Dr Adaora Umeoji has been appointed as the first female Group Managing Director of Zenith Bank Plc, effective June 1, 2024.
This was disclosed in a statement signed by the Company Secretary, Michael Otu, which was filed with the Nigerian Exchange Limited on Tuesday.
Umeoji will take over from the current GMD, Dr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu, whose time in office expires May 31.
“Dame (Dr.) Adaora Umeoji is the first female GMDCEO since the inception of the bank, and her appointment is consistent with the bank’s executive transition tradition, succession plan, and strategy of grooming leaders from within,” the statement read in part.
Before her appointment, Umeoji has been the Deputy Managing Director of the bank since October 28, 2016 and has close to 30 years of banking experience of which 26 years has been with Zenith Bank.
According to her profile, Umeoji is an alumnus of Harvard Business School, where she attended the Advanced Management Programme, and an alumnus of Columbia Business School with a Certificate in the Global Banking Program. She holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Jos, a bachelor’s degree in accounting, and a first-class honours degree in law from Baze University, Abuja.
She also holds a Master of Laws from the University of Salford, United Kingdom, a Master in Business Administration from the University of Calabar, and also has a doctorate in business administration from Apollos University, USA. She holds a Certificate in Economics for Business from the prestigious MIT Sloan School of Management, USA, and has attended various management programmes in renowned Universities around the world, including the strategic thinking and Management programme at Wharton Business School, USA.