Meet Adaora Umeoji, Zenith Bank’s First Female GMD/CEO – Newstrends
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Meet Adaora Umeoji, Zenith Bank’s First Female GMD/CEO

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Meet Adaora Umeoji, Zenith Bank’s First Female GMD/CEO

Zenith Bank on Tuesday named Adaora Umeoji as its first female Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer.

Her appointment, subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria, will take effect from June 1, 2024, according to the bank.

“She takes over from Dr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu, whose five-year term expires on May 31, 2024, after a very successful tenure,” it stated.

On June 1, 2024, Adaora Umeoji will take full charge at Zenith Bank. Her appointment marks a historic moment as she becomes the first female GMD/CEO since the inception of the bank in May 1990.

According to the bank’s statement, “her appointment is consistent with the bank’s executive transition tradition, succession plan, and strategy of grooming leaders from within.”

Adaora Umeoji has nearly 30 years of experience in banking, having previously served as the deputy managing director of the bank, a role she assumed in October 2016.

She has also been with the bank for close to twenty-six years.

The following are a few things you should know about Adaora Umeoji.

Education

She has quite an impressive educational background. She is an alumnus of Harvard Business School, where she completed the Advanced Management Program (AMP), and Columbia Business School, where she obtained a Certificate in the Global Banking Program. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from the University of Jos, as well as a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting and a First-Class Honors in Law from Baze University, Abuja.

Additionally, she has a Master of Laws from the University of Salford, United Kingdom, a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Calabar; and a doctorate in Business Administration from Apollos University, USA.

She also has a Certificate in Economics for Business from MIT Sloan School of Management, USA, and has completed executive programmes in Strategic Management and Leading Global Business at Harvard Business School, USA.

 

Fellowships and Professional Memberships

Adaora Umeoji is an outstanding professional with a range of prestigious fellowships to her name.

She is a Fellow of the Chartered Banker Institute in the United Kingdom, the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, the Nigerian Institute of Management, the Institute of Credit Administration, the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Nigeria, the Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators, and the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria.

 

Honours and Awards

In 2022, she was awarded the Officer of the Order of the Niger by the Federal Government of Nigeria.

She was also recognized as a Peace Advocate of the United Nations (UN-POLAC). In 2023, she received the Humanitarian Service Icon Award from the Sun Newspaper, in honor of her philanthropic efforts.

Philanthropic Activities

She is the founder of two organizations – Pink Breathe Cancer Foundation and Adorable Foundation. The Pink Breath Cancer Care Foundation runs several healthcare programs every year across the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria. These programmes aim to provide crucial medical care to people living with cancer and other illnesses. She also donates relief materials and offers free healthcare to internally displaced persons all over the country through various intervention initiatives.

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Chery celebrates automobile excellence, creativity at Lagos roadshow

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Chery celebrates automobile excellence, creativity at Lagos roadshow

Chery Nigeria on Friday held many Lagos fans of elegant new vehicles spellbound during its spectacular roadshow.

The event featured a captivating procession from the Carloha showroom to The Palms in VI passing through scenic routes such as the Third Mainland Bridge, Ikoyi and Victoria Island, ending with a celebration at the iconic shopping mall.

The roadshow not only showcased Chery’s exceptional vehicles but also celebrated the spirit of creativity and community.

The event provided a platform for guests to savour and enjoy the unique display of new work of art and automotive excellence.

The roadshow extravaganza, as the organisers called it, was revealed Chery’s commitment to engaging experiences, showcasing the brand’s latest masterpiece, the Tiggo 8 Pro,Tiggo 4 Pro and Arrizo 5, in an unforgettable way.
The highlight of the event was a unique “Sip and Paint” session led by a notable artist, who skilfully captured the essence of the Tiggo 8 Pro on canvas.

Guests were invited to unleash their creativity as they painted their own interpretations of the iconic Chery logo, adding personal touch.
The climax of the evening came with a breathtaking moment as Eben, renowned for his impressionistic prowess, unveiled his masterpiece – a stunning portrayal of the Chery Tiggo 8 Pro.
The artwork, met with awe and admiration from attendees, encapsulated the essence of Chery’s dedication to innovation, style, and sophistication.
Representative of Chery brand in Nigeria, Carloha, says it will continue to provide automotive solutions to  customers with its six-year free service and six-year warranty or 200,000km, whichever comes first.

Meanwhile, Chery has expressed its gratitude to all attendees, partners and supporters who contributed to the success of this extraordinary event.
“As the brand continues its journey of innovation and inspiration, it remains dedicated to delivering exceptional experiences that captivate hearts and minds,” the firm said in a statement on Saturday.

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BDCs consider harmonised retail market as naira depreciates further

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BDCs consider harmonised retail market as naira depreciates further

The Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) has said it is working on establishing a unified retail end forex market operations to tackle volatility and boost regulatory compliance within the Bureau De Change (BDC) sub-sector.

This is as the value of the naira depreciated further at the parallel market to N1,450 to the dollar.

From N1,420 which it was on Thursday, the value of the naira, which had depreciated to N1309 to the dollar at the Nigeria Autonomous Foreign Exchange market (NAFEM) continued to fall at the parallel market.

ABCON president, Alhaji (Dr.) Aminu Gwadabe, said ABCON is carrying out strategic plans meant to unify operators from different cadres of the market including inauguration of state chapters for markets coordination, integration and administering a united market structure.

According to him, ABCON plans to extend its automation policies and platforms to all BDC operators across Nigeria markets and upgrade its Business Process Platform-(formerly called SAAZ Master). He said the new blueprint for a united retail end forex market structure will ensure the deployment of a centralised, democratised and liberalised online real time trading platform.

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He stated that the association will sustain its engagement with regulatory agencies, security operatives and other government apparatus to entrench a secured and thriving forex market that is supportive to regulation and government.

“Part of our vision for a united retail-end forex market include activating geo mapping and automated BDCs physical office verification exercise using the Remote Gravity Physical verification apps. This will enable forex buyers to easily locate where BDCs offices are for effective and seamless transactions”.

He reiterated the benefits of a realistic and vibrant retail end forex market as supporting Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN’s) goal of achieving true price discovery for the naira, balancing of international obligations and national objectives; ensuring ease of regulation, security agencies monitoring and supervision as well as entrenching market visibility for BDC players.

According to Gwadabe, the vision for a united retail end forex market will help in the provision of market intelligence reports, enhance the local and global image of the BDCs and other stakeholders, market operators and boost employment generation.

The successful execution of this plan, Gwadabe said, will help in seamlessly capturing revenues for the government through digitised retail end market and creating a well structured, transparent and competitive platform to checkmate the menace of unlicensed platforms like Binance, Aboki FX, ByBit among others.

BDCs consider harmonised retail market as naira depreciates further

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Naira gains marginally at parallel market as FG plans for diaspora fund

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Naira gains marginally at parallel market as FG plans for diaspora fund

Nigerian currency, Naira, appreciated to N1,380 per dollar on the parallel market on Friday, posting a gain of N70 in one single day, compared to Thursday’s close of N1,450/$1.

On the other hand, the the local currency weakened to N1,339.23/$1 on the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange (NAFEM) window, representing a N29.42 decline, compared to the N1,309.81/$1 it closed at on Wednesday.

However, daily turnover on the NAFEM declined by 2.85 per cent to $309.01 million compared to $318.08 million the previous day.

The highest spot rate stood at N1,410, with the lowest recorded at N1,051.

Meanwhile, as part of efforts to attract and accelerate inflow of foreign currency into the economy, the federal government has unveiled plans to float a $10 billion Nigeria Diaspora Fund.

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The move is expected to among other things, improve FX liquidity in the system as well as strengthen the Naira exchange rate.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite, in a notice shared on her X handle (formerly Twitter), yesterday, revealed that the Nigeria Diaspora Fund Multi-sectoral Investment Initiative would be designed and managed by fund managers selected through an Expression of Interest (EOI) exercise where winners are expected to emerge.

Owing to this, the ministry has issued an EOI Expression to fund managers for the development and establishment of a multisectoral, multilateral private sector-led investment fund to form the $10 billion Nigeria Diaspora Fund.

Newstrends recalls that Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, had recently said Nigerians living in diaspora remained a key source of foreign capital projection, adding that a diaspora bond would be launched by June.

Naira gains marginally at parallel market as FG plans for diaspora fund

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