July 21, 2020/Punch
Johnson Okafor
Fidelity Bank Plc has notified the Nigerian Stock Exchange and the general public of the appointment of Mrs Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe as its incoming Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, effective January 1, 2021.
The bank made the announcement on Monday, in a notice on the NSE website, signed by its Company Secretary, Ezinwa Unuigboje.
According to the notice, the appointment followed the impending retirement of its MD/CEO, Mr Nnamdi Okonkwo, from the Board of Directors of the bank, with effect from December 31, 2020, upon completion of his contract tenure.
“In compliance with the succession policy of the bank, the board has approved the appointment of Onyeali-Ikpe, the current Executive Director, Lagos and South West Directorate, as the MD/CEO designate of the bank, to assume office with effect from Jan. 1, 2021.
“The approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria has been obtained for the appointment,” said the statement.
It said the board had also approved the appointment of the current Chief Risk Officer of the Bank, Mr Kevin Ugwuoke, as Executive Director, Chief Risk Officer, subject to the approval of the CBN.
The statement said that Okonkwo was appointed to the board of the bank in April 2012 as an executive director and was subsequently appointed the MD/CEO on January 1, 2014.
Fidelity Bank explained that Okonkwo implemented a digital-led strategy, which led to significant growth across key performance metrics and increased market share,
It added that the bank currently ranked sixth among other Nigerian banks on most performance indices.
According to the statement, the bank under Okonkwo’s management successfully accessed the local and international markets through the issuance of N30bn Corporate Bonds in 2015 and $400m Eurobonds in 2017.
The statement noted that Onyeali-Ikpe was appointed to the Board of Fidelity Bank in 2015 as an executive director and currently oversees the Lagos and Southwest directorate.
It stated that she led the transformation of the directorate to profitability and sustained its impressive year-on-year growth across key performance metrics.
The bank said that Onyeali-Ikpe had been an integral part of the current management team responsible for the remarkable increase in the bank’s performance in the last five years.
It stated that the area under her direct responsibility, in the period, contributed over 28 per cent of the bank’s profit before tax, deposits and loans.
“Onyeali-Ikpe has over 30 years of experience across various banks including Standard Chartered Bank Plc, Zenith Bank Plc and Citizens International Bank Limited, where she held several management positions in legal, treasury, investment banking, retail/commercial banking and corporate banking,” the bank said.