Zenith Bank Plc has appointed Dr Adaora Umeoji as its new Group Managing Director, effective June 1, 2024.
In a statement signed by the bank’s Company Secretary, Michael Otu, which was filed with the Nigerian Exchange Limited on Tuesday, it was indicated that the appointment was subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria. This has led to excitement in the minority shareholders community with some of them hailing the move as a forward-looking one.
The President of the Noble Shareholders Association, Matthew Akinlade, said, “The woman is eminently qualified. I have been going through her profile, even her experience with Zenith Bank. I have never met her, but going through her profile, I felt satisfied”. Akinlade, however, called for improved dividend payments when Umeoji gets into office and said minority shareholders would be pitching this agenda when they get a chance to meet us. “Better returns are key to us. She has to be investor-friendly, especially with those of us who are minority shareholders,” he said.
President of the Pragmatic Shareholders Association, Bisi Bakare, in her comments said that the appointment was a welcomed one. As an investor and as a woman, I’m happy about the development in Zenith Bank of promoting her from Deputy Managing Director to Group Managing Director. I’m very happy with it and I wish her the best of luck. I pray that during her tenure, Zenith Bank will go from strength to strength. “Also, I know that shareholders are looking forward to better returns, compared to the outgoing CEO.”
The immediate past National coordinator of the Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Dr Anthony Omojola, said, “Women are taking over the banking space now. The women folk have arrived and Zenith Bank doesn’t seem to want to be left behind, so they appointed a woman. “I know that she was a DMD before this appointment. As long as she knows the job and listens to the advice of her seniors, that is the chairman and such, it is okay and a welcome development.” Umeoji will take over from the current GMD, Dr Ebenezer Onyeagwu, whose time in office expires on May 31.
Dame (Dr) Adaora Umeoji is the first female GMD/CEO since the inception of the bank, and her appointment is consistent with the bank’s executive transition tradition, succession plan, and strategy of grooming leaders from within,” part of the statement read.
Before this appointment, Umeoji had been the Deputy Managing Director of the bank since October 28, 2016, and has close to 30 years of banking experience, of which 26 years have been with Zenith Bank. She has been the Deputy Managing Director of the lender since October 28, 2016, though she resigned in March 2023 after a policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria. She returned in August after the apex bank gave a ‘No-Objection’ to her re-engagement as DMD of the bank.
According to her profile, Umeoji is an alumnus of Harvard Business School, where she attended the Advanced Management Programme and an alumnus of Columbia Business School with a certificate in the Global Banking Programme. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Jos, a bachelor’s degree in accounting, and a first-class honours degree in Law from Baze University, Abuja. She also holds a Masters in Laws from the University of Salford, United Kingdom, a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Calabar, and a doctorate in Business Administration from Apollos University, USA.
Umeoji has a certificate in Economics for Business from the MIT Sloan School of Management, USA, and has attended various management programmes at renowned universities around the world, including the Strategic Thinking and Management Programme at Wharton Business School, USA. With this appointment, Umeoji will swell the ranks of female bank GMDs in Nigeria and make her the first female MD of the bank.