Meet Adaora Umeoji, Zenith Bank’s newly appointed group managing director

Adaora Umeoji has been appointed as the Group Managing Director (GMD) effective June 2024. This makes her the first female GMD to lead the bank.

She is moving up from being the deputy managing director of Zenith Bank Plc, a position she has held since 2016. She briefly retired from the role in February 2023 due to a regulatory filing posted on the Nigerian Exchange website and was reinstated in August of the same year after the directive was adjusted.

She was appointed to the board on October 9, 2012.

Adaora Umeoji joined the Bank in 1998, and since joining the bank, she headed the marketing group Maitama branch and went on to be the deputy zonal head of the Abuja Zone.

She then became executive director in charge of Abuja and Middle Belt Zones of the Bank.

She is an alumnus of Harvard Business School, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Jos, a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, and a first-class honors in Law from Baze University Abuja.

She’s a Master of Laws graduate from the University of Salford, United Kingdom, and a Master in Business Administration from the University of Calabar.

She attended the strategic thinking and management program at Wharton Business School, USA, and holds a certificate in Economics for Business from the prestigious MIT Management Sloan School and a Certificate in Leading Global Businesses from Harvard Business School, USA.

She is a fellow of professional bodies including the Chartered Bankers Institute of London, the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, the Institute of Credit Administration, the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Nigeria, the Institute of Chartered Meditators & Conciliators, and the Institute of Chartered Secretaries & Administrators of Nigeria, among others.

Beyond banking, Umeoji founded the Catholic Bankers Association of Nigeria (CBAN), a platform she uses to promote ethical banking and service to humanity.

She is a peace advocate of the United Nations (UN-POLAC), and a Lady of the Order of Knights of St. John International (KSJI), and was recently awarded a Papal Knight of the Order of St. Sylvester by His Holiness Pope Francis.

In 2022, the Federal Government of Nigeria honoured her with Officer of the Order of Nigeria, as a recognition of her contributions to nation-building.