By Amaka Ifeakandu
Lagos
The Board of United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) yesterday announced the appointment of Tony O. Elumelu, as Chairman of the Bank.
Elumelu is going to succeed Ambassador Joe Keshi.
Elumelu is founder and Chief Executive Officer of Heirs Holdings, the pan-African proprietary investment company, which holds stakes in a number of leading African businesses, including UBA and Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp), Nigeria ’s largest listed conglomerate by market capitalization.
He retired as group managing director and chief executive officer of UBA in 2010, following the introduction of 10-year tenure limits for bank CEOs by the Central Bank of Nigeria. He had served as CEO of the UBA Group for 13 years, where he was responsible for the creation of today’s UBA, a financial services institution that built a reputation for innovation and the democratisation of banking services.
Elumelu has developed a reputation for identifying value and bringing a long term investment orientation and discipline to sectors critical to Africa’s development, including financial services, power, oil and gas, agribusiness, real estate and hospitality.
As the founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, an Africa-based and African-funded philanthropy, Elumelu is committed to the promotion of entrepreneurship in Africa , based on his championing of Africapitalism, the philosophy that the African private sector is the critical enabler of the continent’s economic and social transformation.
On his new appointment, the group managing director/ chief executive officer UBA, Mr. Phillips Oduoza said “Tony Elumelu’s track record at UBA speaks for itself.” “His return to the Board brings a depth knowledge and experience in the African financial services industry that is second to none. We are privileged to have him lead the Board at this critical stage in our development.”
Chief Executive of Financial Derivatives, Bismarck Rewane said: “Banking in Africa is a dynamic, exciting and an increasingly competitive and challenging industry. Tony is visionary, courageous and has shown an ability to both, think for the long term, and to create significant shareholder value. The drive, dynamism and competitiveness that we saw during his period as CEO of UBA, was one of the catalysts of the enormous changes in the Nigerian banking sector.”
The President, Association for the Advancement of Rights of Nigerian Shareholders (AARNS) Dr. Farouk Umar, said, “We are delighted with this appointment. It bodes well for UBA and the banking industry, now and in the future. Elumelu is a transformer and value creator for shareholders. We are excited about his return.”
For Elumelu, “I am very much looking forward to returning to the Group – UBA represents a tremendous investment opportunity, and is at an inflection point in its growth path,” he said.
