certified Online Learning Facilitator, Master Trainer, TPMA Certified Assessor, SME Toolkit Trainer as well as Business Edge Trainer and Assessor.
Mr. Chuks Emma Okoh joins the board of Zenith Bank Plc as a Non- Executive Director with over thirty (30) years of cognate experience in the Banking Industry & Telecommunications Sector. He comes with deep insight and varied experience spanning the areas of Finance, Internal Audit, Risk Management, Compliance, Operations & Strategic Management. He has distinguished himself in various leadership roles and is a recipient of several Service Excellence & Exceptional Performance awards from the financial services sector and the telecommunication sector.
Mr. Okoh is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (FCA) with over thirty (30) years cognate experience in the Banking industry & Telecommunications sector.
He graduated from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, (BSc) in 1987 with several academic laurels to his credit including the overall best graduating student in Accounting.
Mr. Okoh has varied experience spanning the areas of Finance, Internal Audit, Risk Management, Compliance, Operations & Strategic Management. He has distinguished himself in various leadership roles, and is a recipient of several “Service Excellence” & “Exceptional Performance” Awards from both the financial services sector and the telecommunication sector.
He has attended various management development programmes at renowned educational Institutions including Cranfield University School of Management, UK and INSEAD, France.
He is an Alumnus of the prestigious Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania, USA and Lagos Business School.
