Fidelity Bank CEO, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo
from Benjamin a ameh, lagos
We are very pleased to have made this choice and have no doubt that he will bring his solid banking experience to bear on the task of moving the bank to a higher level
Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo was last October announced as the CEO-designate of the bank till January 1st, when the out-going CEO of the bank, Mr. Reginald Ihejiahi 10-year maximum term by February 2014.will is leaving office.
Okonkwo has assumed duties as the substantive Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Fidelity Bank Plc as the out-going CEO of the bank, Mr. Reginald Ihejiahi has started the his terminal leave.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has approved his appointment according to the statement from the bank which further explained that with this successful transition, Okonkwo is now the third CEO of Fidelity Bank plc after 25 years of operations, making it one of the banks with the most stable management in the industry. The former managing director is leaving the office as result of the policy of the CBN, which stipulated a maximum term of 10 years for Bank CEOs, Ihejiahi, who assumed duties in early 2004, would have served out his term in February 2014.
Okonkwo comes with over 24 years experience in various aspects of banking covering Domestic Operations, Corporate Finance, Corporate Banking, Retail, and Commercial/Consumer Banking holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Benin and an MBA in Banking & Finance from Enugu State University.
He is also a graduate of the Advanced Management Programme of INSEAD Business School, Fontainebleau, France, as well as an alumnus of Harvard Business School and Wharton School University of Pennsylvania. In addition, he has attended various other business and management training programmes locally and overseas.
Before joining Fidelity, Between 2004 and 2005, Okonkwo was a general manager in Standard Trust Bank Plc (which later became UBA) and later in 2005, was the regional director of UBA in charge of branches in the FCT, Niger and Kogi States, where he rose to the position of Managing Director and CEO, UBA Ghana, and later doubled as the Regional Chief Executive Officer for UBA West African Monetary Zone, with responsibility for Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Until his appointment, he was the bank’s Executive Director in charge of the South Directorate.
He later became Divisional Head for the Corporate Bank Directorate between 2009 and 2012, before coming back to Fidelity Bank as executive director, having earlier worked in Fidelity Bank (old FSB that consolidated to form the enlarged Fidelity) between 1998 and 2000. In that period he had held the post of senior manager in branches both in Lagos and Port Harcourt.
In his maiden address to staff members at the weekend, Okonkwo was said to have paid tributes to Ihejiahi for his achievements in Fidelity Bank over the last 10years.
He pointed out that under the Ihejiahi, Fidelity had grown from being in the top 30 banks in Nigeria; with 17 branches; N20 billion in deposits; N30 billion total assets; less than 150,000 customers to a bank that now ranks among the top 10 in Nigeria with over $1billion in Equity; over N1 trillion total assets; and 2.3 million customers as well as about 220 branches with presence in all the state capitals and major commercial centres in Nigeria.
His disclosed plans at a town hall meeting with some senior of the bank recently, Okonkwo promised to build on the successes of the immediate past CEO as pedestal to take the bank to a higher level.
In a remarks on the new dawn, the Chairman, the Board of Directors of the Bank, Chief Chris Ezeh shared his opinion that we are very pleased to have made this choice and have no doubt that he will bring his solid banking experience to bear on the task of moving the bank to a higher level. We, at the Board, will give him our full support to excel, he affirmed.
