By Eyo Nsima
The Board of Directors, United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA), has appointed Mrs. Abiola Bawuah, a Ghanaian, as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of UBA Africa.
Bawuah, who is the first female CEO of UBA Africa, will join the Group Board as an Executive Director, overseeing the Group’s operations across the African continent, outside Nigeria.
According to UBA, it operates in 19 African countries beyond Nigeria, in addition to global operations in New York, London, Paris and the UAE.
Before her appointment, Bawuah was Regional CEO, West Africa, supervising the Group’s operations in nine subsidiaries, including Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Senegal, and Sierra Leone. She previously held the role of CEO, UBA Ghana.
Commenting on her new appointment, the Group Board Chairman, Mr. Tony Elumelu, said, “Abiola has contributed significantly to the growth of UBA Africa for close to a decade. She brings a wealth of experience in commercial banking and stakeholder engagement. It also gives me great pleasure that with her appointment, the UBA Group Board has now become a majority female board.”
Also, the group announced Chris Ofikulu as the Regional CEO, UBA West Africa. Ofikulu, has over two decades of banking experience spanning corporate, commercial, and retail banking.
Ayokunle Olajubu will be the Managing Director/CEO UBA Liberia, subject to local regulatory approvals. Theresa Henshaw was appointed as CEO of UBA UK, subject to local regulatory approvals.
Usman Isiaka, currently CEO, UBA Sierra Leone, was announced as the Deputy CEO of UBA America, subject to local regulatory approvals.
Adeyemi Adeleke, the former CEO of UBA, UK is now the Group Treasurer.
In addition to the executive appointments, UBA has announced the retirement of High Chief Samuel Oni, an independent non-executive Director, from the Board following the expiration of his tenure.
