LAGOS – United Bank for Africa (UBA) has announced five new appointments as Executive Directors, subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
They are Ayo Liadi, Oliver Alawuba, Ibrahim Puri, Uche Ike and Chuks Nweke.
The senior bankers bring considerable experience to the Board and, as a sign of the depth of internal talent and the Group’s commitment to fostering promotion of its own human capital, all have been promoted from within the Bank.
Ayo Liadi has over 20 years’ banking experience, having worked in Tier 1 banks in Nigeria and in West Africa, before joining UBA in January 2014 as the Director for Lagos and West Bank, overseeing over 200 branches of UBA.
A Chartered Accountant and graduate of Business Management from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Ayo received the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Academic Performance.
Oliver Alawuba, currently the CEO Africa, Anglophone, joined the UBA Group in 1997.
A member of the Association of Bank Directors in Nigeria and also a Catholic Knight, Oliver had previously supervised the bank’s Public Sector and Personal Banking businesses. Oliver has over 25 years of banking experience.
Ibrahim Puri, currently Directorate Head of the North Bank, is a graduate of Banking and Finance.
He joined the UBA Group in 2006 and has contributed immensely to the growth of the Bank in both the private and public sectors. Ibrahim has over 25 years of banking experience.
Uche Ike, the Group Chief Risk Officer, is a Chartered Accountant, with an MBA from the University of Benin.
He has been with the Group since 2006 and has served in a number of prominent roles, first as Group Head of Operations in South and South East Banks and then for a period of five years, as General Manager at the Bank’s New York branch. Uche has over 27 years of banking experience.
Chuks Nweke, currently the Head of Operations and Information Technology, is an accounting graduate of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (best graduating student) and holds an MBA from the same university.
Chuks is also a qualified Chartered Accountant.
He has over 25 years of banking experience .
Congratulating the newly appointed Executive Directors, the Group Chairman, Tony Elumelu, said: “These appointments will greatly assist in the plans we have to transform the UBA Group into a truly customer-led bank and the foremost financial institution in Africa”.
“These are exciting times for UBA”, he continued. “And with this leadership, I have no doubt that the bank will continue on its strong growth trajectory”.
The newly appointed Executive Directors join Kennedy Uzoka, who was appointed as the incoming Group CEO in March 2016.
Kennedy will assume on August 1, on the retirement of Phillips Oduoza.
Uzoka said: “I am extremely optimistic about the future of the bank,. These appointments show the strength of the talent available within UBA and demonstrate our commitment to institutionalisation. We could not have put together a better executive leadership team”.
