Dr. Adaora Umeoji Group Managing Director of Zenith Bank

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With effect from June 1, 2024, Zenith Bank Plc has named Dr. Adaora Umeoji as its new Group Managing Director.

This was revealed in a statement submitted to the Nigerian Exchange Limited on Tuesday and signed by Michael Otu, the company secretary.

Dr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu, the present GMD, whose term ends on May 31, will be replaced by Umeoji.

“Dame (Dr.) Adaora Umeoji is the first female GMDCEO since the inception of the bank, and her appointment is  consistent with the bank’s executive transition tradition, succession plan, and strategy of grooming leaders from within,” part of the statement.

Before being appointed, Umeoji served as the bank’s deputy managing director from October 28, 2016, and he had about thirty years of banking experience overall, of which twenty-six were spent at Zenith Bank.

Umeoji’s profile states that she attended the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School and holds a Certificate in the Global Banking Program from Columbia Business School. She graduated with honors from Baze University in Abuja with a first-class law degree, a bachelor’s degree in accounting, and a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Jos.

She graduated with a doctorate in business administration from Apollos University in the United States, a master’s degree in law from the University of Salford in the United Kingdom, and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Calabar. She completed the strategic thinking and management program at Wharton Business School in the United States, among other management programs at other esteemed universities. She also holds a Certificate in Economics for Business from the esteemed MIT Sloan School of Management in the United States.

Umeoji will become the first female MD of the bank with this appointment, joining the ranks of female bank MDs in Nigeria.

One of the Nigerian banks with significant assets, Zenith Bank is a member of the exclusive group of banks with a market value over N1 trillion.

Zenith Bank’s shares were trading at N38.1 per unit at Tuesday’s close of business, giving it a value of N 1.19 trillion.