Ecobank has appointed Ade Ayeyemi as its new Group Chief Executive Officer effective from 1 September 2015. Mr Ayeyemi, 52, will replace Albert Essien, who retires on 30 June, 2015 after 25 years of service with the Group.
In a staement, Ade Ayeyemi said: “I am delighted to have been offered the opportunity to lead this great institution, and commend Albert Essien for his legacy work of helping further the premier pan-African financial institution. Ecobank has an exceptional platform, great people, solid strategy and strong momentum. I sincerely look forward to working with the management team, the Board of Directors, and the employees of Ecobank as we set new standards in financial services for our clients across the board.”
The Ecobank Board will appoint an interim head during the period 1 July through 31 August, pending the resumption of the new GCEO.
Currently Chief Executive Officer of Citigroup’s sub-Saharan Africa division, based in Johannesburg, Ayeyemi is an Accounting graduate of the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. He also studied at the University of London and is an alumnus of Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Programme.
The Chartered Accountant and a trained UNIX Administrator and Network Operating Systems Manager with interests in business strategy, economics, process engineering and technology is seen as the best person to lead Ecobank through the next phase of its development and beyond as a world-class pan-African bank.
“Ade is a truly outstanding individual with deep knowledge of banking across Africa, and we welcome him to the Board,” said Ecobank Group Chairman Emmanuel Ikazoboh.