By Yakubu LAAH InvestAdvocate
Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-Pan-African lender, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), parent company of the Ecobank Group said on Wednesday that Albert Essien, its outgoing group chief executive officer (GCEO) will act as the bank’s chief executive for the two-month transition between the effective date of his retirement, 30 June, 2015, and the resumption of his successor, Ade Ayeyemi, on 1 September, 2015.
“Mr Essien will thus be acting group CEO from 1 July through 31 August, 2015,” ETI said in an issuer’s announcement with the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
According to the pan-African lender, its board of directors approved the retirement of Essien in line with the Ecobank Group policy, which requires the retirement of employees when they attain the mandatory retirement age of 60.
“On resumption of Mr Ayeyemi on 1 September, Albert Essien will hold the role of Special Advisor for one month in order to assist the new group CEO to settle in and to facilitate the completion of a proper handing over,” the bank added.
On June 8, 2015, Ecobank named Ade Ayeyemi as its new GCEO, “his appointment is effective from 1 September 2015, the bank said.
According to the pan Africa lender, Ayeyemi is a highly experienced banker who has had a long and successful career with Citigroup, where he is currently CEO of Citigroup’s sub-Saharan Africa division, based in Johannesburg.
He is an Accounting graduate of the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree with First Class Honours. He also studied at the University of London and is an alumnus of Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Programme. A Chartered Accountant, Ayeyemi is also a trained UNIX Administrator and Network Operating Systems.
Share price of ETI at the close of business on Wednesday at the Nigerian bourse declined 2.18 percent to N22.00 from N22.49 traded on Tuesday losing 0.49 kobo per share.
