Meet GTBank alumni who are directors at other banks

Many know Guaranty Trust Bank (GTCO Holdings) as one of Nigeria’s most valued financial lenders. Their constant participation in the fashion, entertainment and food industries has also made them a household name among young Nigerians. But there’s more. They have also become a hotbed for executive talent, with footprints all over the corporate sector.

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Today, six out of the 14 publicly listed banks have GTBank alumni leading their boards. Meet them:

• Kafilat Araoye – Managing Director, LOTUS Bank

Kafilat began working in 1988 at National Oil and Chemicals Marketing Company Plc (which is now called Conoil Nigeria Plc). Then in 1990, she moved to Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, where she became the first person to lead the Human Resources department.

While at GTBank, she was part of a team that went to Jordan to set up the bank’s main computer system. She also worked on other important projects for the bank.

Kafilat left GTBank in 2015 as a General Manager, with lots of praise for her work. After leaving, she advised banks and other businesses through her own consulting company until 2018.

In 2018, she was chosen to be the Managing Director (MD) of LOTUS Bank, which was just being created at that time.

• Haruna Musa – Managing Director/CEO, Jaiz Bank Plc

Haruna has been working in banks for over 28 years. He spent 22 of those years at GT Bank, and for 8 of those years, he was an executive director. He started his banking career at the United Bank for Africa (UBA) in 1997 as a Banking Officer.

In December 1998, he moved to FSB International Bank (which is now called Fidelity Bank). Then in March 2001, he joined GT Bank. He stayed at GT Bank until October 2023, when he finished his time as an Executive Director. In that role, he was in charge of the North East, Abuja, and North Central areas.

While working at GT Bank in Nigeria, Haruna also had other important jobs. He was a Non-Executive Director at GT Bank in Côte D’Ivoire (Ivory Coast). He was also the chairman of the bank’s board audit committee.

• Akinola George-Taylor – Managing Director/CEO, Heritage Bank Plc

Akinola George-Taylor has banking experience. He’s been working in banks and financial services for over twenty (20) years. and has a proven track record in managing multi-billion Naira operations. He started his banking career in 1993 with GTBank. And over time, he rose to the position of Executive Director in charge of Public Sector Group, Abuja & North Central.

George-Taylor also ran GTBank in Sierra Leone as its Managing Director between 2005 to 2009.

• Roosevelt Ogbonna – Managing Director/CEO, Access Bank

Roosevelt Ogbonna was appointed as the Bank’s Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer effective May 2022. Before this, he was appointed as the Bank’s Deputy Managing Director in 2017 and Executive Director in 2013. He is a through-bred and consummate professional with over two decades of banking experience, having joined Access Bank in 2002 from Guaranty Trust Bank.

• Wale Oyedeji – Group Managing Director, FBN Holdings PLC

Wale Oyedeji started at GTBank in 1992 as a trainee. He worked his way up, becoming a General Manager and then an Executive Director in charge of the Public Sector Group in 2011. He knows a lot about corporate banking, managing money, and commercial banking. Oyedeji helped with many important projects that made the bank successful. From November 13, 2024, he will be the official Group Managing Director of FBN Holdings Plc, where he uses his skills to help the company grow and try new things.

Read also: The GTBank story: Push a door and it might open

• Jubril Mobolaji Lawal – Regional Executive and Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria

Jubril Mobolaji Lawal began at GTBank in 1992 as a trainee. He worked his way up to become the head of the Digital Banking Division. In March 2017, he became an Executive Director at GTBank, still focusing on digital banking. Lawal has worked in banking for over 28 years and is especially good at digital banking. He’s been a director at GTBank in Nigeria and Ghana and at the Nigeria Interbank Settlement Systems Plc.