A Nigerian man, Olamide Obe, has recounted how Adaora Umeoji, the first female Group CEO of Zenith bank got into the bank as a youth Corper and made her significant mark.
On Tuesday, March 19, Adaora Umeoji was appointed by Zenith bank as its new Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, succeeding former GMD, Dr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu, whose five-year tenure expires on May 31, 2024.
Adaora will be joining the league of top female CEOs of prestigious banks including Miriam Olusanya (GT Bank), Yemisi Edun (FCMB), Halima Buba (SunTrust Bank), Ireti Samuel-Ogbu (Citibank) among many others.
Her success inspired many on social media platforms as commenters shared congratulatory messages. Video also captured the happy mood of Zenith bank staffs as they celebrated Adaora Umeoji.
Olamide, who is a staff of Zenith Bank, could not contain his joy as he shares Adaora’s remarkable journey into Zenith bank via his Twitter page.
He revealed that Adaora came into the prestigious bank as a National youth service corps (NYSC) member, where she completed her one-year service.
While working at the bank, she managed to secure a cheque of N1 billion for Zenith Bank’s founder, Jim James Ovia, ultimately securing her a position within the bank.
He narrates, “During my nysc days at Zenith Bank as my PPA in 2008, our branch head then would always use Adaora to ginger us.”
“He would tell us that Adaora came to this bank as a youth corper and she brought a ₦1bn cheque to Jim, and a space had to be created for her at the table.”
“He would further say we can also jump from being a youth corper to a non-executive director if we can increase our DDA by ₦1bn and people would be demoted if necessary just to create space for us at the table.”
“Adaora was someone every corper, ET & EA in Zenith bank looked up to as role model those days. It’s so pleasant hearing that she has been appointed as the new MD of Zenith Bank. I wish her a successful tenure.”
Checkout the post below:
During my nysc days at Zenith Bank as my PPA in 2008, our branch head then would always use Adaora to ginger us. He would tell us that Adaora came to this bank as a youth corper and she brought a ₦1bn cheque to Jim, and a space had to be created for her at the table. He would… pic.twitter.com/ZPuz0UDT42
— Olamide Obe (@olajideobe) March 19, 2024
It is worth noting that Adaora, born in Anambra, had been the Deputy Managing Director of the bank since October 28, 2016 and has close to 30 years cognate banking experience of which 26 years has been with Zenith Bank.
She is an alumnus of the prestigious Harvard Business School where she attended the Advanced Management Program (AMP) and an alumnus of Columbia Business School with a Certificate in the Global Banking Program. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from the University of Jos, a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting and a first-class honors in Law from Baze University, Abuja.
She holds a Master of Laws from the University of Salford, United Kingdom, a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of 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 Universities around the world including the strategic thinking and Management programme at Wharton Business School, USA. She also attended the executive program in Strategic Management, and has a Certificate in Leading Global Business all from Harvard Business School, USA.
In 2022, the Federal Government of Nigeria honored Umeoji with Officer of the Order of the Niger, as a recognition of her contributions to nation building. She is a Peace Advocate of the United Nations (UN-POLAC).
“She has impacted many lives through her philanthropic and humanitarian activities through her NGOs; Pink Breath Cancer Foundation and the Adorable Foundation that educates, caters for Cancer patients and indigent children education especially the Girl-Child.”