July 05, (THEWILL) – Three months after it transited to a holding structure in April 2023, Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc has announced the appointment of new Chairman, CEO, and Non-Executive Directors.
This was disclosed in an official statement to Nigeria Exchange Limited Wednesday, as approved by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
According to the statement, the former managing director/CEO, Mr Yemi Adeola is not the Chairman of the group, while Mr Yemi Odubiyi is the new Group Managing Director/CEO..
The statement revealed that Abubakar Suleiman and Shola Adekoya are Non-Executive Directors, while Ms. Aisha Bashir and Mrs Euiye Ambakederemo are Independent Non-Executive Directors.
Also announced is Mr Olayinka Oni now Executive Director.
The new Chairman, Mr. Yemi Adeola, has over 35 years of experience in banking, finance, law, and corporate consultancy.
He worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers as a Consultant, Legal and Corporate Advisory Services at Citibank, Nigeria where he rose to the position of Executive Director, Public Sector, and Infrastructure Banking.
Mr. Adeola was the former Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Bank from 2007 – 2018. He also served as the Deputy Managing Director in Trust Bank of Africa Ltd from 2003 – 2005.
He is currently the Chairman of Lennox & Blair Group and a partner at Adeyemi Adeola & Co. Commercial Arbitrators and Legal Consultants.
Mr. Adeola holds a bachelor’s degree in Law from Obafemi Awolowo University, is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, Member Chartered Institute of Arbitration (CIARB) and Member, Board of Trustees, Association of Banks’ Legal Advisers and Company Secretaries (ABLACS).
He is an alumnus of Harvard Business School, Stanford Business School, the University of Oxford, and the Wharton Business School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is also a John F. Kennedy Scholar.
Mr. Odubiyi, on his part, started his banking career with the Nigeria unit of Citibank as an Operations & Technology Generalist serving across all its Operations and Technology functions and was thereafter enrolled in its Management Associate program undertaking stints across all key units of the Bank.
He left Citibank to join the turnaround team of the then Trust Bank of Africa in 2003 as Head of Operations & Technology. Upon the consolidation of Trust Bank into Sterling Bank Plc, Yemi served as the pioneer Group Head, Trade Services.
In 2008, he was mandated to build the Structured Finance Group and also assumed oversight for corporate strategy serving as Chief Strategy Officer.
Mr. Yemi Odubiyi served as the Executive Director, Corporate and Investment Banking at Sterling Bank Limited from February 2015 to June 2023. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Estate Management and a master’s in international law from the University of Lagos.
He has undertaken senior PUBLIC management/executive education programs in Risk Management, Finance, and General Management at leading international educational institutions including the London and Harvard Business Schools.
Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc was listed on the Nigerian Exchange on April 6, 2023 with market capitalisation of N74 billion
Sam Diala is a Bloomberg Certified Financial Journalist with over a decade of experience in reporting Business and Economy. He is Business Editor at THEWILL Newspaper, and believes that work, not wishes, creates wealth.
