Zenith Bank Plc. has announced the appointment of Mr.
Ebenezer Onyeagwu as the Group Managing Director/CEO of the bank effective June
1, 2019, subject to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) approval.
The appointment is consistent with the bank’s tradition and
succession strategy of grooming leaders from within.
Onyeagwu replaces Mr. Peter Amangbo, whose tenure expires on
May 31, 2019. Mr Amangbo leaves the bank at the end of a very successful career
spanning over 27 years, with the last five years as GMD/CEO.
Mr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu is a vastly experienced banker and
financial expert, trained in reputable institutions of learning in Nigeria, the
United Kingdom and United States of America.
Mr. Onyeagwu 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 he was 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 Lagos
Business School of the Pan African University, Nigeria.
He has nearly 30 years’ experience in the banking industry
in Nigeria. 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, Mr. 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 & 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.
Mr. 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.
