APPOINTMENT  Archives — Page 2 of 2 — Business Bells

Business Bells

Category: APPOINTMENT 

  • Gbenga Shobo Succeeds Sola Adeduntan as First Bank MD

    Gbenga Shobo Succeeds Sola Adeduntan as First Bank MD

     

    Gbenga Shobo has been appointed as the new managing director and chief executive officer of First Bank of Nigeria Limited with effect from April 28.

     

    Ibukun Awosika, the bank’s chairman, announced his appointment in a statement on Wednesday.

     

    Shobo will succeed Sola Adeduntan, who will be leaving the bank in accordance with the term limit for chief executives, after leading the bank since January 2016.

     

    “We are proud to announce Gbenga Shobo as our new MD/CEO. His appointment has proven the resilience of our succession planning mechanisms and the value we place on our long-standing corporate governance practices, which underpin the institution’s enduring sustainability and 127-year legacy,” Awosika said.

     

     “The board is confident that Gbenga has the experience and understanding of the bank and the know-how to lead the bank through this next phase of growth, which is focused on positioning First Bank as the pre-

    eminent bank in our chosen markets, delivering value to our stakeholders.

     

    “I would like to thank Sola for his dedication and efforts during his helm at the Bank, and before as CFO. The board and I are grateful for his leadership of the bank over the last 5 and a half years and believe that the strong foundations created during his term will provide an excellent basis for our continued success.”

     

    Awosika said Shobo was appointed as the bank’s deputy managing director (DMD) in 2016.

     

    He also formerly served as executive director overseeing the retail banking/public sector businesses in the Lagos & West directorate and was hitherto the executive director overseeing the retail business in the South directorate.

     

    “As part of his responsibility for retail banking, he has been instrumental in developing and growing the bank’s agency banking business, which today, is the market leader in agency banking, leveraging partnerships and best-in-class technology and bringing banking services to millions of unbanked and underbanked customers in Nigeria and across various countries where we operate through our African subsidiaries,” she added.

     

    The bank’s board also appointed Abdullahi Ibrahim as deputy managing director while Ini Ebong, Segun Alebiosu, Seyi Oyefeso and Bashirat Odunewu were appointed as executive directors.

     

    The appointments are subject to all regulatory approvals.

  • World Trade Organization Appoints Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala As New Director-General

    World Trade Organization Appoints Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala As New Director-General

    Nigeria’s former Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has been appointed the new chief of the World Trade Organization, becoming the first woman to ever lead the Switzerland-based institution and the first African citizen to take on the role.

     

    However, this is not the first time that Okonjo-Iweala makes history.

     

    Born in Nigeria, Okonjo-Iweala graduated from Harvard University in 1976 and then earned a PhD from MIT.

     

    She then became the first woman to take on the Nigerian finance ministry and the foreign ministry too. She was also the first female to run for the World Bank presidency, where she spent 25 years.

     

    In October, her WTO candidacy was supported by all geographic regions at the trade body apart from the United States, where the then-Trump administration said it would continue backing the Korean candidate.

     

    However, Okonjo-Iweala’s appointment was cleared when President Joe Biden announced a few days ago his support for the 66-year old.

     

    Her vision for the WTO

    The WTO is at a crossroads after many countries seemed to take a step back from long-standing norms governing international trade. In addition, its appellate body has been paralyzed for months after the U.S. — again, under the Trump administration — prevented the appointment of new judges therefore rendering it unable to rule on any trade disputes.

     

    “My vision is also of a rejuvenated and strengthened WTO that will be confident to tackle effectively ongoing issues,” Okonjo-Iweala told WTO members during a hearing in July.

     

    “It is clear that a rules-based system without a forum in which a breach of the rules can be effectively arbitrated loses credibility over time,” she said at the same hearing.

     

    Officials in the European Union and the United States have previously said the WTO needs to be reformed and its rules updated, but there is no consensus on how to do it.

     

    “The WTO appears paralyzed at a time when its rule book would greatly benefit from an update to 21st century issues such as ecommerce and the digital economy, the green and circular economies,” Okonjo-Iweala said.

     

    She is also likely to support female participation in global trade, having said that “greater efforts should be made to include women-owned enterprises in the formal sector.”

     

    Sleeping on the floor

    Okonjo-Iweala has said she can take hardship, having experienced Nigeria’s brutal civil war during her teenage years, during which her family reportedly lost all their savings.

     

    “I can take hardship. I can sleep on the cold floor anytime,” she told the BBC in an interview in 2012.

     

    When serving as Nigeria’s finance minister, kidnappers demanded Okonjo-Iweala resign after taking her mother hostage. She refused to comply and they ended up releasing her mother a few days later, the BBC reported.

     

    She has also been involved in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, being the African Union’s special envoy on the matter. Okonjo-Iweala has been a board member of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance — a public-private health partnership immunizing people in poorer countries.

  • Pepsico Appoints David Flavell as EVP, General Counsel And Corporate Secretary

    Pepsico Appoints David Flavell as EVP, General Counsel And Corporate Secretary

    Flavell, PepsiCo’s current SVP, Deputy General Counsel and Chief Compliance & Ethics Officer, will succeed Dave Yawman, who departs PepsiCo after more than twenty-two years of dedicated service to pursue other interests.

     

    Flavell will begin his new role on March 1, with Yawman staying on in the interim to ensure a smooth and efficient transition.

     

    PepsiCo Chairman and CEO, Ramon Laguarta said,  “On behalf of everyone at PepsiCo, including our Board of Directors, I want to sincerely thank Dave not only for his years of judicious guidance that steered our company through many complex issues, but also for his unwavering dedication to his colleagues and to doing what is right”.

     

    “Dave will always be an honored member of our PepsiCo family, and we know his steadfast values, innate curiosity, and unassailable character will serve him well wherever his journey takes him next.”

     

    Laguarta continued: “At the same time, we have no doubt that David Flavell is the ideal person to take over this important role. David is a highly respected leader with a decade of experience at PepsiCo, including as General Counsel for different businesses and geographies and the leader of our Compliance and Ethics team. In each position, he has demonstrated a firm commitment to upholding and modeling the values we stand for as a company, and I look forward to working with him even more closely in the years ahead to make PepsiCo a faster, stronger, better company.”

     

    Flavell joined PepsiCo in 2011 and has served in various senior legal roles including as General Counsel for Frito-Lay North America and the AMEA and Latin America businesses. Through these positions, Flavell gained valuable visibility into PepsiCo’s international and domestic businesses and diverse product categories. As Chief Compliance and Ethics Officer, he has been instrumental in maintaining and enhancing the company’s global Compliance and Ethics Program, ensuring the company acts with integrity throughout its operations. Prior to joining PepsiCo he was the General Counsel for Asia Pacific and Middle East with Danone, based in Shanghai, China. Flavell spent the first 10 years of his career with leading Australian law firm Corrs Chambers Westgarth where he was ultimately a corporate and anti-trust partner.

     

    PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $67 billion in net revenue in 2019, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker and Tropicana. PepsiCo’s product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including 23 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.

     

    Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Convenient Foods and Beverages by Winning with Purpose. “Winning with Purpose” reflects our ambition to win sustainably in the marketplace and embed purpose into all aspects of the business.

  • Zedcrest Group Appoints Olumide Odewole As New Chief Financial Officer

    Zedcrest Group Appoints Olumide Odewole As New Chief Financial Officer

    Africa’s foremost new-age financial solutions powerhouse, Zedcrest Group has announced the appointment of Olumide Odewole as its new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and member of the executive management.

     

    In a statement issued by Zedcrest, the GMD of the company, Adedayo Amzat stated that Olumide will play a key role in the scaling of the Group’s operations; driving cultural change and strong sustainable performance.

     

    “I am pleased to welcome Olumide to Zedcrest Group and our leadership team. His deep and extensive experience in leading financial operations and value integration, as well as driving performance, operations, control and shared services results, will make a strong contribution to the leadership of Zedcrest.

     

    “We have achieved a whole lot since inception in 2013, being lucky to have scored the most amazing senior leadership team to steer the ship. However, with an ambitious roadmap to execute, we clearly need a lot more management competence to drive our growth initiatives.

     

    “Olumide is bringing on-board a competence and culture we have struggled with in-house, that of ordered and methodical execution”, he said.

     

    Prior to joining Zedcrest Group, Olumide was the Chief Operating Officer with Monument Group, a diversified company with interest in key sectors of the Nigerian Economy, from November 2017 to December 2020. He has over 15 years’ experience covering Global business leadership, Corporate Finance, Deal Structuring and Fund Raising, Risk Management and Control, Financial and Treasury Management, P&L and Budget Management and Direction, Performance Management, Strategic Planning and Execution, Financial Analysis and Reporting, Product and Venture Development, Operational problem solving, Business Process Development and Improvement, Project Management, amongst others.

     

    Over the last decade, Olumide has worked as Corporate Finance and Governance Consultant for Phillips Consulting Limited (a leading business and management Consulting firm in Nigeria); Finance and Strategy Manager for a leading downstream oil and gas company in Nigeria; Core Planning Manager for a telecommunications consulting firm in Nigeria, and Accounts Manager and Tax Accountant for a leading FMCG company in Nigeria.

     

    Olumide is a CFA Charter holder, a Qualified Accountant (Nigeria and the United Kingdom), and holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting from the Oxford Brookes University (UK).

  • Buhari Appoints Auditor-General, FRC Boss

    Buhari Appoints Auditor-General, FRC Boss

    President Muhammadu Buhari has nominated Mr Aghughu Adolphus for appointment as the auditor-general for the Federation.

     

    The appointment according to a statement on Tuesday by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Babajide Omoworare, is in pursuant to Section 86(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

     

    Aghughu has been acting as the auditor-general since the retirement of Mr Anthony Ayine from service upon attainment of the mandatory retirement age of 60 years on 25th October 2020.

     

    The auditor-general designate hails from Edo State and holds a master’s degree in economics.

     

    He is a Fellow of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria, Member of the Nigerian Institute of Management and Associate member of Chartered Institute of Taxation.

     

    He became an auditor in the Office of the Auditor-General in 1992 and was promoted to the rank of Director of Audit in January 2016.

     

    In a related development, the President has also nominated Victor Muruako for appointment as Chairman for the Fiscal Responsibility Commission in accordance with the provision of section 5(3) of the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007.

     

    Muruako, a legal practitioner had served as the Secretary to the Fiscal Responsibility Commission and currently acts as the chairman of the commission. He is from Imo State.

     

    Both letters of nomination have been forwarded to the Senate President, Senator Ahmad Lawan, for confirmation by the Senate.