UBA Appoints Kennedy Uzoka As GMD

The United Bank of Africa has announced the appointment of Kennedy Uzoka as the new group managing director-designate of the bank.

At a meeting held at UBA House, the UBA Group's Board on Tuesday said the appointment will take effect from August 1, 2016 and subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Mr Uzoka succeeds Phillips Oduoza, who will retire July 31, 2016, after two terms of leading the UBA Group.

Uzoka have recently completed an advanced management programme at Harvard Business School and has made staggering contribution by leading the transformation agenda of the Bank.

He has over two and half decades of experience in commercial banking, strategy and business transformation. Prior to his sabbatical at Harvard, Uzoka served as deputy managing director, UBA Group, and was also the CEO of UBA Africa, responsible for the Group's operations in 18 countries across Africa.

Uzoka is a graduate of Mechanical Engineering from University of Benin and holds a Master's Degree in Business Administration from University of Lagos.

Also appointed Tuesday was Victor Osadolor as the deputy managing director, UBA Group.

Mr Osadolor has a strong finance and risk background, having previously served as the executive director, Risk and Finance at UBA.

Osadolor also held the position of chief strategy officer at Ecobank Transnational Incorporation.

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Accountants of Nigeria. He also holds the Advanced Management Programme Certificate from the Harvard Business School.

In his speech, the chairman of UBA Group, Mr Tony Elumelu, said of both appointments:

“Kennedy brings an extremely strong skill-set and is ideally positioned to lead UBA in its next phase of growth. His most recent experience of managing the Group's increasingly important African business is particularly relevant, as we all work to build one of the leading financial services franchises in Africa. I have no doubt that both he and Victor, with their expertise and depth of business experience, will ensure that the Bank is best positioned to deliver on its strategic ambition.”

He also thanked the outgoing Oduoza for all that he had done for the Bank in guiding UBA through a particularly challenging period.

“The Board feels that the strong foundations created during Mr Oduoza's term provide an excellent basis for our further success,” Elumelu said.

UBA is one of Africa's leading financial institutions, with operations in 19 African countries and three global financial centres: London, Paris and New York.

-Emmanuel Ikechukwu