Tony O. Elumelu is a visionary entrepreneur and a philanthropist. Born, raised and educated in Africa, Mr. Elumelu has been responsible for creating businesses across the continent, in sectors critical to Africa’s economic development.

In 2010, he founded Heirs Holdings, an African investment holding company, with investments in financial services, power generation, oil and gas, agribusiness, real estate and hospitality. In the same year, he established the Tony Elumelu Foundation, an Africa-based and African-funded philanthropy, dedicated to catalyzing entrepreneurship across Africa.

He is Chairman of Heirs Holdings as well as UBA Group Plc and Transcorp Plc, which is Nigeria’s largest listed conglomerate.

In his early career, Mr. Elumelu turned the financially distressed Standard Trust Bank (STB) into a top-five financial services player in Nigeria. In 2005, he led the largest merger in the banking sector in sub-Saharan Africa, between STB and United Bank for Africa (UBA). Today, UBA operates in 19 African countries, as well as New York, London and Paris.

Mr. Elumelu is the author and leading proponent of “Africapitalism,” an economic philosophy which advocates for the private sector’s commitment to Africa’s development through long-term investment in strategic sectors of the economy, that drive economic prosperity and social wealth.

In 2003, the federal government of Nigeria conferred the honour of Member of the Federal Republic on Mr. Elumelu. In 2012 he was awarded named a Commander of the Order of the Niger for his service in promoting private enterprise. In 2013, Mr. Elumelu received the Leadership Award in Business and Philanthropy from the Africa-America Institute Awards. He was also named African Business Icon at the 2013 African Business Awards.

Mr. Elumelu presently serves as a member of the Global Advisory Board of the United Nations Sustainable Energy for All Initiative (SE4ALL) and USAID’s Private Capital Group for Africa Partners Forum.

He sits on the Nigerian President’s Agricultural Transformation Implementation Council and serves as Co-Chair of the Aspen Institute Dialogue Series on Global Food Security. He played a leading role in the formation of the National Competitiveness Council of Nigeria and now serves as its vice chairman. He chairs the Ministerial Committee to establish world-class hospitals and diagnostic centres across Nigeria, at the invitation of the Federal Government.

Mr. Elumelu is on Twitter @TonyOElumelu. For further information, please go to: www.tonyelumelu.com

Oliver, a seasoned banking professional, comes on board with a broad range of strategic and well-grounded experience in Corporate and Institutional Banking, Consumer Banking, Public Sector, Retail and Commercial Banking, Project Management, Corporate Governance, and overall bank management.

Mr. Oliver Alawuba has acquired 25 years of work experience in the banking industry after his short foray into academia. He joined the former Standard Trust Bank (STB) as a pioneer staff in 1997. Over the years, he has demonstrated strong passion for excellence and result-oriented leadership capability. 

Prior to his current appointment as the Group Managing Director/CEO of UBA Banking Group, Oliver was at various times country CEO and Regional CEO in the Rest of Africa, Executive Director, East Bank (Nigeria) and later Group Deputy Managing Director/CEO, covering Nigeria and other 19 subsidiaries in the Rest of Africa. He also worked in another bank and rose to the position of Executive Director. Oliver is an effective and self-motivated professional. 

Oliver possesses B.Sc and M.Sc degrees in Food Science and Technology and MBA in Banking and Finance. He is an alumnus of the AMP and SEP programmes of the prestigious INSEAD Business School, France and London Business School respectively.

He is also a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM) and an Honorary Senior Member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN). 

High Chief Samuel Oni is a Chartered Accountant with a distinguished career that spanned well over 35years. Having qualified as a Graduate Member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants in 1980, he held the position of Senior Accountant/Company Secretary in various establishments, including New Foods & Drinks Company Ltd. Abiola & Sons Bottling Company, and Kwara Breweries Ltd. He joined Kwara State Government and was deployed to Kwara State Agricultural Development Project as the Financial Controller.

In October 1993, High Chief Oni transferred his Services to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and assumed the position of an Assistant Director. He became a Commissioned Examiner and rose through the ranks in CBN and was appointed the Director of Bank Examination Department in 2003. He also served as the Director of Other Financial Institutions and Internal Audit Departments between 2005 and 2008. In 2009, he became the Director of Banking Supervision Department where he played a prominent role during the intervention process of the CBN that restored stability in the banking system, following the Financial Crisis of 2008/2009.

He voluntarily retired from the CBN in June 2011, having completed the eight years as a Director in line with the Tenure Policy for all Directors in Government Ministries, Agencies and Parastatals. He attended both local and overseas training, workshops and seminars during his career. He holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Ilorin and a Fellow of both the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria. He is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria and an honorary member of Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria.

Ms. Angela Aneke is a board advisor, banker and a strategic thinker with over 30 years’ experience in financial services, in the areas of financial control, strategy, transaction banking, corporate banking, retail banking, and governance. Ms. Aneke has held executive management and board positions in several international and regional institutions, including Ecobank Transnational Incorporated and the United Bank for Africa.

Mr. Isaac Olukayode Fasola is a consummate professional with over 30 years’ cognate experience obtained from Management and Board positions covering banking operations, risk management, credit analysis, insurance, asset management, business strategy/development, performance management, and corporate governance. Mr. Fasola previously served as an Executive Director of a commercial Bank in Nigeria. Mr. Fasola holds 2 MBAs and is pursuing a Ph.D. in Business Administration.

Mrs. Owanari Duke has led a distinguished career which has straddled the roles of lawyer, public servant, entrepreneur and philanthropist. The former First Lady of Cross Rivers State, Nigeria, Mrs. Duke used her position to raise awareness and currently serves as the Country Director of EMPRETEC Nigeria Foundation; a United Nations Centre for Trade & Development (UNCTAD) Private Sector Support Initiative that aims to assist Nigerians to achieve high levels of productivity and competitiveness among SMEs.

Mrs. Duke is also the Managing Partner of the law firm Duke and Bobmanuel. She is a certified Mediation/Dispute Resolution Consultant. In addition to this she serves as the Executive Chairman of Allied Merchants & Brokers Limited, a leading merchandising and brokerage firm.

Alhaji Abdulqadir J. Bello, a Chartered Accountant, has over 30 years’ corporate experience in the banking sector, during which period he held several senior Management positions in various Banks. He also previously served as the Group Chief Credit Officer of UBA and thereafter as the Executive Director in charge of Risk Management for UBA Group.

Muyiwa is the Deputy Managing Director of United Bank for Africa (UBA). He oversees the bank’s business in Southern Nigeria and coordinates the corporate banking arm of the institution. 

Prior to this, Akinyemi who joined UBA in 2005, drove the bank’s energy bank business and was the General Manager, Corporate and Commercial Banking. He also headed the Wholesale banking arm between 2013 and 2015, where he was responsible for the bank’s business activities in various geographies where UBA was present at the time. He also headed UBA Kenya as the CEO/MD between 2010 and 2011.  

Before joining UBA, Muyiwa worked in Standard Trust Bank between 1998 and 2005, where he led in various capacities including Head Investment Banking, Head Energy & Telecoms Division and Structured finance groups. He had previously worked in Diamond Bank between 1994 and 1998. 

Muyiwa Akinyemi who is a Chartered Accountant graduated with a B.Sc. Accounting from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. He is also a member of several professional bodies including the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers, etc.

Alex Alozie, UBA’s Executive Director/Group Chief Operating Officer, joined the bank in 2019. He was charged with the responsibility of driving the bank’s digital transformation and operational efficiency.

Just before he joined UBA, Alozie was the head of operations in Diamond bank and Head of Digital and Head Office Operations in Access bank, where he successfully carried out various digital renovations that boosted the institutions.  

As a result, Alozie has been recognised by several regulators and has received numerous awards which include; CBN’s commendation for contributions in the introduction of cashless initiative, SEC’s commendation for his role in implementing E-Dividend, CBN/NIBSS Award as a member of the BVN Implementation Committee amongst others. 

He is a Fellow of the following Institutions; Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, Nigerian Institute of Management, Institute of Chartered Economists of Nigeria, Chartered Institute of Strategic Managers & Leaders, Association of Human Resources of Nigeria, and is also a committee member of CBN Committee on introduction of cashless in Nigeria, CBN/NIBSS committee on Implementation of BVN, CBN/SEC Committee on E-Dividend Mandate and CBN Committee on Shared Services.

Sola Yomi-Ajayi is a highly experienced banker with over 28 years of banking experience managing Corporate and Institutional relationships with significant experience in, Regulatory Engagement, Structured Funding, Risk Management, Financial Inclusion, Transaction Banking, Correspondent Banking, and Operations. 

As the Executive Director for Treasury & International Banking, Sola is responsible for strategy formulation as well as oversight for various business groups at UBA such as UBA America, UBA UK, UBA France and UBA Dubai. Additionally, she is responsible for the Group’s Treasury function as well as our Financial Institutions, Embassies, Multilateral, and Development Organisations (EMDOs) and Global Investor Services (GIS) businesses. She leads the respective teams in the execution of corporate strategy and delivery of unique best-in-class financial solutions to UBA’s customers across these business segments. 

Sola has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, and an MBA from the Aberdeen Business School. She has also attended leadership and executive programs at Harvard Business School and Judge Business School, University of Cambridge. 

She is a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute, UK and a Member, Board of Trustees for the US-based Institute of International Banking.

Emem Usoro who is UBA’s Executive Director, Nigerian North Bank boasts of over 20 years’ banking experience spanning Customer Service/Retail/Commercial/Corporate Banking and Public Sector, covering all the regions in the country.  

Before now, the astute banker, who joined UBA in 2011, has worn several hats. She was the Directorate Head, Abuja and North Central Bank and was also the Regional Director, Lagos Island region in charge of for 32 branches in the Apapa and Lagos Island region, where she was responsible for developing, planning and implementing strategies to grow and turnaround ailing branches, amongst other activities. She has a strong track record of winning and executing high-powered transactions. 

A fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN)  with strong capabilities in business development, financial and business advisory, strategic planning and execution, Emem holds a B.Sc degree in Biochemistry and an MBA degree from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife and is also an alumnus of Lagos Business School and Harvard Business School. She has attended several international courses on leadership, Corporate Credit, marketing and negotiation skills.​

Holds a B.Sc. from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and M.Sc. in Finance and Management from Cranfield University, England. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and a member of the Cranfield Management Association.

He is a seasoned financial analyst and accountant with about two decades experience spanning, assurance, advisory, financial control, strategy and business transformation, investor relations, M&As, business integration and project management. Prior to his current role, he was, at different times, Group Financial Controller, Group Chief Compliance Officer, and Head – Performance Management in UBA.

Before joining UBA in 2004, he had almost one decade experience with Deloitte and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Oliver, a seasoned banking professional, comes on board with a broad range of strategic and well-grounded experience in Corporate and Institutional Banking, Consumer Banking, Public Sector, Retail and Commercial Banking, Project Management, Corporate Governance, and overall bank management.

Mr. Oliver Alawuba has acquired 25 years of work experience in the banking industry after his short foray into academia. He joined the former Standard Trust Bank (STB) as a pioneer staff in 1997. Over the years, he has demonstrated strong passion for excellence and result-oriented leadership capability. 

Prior to his current appointment as the Group Managing Director/CEO of UBA Banking Group, Oliver was at various times country CEO and Regional CEO in the Rest of Africa, Executive Director, East Bank (Nigeria) and later Group Deputy Managing Director/CEO, covering Nigeria and other 19 subsidiaries in the Rest of Africa. He also worked in another bank and rose to the position of Executive Director. Oliver is an effective and self-motivated professional. 

Oliver possesses B.Sc and M.Sc degrees in Food Science and Technology and MBA in Banking and Finance. He is an alumnus of the AMP and SEP programmes of the prestigious INSEAD Business School, France and London Business School respectively.

He is also a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM) and an Honorary Senior Member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN). 

Muyiwa is the Deputy Managing Director of United Bank for Africa (UBA). He oversees the bank’s business in Southern Nigeria and coordinates the corporate banking arm of the institution. 

Prior to this, Akinyemi who joined UBA in 2005, drove the bank’s energy bank business and was the General Manager, Corporate and Commercial Banking. He also headed the Wholesale banking arm between 2013 and 2015, where he was responsible for the bank’s business activities in various geographies where UBA was present at the time. He also headed UBA Kenya as the CEO/MD between 2010 and 2011.  

Before joining UBA, Muyiwa worked in Standard Trust Bank between 1998 and 2005, where he led in various capacities including Head Investment Banking, Head Energy & Telecoms Division and Structured finance groups. He had previously worked in Diamond Bank between 1994 and 1998. 

Muyiwa Akinyemi who is a Chartered Accountant graduated with a B.Sc. Accounting from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. He is also a member of several professional bodies including the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers, etc.

Alex Alozie, UBA’s Executive Director/Group Chief Operating Officer, joined the bank in 2019. He was charged with the responsibility of driving the bank’s digital transformation and operational efficiency.

Just before he joined UBA, Alozie was the head of operations in Diamond bank and Head of Digital and Head Office Operations in Access bank, where he successfully carried out various digital renovations that boosted the institutions.  

As a result, Alozie has been recognised by several regulators and has received numerous awards which include; CBN’s commendation for contributions in the introduction of cashless initiative, SEC’s commendation for his role in implementing E-Dividend, CBN/NIBSS Award as a member of the BVN Implementation Committee amongst others. 

He is a Fellow of the following Institutions; Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, Nigerian Institute of Management, Institute of Chartered Economists of Nigeria, Chartered Institute of Strategic Managers & Leaders, Association of Human Resources of Nigeria, and is also a committee member of CBN Committee on introduction of cashless in Nigeria, CBN/NIBSS committee on Implementation of BVN, CBN/SEC Committee on E-Dividend Mandate and CBN Committee on Shared Services.

Sola Yomi-Ajayi is a highly experienced banker with over 28 years of banking experience managing Corporate and Institutional relationships with significant experience in, Regulatory Engagement, Structured Funding, Risk Management, Financial Inclusion, Transaction Banking, Correspondent Banking, and Operations. 

As the Executive Director for Treasury & International Banking, Sola is responsible for strategy formulation as well as oversight for various business groups at UBA such as UBA America, UBA UK, UBA France and UBA Dubai. Additionally, she is responsible for the Group’s Treasury function as well as our Financial Institutions, Embassies, Multilateral, and Development Organisations (EMDOs) and Global Investor Services (GIS) businesses. She leads the respective teams in the execution of corporate strategy and delivery of unique best-in-class financial solutions to UBA’s customers across these business segments. 

Sola has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, and an MBA from the Aberdeen Business School. She has also attended leadership and executive programs at Harvard Business School and Judge Business School, University of Cambridge. 

She is a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute, UK and a Member, Board of Trustees for the US-based Institute of International Banking.

Emem Usoro who is UBA’s Executive Director, Nigerian North Bank boasts of over 20 years’ banking experience spanning Customer Service/Retail/Commercial/Corporate Banking and Public Sector, covering all the regions in the country.  

Before now, the astute banker, who joined UBA in 2011, has worn several hats. She was the Directorate Head, Abuja and North Central Bank and was also the Regional Director, Lagos Island region in charge of for 32 branches in the Apapa and Lagos Island region, where she was responsible for developing, planning and implementing strategies to grow and turnaround ailing branches, amongst other activities. She has a strong track record of winning and executing high-powered transactions. 

A fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN)  with strong capabilities in business development, financial and business advisory, strategic planning and execution, Emem holds a B.Sc degree in Biochemistry and an MBA degree from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife and is also an alumnus of Lagos Business School and Harvard Business School. She has attended several international courses on leadership, Corporate Credit, marketing and negotiation skills.​

Holds a B.Sc. from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and M.Sc. in Finance and Management from Cranfield University, England. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and a member of the Cranfield Management Association.

He is a seasoned financial analyst and accountant with about two decades experience spanning, assurance, advisory, financial control, strategy and business transformation, investor relations, M&As, business integration and project management. Prior to his current role, he was, at different times, Group Financial Controller, Group Chief Compliance Officer, and Head – Performance Management in UBA.

Before joining UBA in 2004, he had almost one decade experience with Deloitte and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Holds an LLB (Hons) degree from Edo State University, Ekpoma and was enrolled as a Solicitor and Advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 1990. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (United Kingdom), the Nigerian Bar Association and the International Bar Association.

He has held high-level strategic positions in top financial services institutions in Nigeria with responsibilities that encompassed Asset Management, Structured Finance, Legal Advisory, Corporate Governance, Human Resource Management, Administration, Knowledge Management, and Business Communication.

Sampson Aneke’s rich experience and play in the digital space has come to the fore with his recent appointment as Group General Manager, Retail, Digital & Transaction Banking Group in the United Bank for Africa. He joined the Group in 2019 with the responsibility for SME banking across the Group’s African network and was also responsible for the Group’s business in Lagos and southern Nigeria. 

He was the Directorate Head, South Bank spanning over 17 States of the Federation and housing over 313 Branches. He was also Head, SME Banking in 20 UBA present countries and double-hatted as Group Head, Digital Banking & Bank Head (BH), Apapa 2 Region. Sampson has put up over two decades of Banking experience which spans across three banks, Ecobank, Access Bank (formerly Diamond Bank) and more recently United Bank for Africa. He has spent the last 15 years in Senior Management Levels. 

He holds a B.Sc. degree in Banking and Finance, MBA in Business Administration & Management and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria. He is also a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Management and an Alumnus of the prestigious Lagos Business School. 

Sanusi holds a B.Sc in Accounting from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He is Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, and an alumnus of the Harvard Business School. He has over 28 years of banking experience spanning Banking Operations, Financial Control, Customer Service and Marketing. Sanusi has played various roles across the UBA Group and was the pioneer COO of UBA Ghana and CEO UBA Zambia.

He is currently the Group Chief Audit and Assurance Officer, where he drives the Internal Audit and Assurance activities of the Group.

Bola Atta was voted one of the top 40 Nigerians under 40 in 2008. She was also celebrated as one of the 100 most influential women in Nigeria in March 2015. A graduate of Economics with MBA in Marketing, she has over 25 years of experience in diverse fields ranging from Banking, Business, Communications, Publishing, Entertainment, and the Media. Approximately 17 out of these 25+ years have been in high-level management and entrepreneurship, enabling her to gain expertise in each of these varied fields of work. She has worked in private enterprise and with government agencies both in Nigeria and South Africa using her expertise in public relations and increasing her wide network within Africa. In 2003, she was invited by the African Leadership Institute in partnership with the UNDP to work on a panel for the development of scenarios for South Africa in 2020. This week-long seminar brought together young leaders from all parts of Africa to map out scenarios for the future not only of South Africa but of the entire continent. It has since evolved into the Bishop Tutu Fellows for young African Leaders.

Former Editor-in-chief of Africa’s leading publication, True Love magazine, Atta who is the Executive Producer of acclaimed Africa’s Next Top Model series, now works as the Group Head of Communications for the United Bank for Africa. Her role involves, but is not limited to, directing the development and execution of global marketing and communications initiatives for the Bank as well as managing brand delivery and consistency across all markets and for all products line. In furtherance of her duties, she recently attended the High Potential Leadership Programme at the Harvard Business School.

Ogechi Altraide is the current Group Head, Retail Products and Sales, United Bank for Africa (UBA). In this role, she oversees UBA’s SME business, Cards, Bancassurance, Agency banking, International remittances, Customer acquisition and portfolio growth. She is a non-executive director of UBA, Tanzania. 

Prior to her deployment as Group Head, Retail Products and Sales, Ogechi launched and drove the bank’s Direct Sales Group to deepen and broaden the bank’s deposit liabilities generation penetration. 

Ogechi has over 2 decades of financial services industry work experience that includes roles in operations, sales, branch and regional retail, corporate banking, as well as strategic management, garnered at leading banks in the continent.  

She holds a B.Sc. in Management and an MBA in Banking and Finance both from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Ogechi is a Certified Management Consultant, a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (HCIB) and a subject matter expert in retail sales and campaigns.

Michelle Nwoga is the Group Chief Experience Officer, responsible for the development and implementation of Customer Experience strategies across Private, Business, Corporate, and Financial Inclusion sectors for our 20 countries in Africa.

With almost two decades of banking and consulting experience that spans Business Development, Project Management, Brand Marketing & Communication, Customer Experience, and Engagement, Michelle is renowned for her wealth of experience in Customer insights, engagement, value management, and organisation development

Prior to joining UBA, She worked in several capacities in the UK as well as Access Bank and Diamond Bank, managing a host of successful projects and initiatives; some of which include Retail banking transformation, deploying the first retail banking sales force amongst others.

Michelle holds a Masters degree in Management, Marketing, and Organisation Management; a degree in International Relations, Environmental Science, and Business management from leading universities in the UK. She is also a certified Project Manager, Digital Marketer, and User Experience Designer.

She is a thought leader, an advocate for women empowerment, and has managed several mentoring programs for mother and the girl child; fully committed to transformation, customer centricity, inclusiveness, and engagement.

Gboyega holds a first class (Honours) degree in Accounting from the Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and Honorary Senior Member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria. He also holds post-graduate degrees in Economics and Public Administration.

Gboyega has had a distinguished banking career spanning over 25 years in Operations and Control and more recently Audit. Before joining UBA, he had worked at Citibank Nigeria Ltd. and Access Bank Plc where he occupied senior roles.

Anant holds a Master of Commerce degree and an MBA from Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning in India. He is a Banking Operations and Financial Technology Professional for the last two decades and joined UBA in 2008. Prior to being the Group Head, Alternative Channel Sales, he was at different times, Director, Customer Fulfilment Centre, Head, Strategy and Business Transformation and Director, Global Shared Services Centre.

Prior to UBA, Rao had a distinguished career working for 14 years in the areas of Operations and Technology in Citigroup. He led large transformational offshore projects for Citigroup in EMEA and Asia Pacific regions and also managed Consumer and Corporate Banking and Technology Operations for various countries under EMEA, Asia Pacific regions. He has deep domain knowledge and diverse experience in Banking Operations and Financial Technology, Outsourcing, Offshore Operations, Business Transformation, Credit and Risk Management in the financial services industry.