By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Diamond Bank has announced the appointment of three outstanding and successful Nigerian individuals as its directors.
The new appointees, according to a notice to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), are Mrs Chizoma Okoli, Mr Chiugo Ndubisi and Mr Rotimi Olayiwola Oyekanmi.
While Mrs Okoli and Mr Ndubisi were appointed as Executive Directors, Mr Oyekanmi was announced as an Independent Director.
Diamond Bank, in the notice signed by its Legal Adviser, Mrs Nkechi Nwosu, explained that the appointments would be “presented to the shareholders for ratification at the next Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the company.”
Mrs Okoli, who was appointed as an Executive Director, Business Development of Diamond Bank, was before her appointment, the Head, Business Development.
She has served in a number of capacities in the Bank since 1992 when she joined the organisation as an Executive Trainee in the Operations Unit, amongst which is Head, of the Corporate Banking Directorate. She is also on the Board of Diamond Bank, UK.
An alumnus of the Wharton Advanced Management Program of the University of Pennsylvania and the Senior Management Program of the Lagos Business School; Mrs Okoli is a 1989 Law graduate from the University of Benin. She was called to the Nigerian Bar in December 1990 and has an MBA from the Warwick Business School, Coventry, UK.
On Mr Ndubisi’s part, he is appointed to be the Executive Director/Chief Financial Officer. He had functioned as the Acting Chief Financial Officer (CPO) until July 2016 when he was appointed the substantive Chief Financial Officer.
He was previously the Head, Financial Management Division and formerly the Financial Controller. He has worked in several positions since joining the organisation in 1996 as an Executive Trainee.
Mr Ndubisi graduated in 1994 with a First Class Honours degree in Engineering from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and holds a Master of Business Administration degree (MBA) from the University of Lagos, Akoka.
A Chartered Accountant and Banker, Mr Ndubisi has attended various local and international courses including the HSBC International Bankers’ course in London and the Citibank Foreign Exchange Workshop (Bourse Game). He is also an alumnus of the Advanced Managers Programme (AMP) of the Wharton Business School and the Senior Managers Programme (SMP) of the Lagos Business School.
Also, Mr Oyekanmi, appointed as an Independent Non-Executive Director, is a Chartered Accountant and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria. He holds a BSc (Hons) in Economics from the University of Ibadan and an MSc. from the London School of Economics and Political Science, London.
His career spans over 33 years in the banking and investment sectors. He joined Arthur Andersen & Co (now KPMG Professional Services) in 1983 from where he moved to the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture as Chief Internal Auditor in 1988. He started his Banking career with Prime Merchant Bank Limited in 1991 as a Senior Manager. Between 2001 and 2009, he was Chairman, Venture Capital Association of Nigeria, a Director at African Venture Association and Chairman, African Venture Capital Association.
He was Group Head, Investment Banking at Ecobank Capital Nigeria from 2012 to 2013.
Mr Oyekanmi until his appointment was the Chairman of Rendeavour Group and RenMoney MFB Limited and a Partner in Apis Partners LLP, a private equity asset management Firm that supports growth stage financial services businesses in Africa and South Asia by providing them catalytic growth equity capital.
