By Modupe Gbadeyanka
President Bola Tinubu has appointed two directors for the Bank of Industry with effect from Monday, August 26, 2024, in a bid to further strengthen the lender established to support business owners.
A statement on Wednesday disclosed that Mr Tinubu approved the appointment of Mr Rotimi Akinde as the Executive Director for Corporate Finance and Risk Management, and Mrs Ifeoma Uz’Okpala as the Executive Director for Large Enterprises Directorate.
Mr Akinde is a finance professional with over 20 years of Investment and Corporate Banking experience and an extensive track record covering capital raising (Debt, Equities and Hybrids) as well as Corporate Finance (Mergers & Acquisitions, Privatization Advisory and Project Finance).
Before joining the Bank of Industry, he was an Associate Partner, Project & Corporate Finance at the Infrastructure Delivery International (IDI), where he worked on the UKNIAF programme and promoted green finance as well as structured debt solutions for sub-nationals.
He also worked previously as the Corporate Finance Advisor at the Nigeria Infrastructure Advisory Facility (NIAF), providing financing initiatives, modelling and funding structures on infrastructure.
He served within Corporate Banking as the Group Head & Assistant General Manager of Multinationals at UBA Plc, prior to which he was Vice President of Corporate Finance & Advisory at UBA Global Markets (now United Capital).
He was a Privatization Adviser & Head of Oil & Gas Team at the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), where he closed on the divestiture and sale of the Federal Government’s equity interest in 11 Oil Services Companies and achieved the sale of all the Federal Government’s LPG assets.
He was an Assistant Manager at Leadbank Plc, within both the Investment and Corporate Banking Groups.
Prior to this, he had worked in the financial sector in the United Kingdom as an Investment Analyst with Barclays Funds, London and a stint as an Analyst with Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, London.
Mr Akinde holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife; earned a Master’s Degree in International Securities, Investment & Banking from the University of Reading, UK and holds an Executive MBA from INSEAD.
On her part, Mrs Uz’Okpala joined BOI in September 2014 as Group Head of Large Enterprises Credit and later served as the Chief Risk Officer of the Bank before her appointment.
As Chief Risk Officer of the Bank, she played a crucial role in managing and mitigating risks associated with the bank’s operations, while also providing Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) risk support. She offered invaluable ESG support within transactions and provided the roadmap for attracting impact investments.
She is a seasoned Credit and Risk Management Professional, with a career spanning over 30 years in the financial sector.
Mrs Uz’Okpala commenced her career at the International Merchant Bank and progressed through key roles at MBC International, First Bank, Stanbic Bank, and UBA. Her versatile expertise includes Internal Audit, Corporate Finance, Credit Evaluation and Origination, Foreign Operations, and Risk Management.
She is an alumna of the University of Nigeria, where she attained a BSc. In Accountancy and a graduate of the prestigious Lagos Business School.
The appointee is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (FCA), an Honourary Senior Member (HCIB) of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria and a Member of the Chartered Risk Management Institute.
