DBN Names New Executive Director, Non-Executive Director

By Ndubuisi Francis

The nation’s wholesale development finance institution, Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN), has announced the appointment of Mrs. Ijeoma Ozulumba and Mr. Kyari Abba Kyari as Executive Director and Independent Non-Executive Director respectively, on the board of the bank.

The Chairman of the Board of Directors, Dr. Shehu Yahaya, who made the disclosure, noted that the appointment of Ozulumba and Kyari would further strengthen DBN’s vision to provide adequate and sustainable financing to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) across the country.

In a statement issued by the bank, the board chairman maintained that the organisation would continually uphold the highest standards of corporate governance, which have kept the bank on a steady trajectory of progress.

Yahaya said: “We are thrilled to have Ijeoma and Kyari join the board and we look forward to them applying their knowledge, experience and expertise in helping to deliver DBN’s core mandate as Nigeria’s primary wholesale development finance institution, providing sustainable financing to MSMEs across the nation.”

Also, the Managing Director of the bank, Mr. Tony Okpanachi, stated that he was particularly excited by the depth and quality that both appointees are bringing to the board and ultimately, the institution.

Okpanachi noted that together, they bring a combined reservoir of knowledge and expertise in the financial services sector that will add immense value to the bank and significantly contribute to its development impact.

Ozulumba once served as Financial Controller at Continental Trust Bank Ltd (now part of UBA Plc) and MBC International Bank Ltd (currently part of First Bank).

She was Chief Financial Officer at FinBank Plc and Basel Risk Consultant and Finance Manager at Bank of Montreal and Scotia Bank, both in Toronto, Canada.

Ozulumba also managed corporate budgeting and management reporting for Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc, the largest independent E&P company in Nigeria.

She is a graduate of the University of Benin and an alumnus of the Lagos Business School.

She is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and a Certified Professional Accountant of Canada.

She holds an MBA in International Business from Royal Holloway, University of London, and is a project management professional.

Until her appointment, she was the Chief Financial Officer at the Development Bank of Nigeria.

The newly-appointed Independent Non-Executive Director, Kyari, is the Managing Director/Co-Founder of Trans Sahara Investment Corporation, a private equity firm based in Lagos, Nigeria.

He had an outstanding career in Engineering and Technology serving as the former Managing Director/CEO at Central Securities Clearing System Plc, Lagos and ValuCard Nigeria (Unified Payments Ltd), Lagos, respectively.

He also served as an Executive Director in charge of Information Technology at FSB International Bank Plc.

Before joining FSB International Bank Plc, he served in various roles as Manufacturing Development Engineer, Marketing Programme Manager, Senior IT Consultant, and as a manager in various sectors of the Hewlett Packard Corporation in the United States of America.

Kyari was the former Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) and currently serves on several other boards.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Physics from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and a master’s degree in Nuclear Engineering from Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA.

Development Bank of Nigeria Plc is a wholesale development finance institution, established by the Federal Government of Nigeria in collaboration with multilateral development partners (the World Bank, AfDB, KfW, AFD, and EIB) to address the major financing challenges facing MSMEs in Nigeria.

DBN carries out the function by providing financial institutions, predominantly deposit money and microfinance banks with on-lending facilities.