When Access Holding Co. Nigeria announced the appointment of Bolaji Agbede as acting group CEO following the death of Herbert Wigwe in a plane crash in the US, citing a veteran of nearly three decades in banking and business consulting with a reputation as a champion of human rights. inclusion. It also joins 10 other Nigerian banks that are now led by women, becoming the first of Nigeria’s 10 largest banks to have a female CEO.
Access Holding is the parent company of Access Bank, Nigeria’s largest lender by customer base. Previously, Agbede, whose appointment is subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria, was the company’s founding senior executive director in charge of business support.
She began her professional career in 1992 at Guarantee Trust Bank and in 2003 became CEO of business consulting company JKG.
Joining Access Bank in 2003, she rose to manage a portfolio of chemicals trading companies, then served as group head of human resources before becoming executive director of business support two years ago.
“She has a track record of successfully integrating people to bring businesses together and transform culture,” Access said in a statement.
Access operates in 21 countries on three continents and has more than 65 million customers.
In 2022, it adopted a holding company structure, as many other Nigerian lenders have done, in line with the central bank’s ruling that they either focus on their core banking business or set up a holding company to provide other services.