By Eric Elezuo
With effect from June 1, 2024, the newest kid on the block in the banking world, Dame (Dr.) Adaora Umeoji, will mount the topmost echelon of the Zenith Bank brand as its Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer. She will be the first female that has ever held the position in the near three decades history of the bank. Many do not know that the Amazon has spent 26 years of her total 30 years in the banking world with Zenith.
It is therefore, not out of place to say that her appointment was not out of place, but very well deserved.
Umeoji’s ascendancy to the citizen number one position of one of Nigeria’s most prolific banks was not a fluke. Many has described her sojourn to such great height as nothing compared to a walk in the park. She came prepared. She has over the years, seen and conquered, granting her unfettered leverage to kiss the reward of hardwork.
To many, the news was a surprise, and to a grat number of others, the news was a fulfillment of well orchestrated analysis when Zenith Bank Plc announced the appointment of Dr. Adaora Umeoji as its new Group Managing Director, effective June 1, 2024.
The disclosure was contained in a statement signed by the Company Secretary, Michael Otu, which was instantly filed with the Nigerian Exchange Limited.
Umeoji will take over from the current GMD, Dr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu, whose time in office expires May 31.
The statement acknowledged that “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.”
With this appointment, the admixture of brain and beauty will swell the number as well as join the ranks of female bank MDs in Nigeria, a pack she’s likely to lead, consider the market value of Zenith, which has continued to soar ever since her appointment was announced.
Before her appointment however, Umeoji has been the Deputy Managing Director of the bank since October 28, 2016 and has close to 30 years of banking experience of which 26 years has been with Zenith Bank.
According to her profile, Umeoji is an alumnus of Harvard Business School, where she attended the Advanced Management Programme, and an alumnus of Columbia Business School with a Certificate in the Global Banking Program. She holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Jos, a bachelor’s degree in accounting, and a first-class honours degree in law from Baze University, Abuja.
She holds a Master of Laws from the University of Salford, United Kingdom, a Master in Business Administration from the University of Calabar, and also has a doctorate in business administration from Apollos University, USA. She holds a Certificate in Economics for Business from the prestigious MIT Sloan School of Management, USA, and has attended various management programmes in renowned Universities around the world including the strategic thinking and Management programme at Wharton Business School, USA.
Zenith Bank is one of the banks in Nigeria that has large asset banks and belongs to the elite club of banks with a market value of over N1tn.
In February 2023, Dame (Dr.) Adaora Umeoji, who also has a national honour of OON, and then Deputy Managing Director of the bank emerged The Humanitarian Services Icon of the Year at The Sun Awards, in recognition of not just for her outstanding banking career and contributions to the development of an effective Nigerian financial services sector, but more importantly for her many philanthropic works and a sustained commitment over the years to improve the lives of less privileged persons.
A career banker notwithstanding, Umeoji has her hands in many welfarist pies including ownership of Pink Breath Cancer Care Foundation, which undertakes several healthcare programs annually within the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria.
The Foundation provides the much needed medical care for persons living with cancer and other ailments. She also donates relief materials and provides free healthcare to internally displaced persons nationwide, through several other intervention initiatives.
Among her recent philanthropic gestures eas the donation of a Church building to the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja. She also holds Yuletide programmes running for close to two decades now, and have positively impacted the lives of over 5,000 indigent children.
Dame (Dr.) Adaora Umeoji, OON, is a Peace Advocate of the United Nations (UN-POLAC), a Lady of the Order of Knights of St. John International (KSJI) and a Papal Knight of the Order of St. Sylvester. In 2022, the Federal Government of Nigeria honoured her with the national award of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON), in recognition of her contributions to nation building.
MORE ON DAME ADAORA UMEOJI
Presently the Deputy Managing Director of the bank, a position she has held since October 28, 2016, 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 Program. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from the University of Jos, a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting and a First-Class honors in Law from Baze University, Abuja. She holds a Master of Laws from the University of Salford, United Kingdom, a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Calabar, and also has a doctorate in business administration from Apollos University, USA.
She holds a Certificate in Economics for Business from the prestigious MIT Sloan School of Management, USA, and has attended various management programmes in renowned Universities around the world including the strategic thinking and Management programme at Wharton Business School, USA. She also attended the executive program in Strategic Management, and has a Certificate in Leading Global Business all from Harvard Business School, USA.
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.
In 2022, the Federal Government of Nigeria honored Dr. Umeoji with Officer of the Order of the Niger, as a recognition of her contributions to nation building. She is a Peace Advocate of the United Nations (UN-POLAC).
She has impacted many lives through her philanthropic and humanitarian activities through her NGOs; Pink Breathe Cancer Foundation and the Adorable Foundation that educates, caters for Cancer patients and indigent children education especially the Girl-Child. Her contribution to humanity was recognized by the Sun Newspaper which recently bestowed on her the Humanitarian Service Icon Award for 2023.
As a result of her passion for promoting professionalism in the banking industry and improving the well-being of the less privileged, Dr. Adaora Umeoji, OON founded the Catholic Bankers Association of Nigeria (CBAN), a platform she uses to promote ethical banking and service to humanity.
She is a Lady of the Order of Knights of St. John International (KSJI), and was awarded a Papal Knight of the Order of St. Sylvester by His Holiness Pope Francis.
At 52 years, Umeoji, who is happily married and blessed with children, can easily be passed for a 30-year-old lady as a result of her well kept beauty and physic.
