NOVA Merchant Bank Picks Duroha as Acting MD/CEO

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Intelligent and prolific banker, Mr Anya Duroha, has been appointed as the Acting Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of NOVA Merchant Bank Limited.

NOVA Merchant Bank Limited is a financial institution chaired by the former Group Managing Director of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Mr Phillips Oduoza.

According to a statement issued by the lender, the appointment of Mr Duroha became effective on August 30, 2018, but is still subject to approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the apex regulator of the banking sector in the country.

The appointment of Mr Duroha follows the exit of Mr Chinedu Ikwudinma, who has decided to pursue another endeavour.

Prior to his recent appointment, Mr Duroha was the Executive Director, Wholesale Bank, responsible for development and management of the bank’s corporate banking relationships.

Prior to joining the Bank as a pioneer staff, he was the Head, Business Banking at Stanbic IBTC, where he was responsible for Commercial Banking and SME businesses in Nigeria.

In that role, he had the responsibility for both relationship and portfolio management. In this capacity, he designed and implemented interventions and strategies that ensured the rapid growth and profitability of the business.

He started his banking career in banking operations in Citibank and has 25 years banking experience spanning across many areas of banking.

He was the Head Corporate Banking, United Bank for Africa Plc; Head Corporate Banking, Diamond Bank Plc and Head of Business Development (Designate), Diamond Bank, United Kingdom.

In all these roles, he has managed portfolios in various sectors including manufacturing, agriculture, construction, oil & gas, infrastructure, aviation, power, maritime, telecommunications, FMCG and structured trade finance.

Mr Duroha holds an M.Sc. in Banking & Finance from the University of Benin and a B.Eng. in Civil Engineering from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He is an alumnus of Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania and Lagos Business School.

Speaking on the new appointment, Mr Oduoza, in a memo to all staff, stated that, “Mr Duroha’s appointment marks the start of an exciting growth phase in the bank’s business, following the go live of its Intellect Digital Core (IDC) banking platform as the Bank begins to leverage the benefits of its investment to deliver innovative solutions for its customers.”