Wema Bank Plc has announced the retirement of its Managing Director/CEO, Ademola Adebise, who proceeds on terminal leave from today after over 13 years of meritorious service to the bank.
Adebise will retire effective March 31, 2023, and will be succeeded by Moruf Oseni, currently the Deputy Managing Director.
Ademola Adebise was appointed as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Wema Bank Plc in June 2018. He joined the Bank in June 2009 as an Executive Director and rose to become the Deputy Managing Director in 2015.
Under his leadership, he expanded the bank’s footprints to other locations in Nigeria. He improved the performance of the bank and spearheaded the first dividend payment in 13 years. He has ensured consistent dividend payments over the last four years.
The bank has grown its total assets by 155 per cent, from N470 billion to over N1.2 trillion. Deposits also grew by 214 per cent, from N350 billion to N1.1 trillion.
Adebise initiated the partnership with Bank of Africa to support its customers across the continent, which has increased the bank’s market share and customer base.
These led to an additional growth of two million customer accounts in Nigeria and a market share of three per cent. Wema is now the leading collection bank for state and government agencies owing to its efficient platform, a statement by the bank said.
The Bank significantly changed the digital landscape through the ALAT platform. The innovative platform came tops in the KPMG Digital Scorecard for leading retail banks in Nigeria and this was based on in-depth insights into the state of user experience on retail banks’ digital channels.
It launched the first SME Business School for capacity building and empowerment of SMEs. This has benefitted over 20,000 small businesses. The bank also became one of the founding members of the United Nations Environmental plan for financial institutions (UNEP- FI) and continues to provide digital solutions for societal impact.
The Chairman of the Board, Babatunde Kasali, expressed profound gratitude to Adebise for his service.
Oseni, who is succeeding the outgoing chief executive subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria, joined the bank in June 2012 as an Executive Director. He has over 25 years of experience with more than 16 years at senior and executive management levels.
Oseni was an executive director for six years and deputy managing director for the last four years and has demonstrated the capacity to lead the bank.
He currently has responsibility for the digital optimisation directorate which includes digital, retail, treasury, operations and technology divisions. He is also the Executive Compliance Officer of the bank.
He supervised the launch of ALAT, Nigeria’s 1st digital Bank that has received local and global awards.
Before joining Wema Bank, Oseni was the CEO of MG Ineso Limited, a principal investment and financial advisory firm. He was previously a vice president at Renaissance Capital and an Associate at Salomon Brothers/Citigroup Global Markets in London.
He holds an MBA degree from the Institut European d’Administration des Affaires (INSEAD) in France, a Master’s in Finance (MiF) from the London Business School and a B.Sc. in Computer Engineering from the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU). He is also an alumnus of both the Advanced Management Program (AMP) of the Harvard Business School and King’s College, Lagos.
Other board appointments include Wole Akinleye (Deputy Managing Director), Tunde Mabawonku (Executive Director).
Source: The Guardian
