Zenith Bank Plc has announced the appointment of Dr Adaora Umeoji as Group Managing Director/Chief Executive with effect from June 1, 2024, subject to approval by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Umeoji will take over from Dr Ebenezer Onyeagwu, whose five-year term expires on May 31, 2024, after a very successful tenure, the bank said.
Umeoji is the first female GMD/CEO since the inception of the bank, and her appointment is said to be consistent with the bank’s executive transition tradition, succession plan and strategy of grooming leaders from within.
Umeoji has been the Deputy Managing Director of the bank since October 28, 2016 and has close to 30 years of cognate banking experience of which 26 years have been with Zenith Bank.
She is an alumnus of the prestigious Harvard Business School where she attended the Advanced Management Program (AMP) and an alumnus of Columbia Business School with a Certificate in the Global Banking Programme.
The appointee holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Jos, a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a First-class honour in Law from Baze University, Abuja.
She also holds a Master of Laws from the University of Salford, United Kingdom, a master’s in business administration (MBA) from the University of Calabar and a doctorate in business administration from Apollos University, the United States.
She holds a Certificate in Economics for Business from the prestigious MIT Sloan School of Management and has attended various management programmes at renowned Universities around the world including the strategic thinking and Management programme at Wharton Business School.
She also attended the executive programme in strategic management and has a certificate in leading global business all from Harvard Business School.
She is a fellow of notable professional bodies including the Chartered Banker Institute, UK, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, Nigerian Institute of Management, Institute of Credit Administration, Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Nigeria, Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators, and the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria among others.
