Ecobank names Ade Ayeyemi new CEO

Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), parent company of the Ecobank Group, has announced the appointment of Ade Ayeyemi as its new Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) effective from September 01, 2015.

Ayeyemi, 52, will replace Albert Essien, who retires on June 30, 2015 after 25 years of meritorious service with the group. An interim arrangement will be made by the Ecobank board for the management of the group during the period between July 01 through August 31, pending his resumption.

Emmanuel Ikazoboh, chairman, Ecobank Group, was quoted in the statement as describing Ayeyemi’s choice as thorough, and expressing the bank’s confidence in his abilities.

“After a thorough and extensive search throughout the African continent, we are delighted to have secured Ade as the person to lead Ecobank through the next phase of its development and beyond as a world-class pan-African bank,” he said.

“Ade is a truly outstanding individual with deep knowledge of banking across Africa, and we welcome him to the Board. At the same time, I should like to thank Albert Essien for his 25-year career at Ecobank and for his stellar service as group chief executive officer over the past year. We wish him well in his retirement.”

Ayeyemi is an experienced banker with a long and successful career with Citigroup, where he is currently chief executive officer of its sub-Saharan Africa division, based in Johannesburg.

He is an accounting graduate of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree with First Class Honours.

He also studied at the University of London and is an alumnus of Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Programme. He is a chartered accountant and is a trained UNIX administrator and network operating systems manager.

Responding to his appointment, Ayeyemi said: “I am delighted to have been offered the opportunity to lead this great institution, and commend Albert Essien for his legacy work of helping further the premier pan-African financial institution.

“Ecobank has an exceptional platform, great people, solid strategy and strong momentum. I sincerely look forward to working with the management team, the board of directors, and the employees of Ecobank as we set new standards in financial services for our clients across the board.”