Jim Ovia is Co-Founder and pioneer Managing Director/CEO of Zenith Bank Plc. He has over 25 years banking experience.

He is the Chairman of the Nigeria Software Development Initiative (NSDI) and also Chairman, National Information Technology Advisory Committee [NITAC]. He is a member of the Governing Council, Nigerian Investment Promotion Council [NIPC] and also a member of the Honorary International Investor Council.

Jim Ovia is a member of the Governing Council of Lagos State University, Lagos and also a member of the Board of Trustees, Redeemer's University For Nations, Lagos. He is the proprietor of the proposed University of Information and Communication Technology, Agbor, Delta State; he served on the board of American International School, Lagos [2001 -2003].

Jim Ovia headed various Non-Governmental Organisations [NGO] at various times including being the first President of the Nigeria Internet Group [2001-2003]; member, Tsunami Disaster Relief Committee and co-ordinator Nigerians United To Save Niger Republic [NUSAN].

He is the founder and Chairman of Mankind United to Support Total Education (MUSTE), a philanthropic organization focused on providing scholarship for the less privileged, of which some of the beneficiaries are now qualified Medical Doctors, Lawyers, Engineers etc.

Jim Ovia is also the founder of the ICT Foundation for Youth Empowerment, which focuses on improving the socio-economic welfare of Nigerian Youths by inspiring and motivating them to embrace Information and Communication Technology. The initiative holds annual Youth Empowerment conferences.

In November 2000, Jim Ovia was conferred with the national award of Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR) by the President, Federal Government of Nigeria. He had earlier received the Zik Award for professional leadership in April 1999. He was also conferred with the honorary degree of Doctor of Science [D.Sc) in Finance by the Lagos State University in October, 2005.

Jim Ovia has a Master's degree in Business Administration from the University of Louisiana, Louisiana, USA in 1979 and a B.Sc degree in Business Administration from Southern University, Louisiana, USA (1977). He is also an Alumnus of Harvard Business School (OPM).

Jim Ovia is a motivational speaker and has delivered speeches at several conferences. He has authored several published and unpublished works and he is in the vanguard of promotion and propagation of Information and Communication Technology in Nigeria.

Godwin Emefiele is the Group Managing Director, Zenith Bank Plc, a position he has held since August 2010. Until then he was the Deputy Managing Director of the bank, having been appointed into that position in 2001. Emefiele has been on the bank's management team since inception and has held various management positions in the bank, including serving as the Bank's Executive Director in charge of Corporate Banking, Treasury, Financial Control and Strategic Planning.

 

Until he took over as Group Managing Director, Emefiele was directly responsible for all the Group's local subsidiaries, Treasury and Correspondent Banking, and Multilateral, Conglomerates, & Private Banking. He also had responsibilities for direct supervision of majority of the bank's branches in Lagos and Northern Nigeria.

 

Emefiele has over twenty-five (25) years banking experience and holds a B.Sc and an MBA in Finance both from the University of Nigeria Nnsukka. Before commencing his banking career, he lectured Finance, Bank Management, and Insurance at the University of Nigeria and University of Port Harcourt respectively.

 

He is an alumnus of Stanford University, Harvard and Wharton Graduate School of Business where he took courses in Negotiation, Service Excellence, Critical Thinking, Leading Change and Strategy.

 

Under Emefiele's leadership, Zenith Bank has strengthened its position as a leading financial institution in Africa, winning recognition and getting endorsement at home and abroad for giant strides in key performance areas like corporate governance, service delivery and deployment of cutting-edge ICT as well as impact in the bank's numerous spheres of operations.

 

In 2012, Emefiele's visionary leadership saw Zenith Bank receiving acclaim from reputable institutions such as world finance, CFI and FTSE Global Markets that have named Zenith the Best in Corporate Governance, Best Commercial Bank in Africa, and Emerging Global Super brand respectively.

Mr Amangbo is an Executive Director in the Bank. He graduated with a B.Eng. in Electrical/Electronics from University of Benin in 1988 and holds an MBA. He worked in PricewaterHouseCoopers, before moving over to Zenith Bank Plc in 1993.

 

He has over 16years postgraduate experience out of which he spent 12years in the banking industry and 4years experience in PricewaterHouseCoopers.

 

Elias Igbin -Akenzua is an Executive Director in charge of Oil/Gas Multinationals, middle market and commercial banking departments of the bank. He graduated with a B.Sc. Accounting in 1988 from the University of Benin and holds an MBA.

 

He had earlier worked in the Bank’s Treasury/ Financial Institutions and Corporate Banking Departments. A fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), he worked with the Audit/Financial service arm of PricewaterHouseCoopers for 4 years before moving over to Zenith Bank Plc in January 1993. He has over 16 years Postgraduate experience out of which he spent 12 years in the banking industry. He is an Alumnus of Executive Education at Insead, Fountanbleu, France and Wharton Graduate School of Business, USA.

He is an Executive Director in the Bank. He holds a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Accounting from the Yaba College of Technology and graduated with a Distinction in 1987. He also has a Masters in Banking and Finance from the University of Lagos.

 

He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria. He joined the service of the Bank in February 1992. He has over 17 years of Postgraduate experience out of which he spent 5 years in reputable Audit firms and about 12 years in the banking industry.

Adaora holds a Bachelors degree in Sociology from the University of Jos and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Calabar. She is a member of the Nigerian Institute of Management and also a member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Nigeria (ICPAN).

She has extensive experience, which span over several years of covering various department of the bank ranging from Customer Service, Treasury and Credit & Marketing. She has won numerous awards for service excellence and business development in the bank. She has attended a number of offshore courses including an Executive Education programme on Strategic Thinking and Management for Competitive Advantage at Wharton Business School, Pennsylvania, USA in 2002. She also attended the Harvard Business School Executive Education (OPM) in 2004.

She is the Regional/Group Director of the bank heading the Abuja Zone, which has the responsibility of managing the large corporates, high net worth individuals and Private and Public Sector relationship, in the Federal Capital Territory.

Pamela Yough is a General Manager with the Bank in charge of Multilateral, Conglomerate and Private Banking (MCP Group) and also Group Head, Treasury/Correspondent Banking. She holds a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration from Pace University, New York (1984) and an MBA in International Business from Long Island University, New York (1986).

 

She joined Zenith Bank in 1999 from Citizens Bank and prior to that was in International Merchant Bank, where she started her banking career. She has over 17 years of banking experience.

Udom Emmanuel is the Executive Director in charge of Corporate Finance and advisory services, Research/Strategy/Financial Control, Telecoms, Multilateral, Conglomerates & Private Banking (MCP) and Foreign Subsidiaries.

 

He also sits on the board of Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), Nigerian Interbanks Settlement System (NIBSS), Zenith Bank UK and Zenith Pension & Custodian.

 

An alumnus of INSEAD, France, Columbia Business School, USA, the Wharton Business School, USA and the London Business School, Udom is also a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Fellow of the Institute of Financial Management and an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria.

 

With over 23 years cognate experience in financial services garnered from PricewaterHouseCoopers and Zenith Bank, he is authorized by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to carry-out financial services in the United Kingdom.

Andy Ojei, Executive Director, has recently returned to Head Office after a successful tenure as the Managing Director in charge of Zenith Bank (Ghana) Limited. Prior to this, Andy was a General Manager and Chief Inspector of the Bank. He is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelors degree in Accountancy from the University of Lagos (1982).

 

He joined Zenith Bank in 1992, having worked as an Audit Manager in Ibraheem Jimoh & Co. (Chartered Accountants). He has headed a number of branches and departments including Financial Control and Strategic Planning and Corporate Banking. He has over twelve years banking experience and has attended the Advanced Management Programme at Oxford University, U. K.