Who is Adesola Adeduntan, former CEO of First Bank?

Adesola Kazeem Adeduntan, the CEO of First Bank Nigeria Limited, resigned from the bank after leading the institution for three terms.

He moved from being an Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer of FirstBank Group before leading the bank as CEO from 2016 to 2024.

In 2021, Adeduntan was sacked as MD/CEO of First Bank of Nigeria by the bank’s board of directors. However, he was reinstated by the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, a day after he was removed by the board.

Before joining FirstBank in 2014, he served as the pioneer Chief Financial Officer/Business Manager of Africa Finance Corporation (AFC). He was also as a Senior Vice-President & Chief Financial Officer at Citibank Nigeria Limited, a Senior Manager in the Financial Services Group of KPMG Professional Services and a Manager at Arthur Andersen Nigeria.

He also holds a Doctor of Science, Honoris Causa holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from Cranfield University Business School, United Kingdom which he attended as a Chevening Scholar.
He has attended leadership programmes at Harvard, Cambridge, Oxford and INSEAD. He is an alumnus of the University of Ibadan, where he obtained a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree.

Adeduntan is a Director of Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), Nigeria Interbank Settlement System PLC (NIBSS) and FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange as well as a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, and the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria.

His banking career spans almost three decades which earned him various recognitions and awards.
Some of these include Forbes Best of Africa – Outstanding Leader in Africa; Distinguished Alumnus Award by both the School of Management, Cranfield University, UK and the University of Ibadan; African Banking Personality of the Year; African Banker of the Year Award and induction into the African Leadership Magazine (ALM) Hall of Fame and African Leadership Council; Honorary Citizenship of the State of Georgia and Congressional Commendation Award from the Georgia Senate – USA; Bank CEO of the Year by the AES Excellence Club, Banking Icon of the Decade Award by The Sun, and African Banking Leadership Legacy Award by the African Leadership Organization.

Beyond banking, Adeduntan is a member of the Bretton Woods Committee and the Sigma Educational Foundation – focused on enhancing the quality of the tertiary education system in Nigeria, a member of the Steering Committee of the Private Sector Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) in Nigeria, a member of the Board of Lagos State Security Trust Fund, where he advances social good and service to humanity.