Eveline Tall Daouda Quits Ecobank as Deputy CEO

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The exit of Ms Eveline Tall Daouda from Ecobank as the Deputy Chief Executive Officer has been announced.

Ms Daouda is proceeding on an early retirement on Tuesday, January 31, 2017 after spending about two decades at the institution.

A statement issued by Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), the parent company of Ecobank Group, disclosed that the “stellar professional” banker was leaving the company after two decades.

In the statement signed by the company’s chief spokesman, Mr Richard Uku, Ms Daouda was described by the Group CEO, Mr Ade Ayeyemi, as a “stellar professional who has built a reputation as an outstanding banker and influential leader.”

Mr Adeyemi pointed out that throughout Ms Daouda’s career, she has been “nothing short of the quintessential banker, one whose savvy and experience has helped grow our institution to the pan-African banking leader we are today.”

The bank boss said the retiring banker has “developed, coached and mentored many staff, some of whom now occupy senior leadership positions across the Ecobank Group.”

“She has contributed in no small measure to the development of human capital, actualising a key purpose of Ecobank, which is to build pan-African professionals who are true models to emulate,” he was quoted as saying in the statement.

During her banking career, Ms Daouda received wide recognition as an eminent African professional.

In 2013, Jeune Afrique magazine recognised her as one of the 25 most influential women in business in Africa. In 2014 and 2015, Forbes Africa nominated her as one of the top 100 most influential women in Africa.

The following year, Jeune Afrique again acknowledged her as one of the 50 most influential women on the continent and in 2016, the magazine again identified her as one of the top 50 most influential women on the continent.

As a graduate of English with a diploma in Business Management and Administration, Ms Daouda began her banking career with Citibank, working with that organisation for 17 years before joining Ecobank in 1998.

Since then, she has played a pivotal leadership role in Ecobank’s evolution. She successfully opened Ecobank Mali as deputy managing director in 1998 and in 2000 became its managing director, making her the first female managing director of a banking affiliate in the Ecobank Group.

She then went on to overhaul operations in Ecobank Senegal, which she managed for five years, later becoming regional director for the UEMOA zone and successfully consolidating the bank’s position across the region.

It is to her credit that Ecobank’s West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) zone affiliates remain on a consolidated base and a number one position throughout the region till today.

As Chief Operating Officer (COO), Ms Daouda managed the expansion of the Ecobank Group from

2010 to 2016.

In 2011, she was also appointed deputy group CEO. Her management of the company’s expansion involved, in part, consolidating acquisitions in some target countries like Zimbabwe and Mozambique and ensuring their successful integration into the Ecobank Group.

She also obtained banking licences and successful openings for Ecobank Equatorial Guinea and Ecobank South Sudan, as well as a representational office in Ethiopia.

By the end of her stewardship as COO in early 2016, the total balance sheet for the 33 Ecobank banking affiliates in Africa that Ms Daouda supervised stood at over $20 billion.

As COO, she successfully managed crises for affiliates during politically turbulent periods in Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic.

Her leadership ensured business continuity, maximum protection for Ecobank employees and minimal impact for the bank during these crises.

Ms Daouda, in her last role in the Ecobank Group as deputy CEO and chief regulatory officer, established the function responsible for protecting the Ecobank Group’s franchise and a high level regulatory relationship management.

She brought her vast experience in banking and governance to bear on several Ecobank affiliate boards. She represented ETI as the major shareholder on the boards of the eight countries of UEMOA and Cape Verde from 2005 to 2010 and on the boards of Ecobank Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Ghana, Cameroun and Zimbabwe from 2010 to 2016.

In an internal communication to staff, Mr Ade Ayeyemi said, “After a successful career, Eveline is leaving the Ecobank Group to pursue, among other things, her lifetime passion of developing, inspiring and empowering African women. She will apply her vast experience to deepen the advocacy for women entrepreneurs.”

“We owe Eveline an immense debt of gratitude for everything she has given to Ecobank over the years. She has valiantly served this organisation and her continent, and she will always stand out among the amazing professionals who have come through the doors of our institution,” Mr Ayeyemi further said.