The board of directors of Fidelity Bank Plc has approved the appointment of three new executive directors.
They are the executive director and chief operations and information officer, Mr. Gbolahan Joshua; executive director, corporate banking, Mr. Obaro Odeghe, and executive director, northern directorate, Mr. Hassan Immam.
The bank said in a statement that the appointments are subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
It explained that Gbolahan would have executive responsibilities for operations, technology, digital banking, investor relations, strategy and business transformation.
Odeghe will oversee the bank’s corporate banking business covering energy, power, manufacturing, telecoms, fast moving consumer goods, construction and real estate while Imman supervises all commercial, SME, consumer and public sector businesses of the bank in the north directorate, comprising 18 states and Abuja.
It further stated that the elevation of the three erstwhile general managers to executive director positions was consistent with the bank’s new succession strategy of grooming leaders from within.
“Over the years, we have worked assiduously at proactively preparing our people and growing the talent and leadership pool in the bank, so that when opportunities arise, we do not always have to look outside. I am most delighted that our three new EDs were all appointed from within,” said the chief executive officer of the bank, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo.
Meanwhile, the chairman, board of directors of Fidelity Bank, Mr. Ernest Ebi, said the appointees have deep knowledge of the banking industry.
“We welcome Gbolahan, Obaro and Hassan to the board. Collectively they have with them, varied and deep industry knowledge and relevant experiences that will not only deepen but engender even more robust discussions and engagements at board level. Please join me in congratulating them,” he said.
Gbolahan attended King’s College Lagos and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting.
He is a Chartered Accountant and has attended several executive and banking specific programmes in leading educational and professional institutions including Harvard, IMD, and Euromoney.
He has 20 years of comprehensive experience across various areas of assurance and banking including, operations, technology, digital banking, strategy, business transformation, finance, treasury, mergers and acquisitions.
For his part, Obaro attended Edo College, Benin City and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Agriculture and an MBA.
He has gained exposures from top global educational and professional institutions including Harvard, Wharton and Kellogg’s.
He has 24 years of banking experience across various areas of banking including corporate banking, commercial banking, SMEs, consumer banking, institutional banking, trade finance and operations.
Imman holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and has two Masters’ degrees and an MBA.
He has attended programmes in Harvard, Stanford, Wharton and other leading international educational and professional institutions.
He has 25 years of comprehensive experience across various areas of banking including; commercial banking, consumer banking, SMEs, institutional banking, trade finance, operations, treasury and risk management.
