President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed Rotimi Akinde and Ifeoma Uz’Okpala as executive directors of the Bank of Industry (BoI).
Theodora Amechi, who heads BoI’s Public Relations Division, made a statement on Wednesday that the appointments would take effect on August 26.
Akinde will be in charge of the Corporate Finance and Risk Management role, and Uz’Okpala will be in charge of the Large Enterprises Directorate.
Akinde is a finance specialist with more than 20 years of experience in investment and corporate banking, and has a strong track record in capital raising, which encompasses debt, equities, and hybrids.
According to a statement by Theodora Amechi, the head of BOI’s Public Relations Division, Akinde has experience in corporate finance, specifically in mergers & acquisitions, privatization advisory, and project finance.
He held the position of Associate Partner, Project & Corporate Finance at Infrastructure Delivery International (IDI) where he worked on the UKNIAF program and advocated for green finance and structured debt solutions for sub-nationals.
As a Corporate Finance Advisor at the Nigeria Infrastructure Advisory Facility (NIAF), he was responsible for providing financing initiatives, modeling, and funding structures to the infrastructure team, as per the bank’s statement.
In Corporate Banking, he held the position of Group Head and Assistant General Manager for Multinationals at UBA Plc. Before that, he held the position of Vice President, Corporate Finance & Advisory at UBA Global Markets, which is now United Capital.
Akinde, according to the statement, was a Privatisation Adviser & Head, Oil & Gas Team at the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), where he closed on the divestiture and sale of the federal government’s equity interest in 11 oil services companies and achieved the sale of all the federal government’s Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) assets.
He served as an Assistant Manager at Lead Bank Plc, working in both the Investment and Corporate Banking Groups, as noted.
He had previous experience working in the financial industry in the United Kingdom as an analyst at Barclays Funds in London.
His academic achievements include obtaining degrees in Economics from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, a Masters Degree in International Securities, Investment and Banking from the University of Reading, UK, and an Executive MBA from INSEAD.
The statement mentioned that Uz’Okpala started working at BOI in September 2014 as Group Head, Large Enterprises Credit and then became the Chief Risk Officer of the Bank until her appointment.
The statement highlighted that her role as the Chief Risk Officer of the Bank was vital in managing and mitigating risks associated with the bank’s operations, as well as providing support for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks.
“ She offered invaluable ESG support within transactions and provided the roadmap for attracting impact investments. Uz’Okpala is a seasoned Credit and Risk Management Professional, with a career spanning over 30 years in the financial sector.
“She commenced her career at International Merchant Bank (IMB) and progressed through key roles at MBC International, First Bank, Stanbic Bank, and UBA. Her versatile expertise includes Internal Audit, Corporate Finance, Credit Evaluation and Origination, Foreign Operations, and Risk Management.
“She is an alumna of the University of Nigeria, where she attained a BSc. In Accountancy and a graduate of the prestigious Lagos Business School.
“Uz’Okpala is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (FCA), an Honourary Senior Member (HCIB) of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of N igeria and Member of the Chartered Risk Management Institute,” the statement added.
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