Analysts laud Onyeali-Ikpe’s appointment as Fidelity Bank CEO designate

The appointment of Mrs. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, as CEO designate of Fidelity Bank Plc by the lender’s Board on Monday has continued to elicit commendations from industry analysts based on her cognate experiences and competences as a respected banker.

Some of the analysts who are management insiders, who spoke to Daily Trust on the condition of anonymity, commended the Board for the appointment and said they expected her to continue with the transformation agenda of the outgoing CEO with a view to transforming the lender to Tier 1 status in the equities market by 2022.

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To achieve this, they advised that her immediate attention should be raising the bank’s capital base in view of the anticipated announcement of a new re-capitalisation policy for banks by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

By her appointment, Onyeali-Ikpe now joins the rank of women that secured their bank’s topmost position as Chief Executive Officers in recent years.

They include Bola Adesola, the current Managing Director, Nigeria and West Africa 1 of Standard Chartered Bank; Sola David-Borha, currently the Chief Executive, Africa Regions at Standard Bank Group, as well as Oluwatomi Somefun, the managing Director of Unity bank.

The appointment follows the impending retirement of Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo, the Managing Director of the bank effective from December 31, 2020 upon completion of his contract tenure, in line with the bank’s governance policies

The Chairman Board of Directors of the bank, Mr. Ernest Ebi, commended Okonkwo for his significant contributions to the growth and development of the bank.

He implemented a Digital-led Strategy which led to significant growth across key performance matrix and increased market share, with the Bank currently ranked 6th amongst Nigerian Banks on most performance indices.

Onyeali-Ikpe has over 30 years of experience across various banks including Standard Chartered Bank Plc, Zenith Bank Plc and Citizens International Bank/Enterprise Bank, where she held several management positions in Legal, Treasury, Investment Banking, Retail/Commercial Banking and Corporate Banking.

As an executive director at Legacy Enterprise Bank Plc, she received formal commendation from the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), as a member of the management team that successfully turned around Enterprise Bank Plc.

She holds Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) degree from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka; a Master of Laws (LLM) degree from King’s College, London and has attended executive training programs at notable global institutions including; Harvard Business School; The Wharton School University of Pennsylvania; INSEAD School of Business; Chicago Booth School of Business; London Business School and IMD amongst others.