by Jane osamor
ZenithBankPlchasannouncedtheappointmentofDame(Dr.)AdaoraUmeoji,OON,as
Group Managing Director/Chief Executive with effect from June 1, 2024, subject to approval
by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). She takes over from Dr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu, whose
five-yeartermexpires on May 31, 2024, after a very successful tenure. Dame(Dr.)Adaora
Umeoji is the first female GMD/CEO since the inception of the bank, and her appointment is
consistentwiththebank’sexecutivetransitiontradition,successionplan,andstrategyof
grooming leaders from within.
Priortothisappointment,Dr.UmeojihasbeentheDeputyManagingDirectorofthebank
sinceOctober28,2016andhasclosetothirty(30)yearscognatebankingexperienceof
which twenty-six (26) years has been with Zenith Bank.
SheisanalumnusoftheprestigiousHarvardBusinessSchoolwheresheattendedthe
Advanced Management Program (AMP) and an alumnus of Columbia Business School with
aCertificateintheGlobalBankingProgram.SheholdsaBachelor’sDegreeinSociology
fromtheUniversityofJos,aBachelor’sDegreeinAccountingandaFirst-Classhonorsin
LawfromBazeUniversity, Abuja. She holds aMasterofLawsfromtheUniversityof
Salford,UnitedKingdom,aMaster inBusiness Administration(MBA) fromthe Universityof
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
UniversitiesaroundtheworldincludingthestrategicthinkingandManagementprogramme
atWhartonBusinessSchool,USA.ShealsoattendedtheexecutiveprograminStrategic
Management,andhasaCertificateinLeadingGlobalBusinessallfromHarvardBusiness
School, USA.
Sheisafellowof notableprofessional bodiesincluding theChartered BankerInstitute, UK,
CharteredInstituteofBankersofNigeria,NigerianInstituteofManagement,Instituteof
Credit Administration, Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Nigeria, Institute of
Chartered Mediators and Conciliators, and the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and
Administrators of Nigeria among others.
In 2022, theFederal Governmentof Nigeriahonored Dr.Umeoji with Officerof theOrder of
the Niger, asarecognitionofhercontributionsto nationbuilding.SheisaPeaceAdvocate
of the United Nations (UN-POLAC).
Shehasimpacted many lives through her philanthropic and humanitarianactivities through
her NGOs; Pink Breathe Cancer Foundation and the Adorable Foundation that educates,
catersforCancerpatientsandindigentchildreneducationespeciallytheGirl-Child.Her
contributiontohumanitywasrecognizedbytheSunNewspaperwhichrecentlybestowed
on her the Humanitarian Service Icon Award for 2023.
As a result of her passion for promoting professionalism in the banking industry and
improving the well-being of the less privileged, Dr. Adaora Umeoji, OON founded the
CatholicBankersAssociationofNigeria(CBAN),aplatformsheusestopromoteethical
banking and service to humanity.
She isa Ladyof theOrder ofKnightsofSt.JohnInternational(KSJI),andwasawardeda
Papal Knight of the Order of St. Sylvester by His Holiness Pope Francis
