•Okeke, Executive Director, retires August 1
Dike Onwuamaeze
The United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA), the leading pan-African financial services group, yesterday announced the appointments of Mr. Ayoku Liadi and Mr. Oliver Alawuba as Deputy Managing Directors in charge of UBA’s Nigeria and Africa businesses, respectively.
The bank, in a statement, said the creation of the new positions, reporting to the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Kennedy Uzoka, represents further strategic recognition of the growth of UBA’s pan-African business, now representing in excess of 40 per cent of the group’s revenue, and the critical importance of Nigeria, the group’s largest market.
Combined with UBA’s unique international business, operating from New York, London and Paris, UBA Africa and Nigeria, offer an unparalleled service offering to clients across Africa and globally, it added.
Commenting on the appointments, UBA Group Chairman, Mr. Tony Elumelu, said: “In 2005, we set out our pan-African vision. Fifteen years later, we are present in 20 African countries, serving over 20 million clients, leveraging our service culture and technology platform, to provide an integrated and seamless customer offering across the continent.
“In Africa, we lead in innovation and service, whilst our International Business, operating from New York, Paris and London, provides global and African clients access to treasury, trade finance and corporate banking products, uniquely tailored to the African opportunity. These senior appointments represent our commitment to optimise our management structure to best serve our clients and drive our business success.”
Alawuba has worked with the UBA Group for almost 20 years and was appointed in January 2020, CEO for the group’s Africa operations. His knowledge of UBA’s business in Africa is unrivalled. He previously held the role as CEO of UBA in Ghana and more recently, as Regional CEO for UBA in Anglophone Africa.
On the other hand, Liadi joined the UBA Group in 2014 and was appointed the Executive Director of Lagos and West bank in Nigeria, two years later. He is widely recognised for his innovation in driving business development.
Also announced yesterday by the Board, was the retirement from the board with effect from August 01, 2020, of Mr. Dan Okeke who has been with the UBA Group for 22 years. Okeke, served on the board as an Executive Director for three terms and a total of nine years.
According to Elumelu, “Dan was born for UBA. He has worked tirelessly for the group and achieved so much in the past two decades. We will miss him, but he will still be very much around us.”
UBA is one of the largest employers in the financial sector on the African continent, with approximately 20,000 employees, group wide and serving over 20 million customers. Operating in 20 African countries and globally in the United Kingdom, the United States and France, UBA provides retail, commercial and institutional banking services, leading financial inclusion and implementing cutting edge products such as the first ever banking chat bot in Africa, LEO.
