The Board of Directors of Union Bank of Nigeria Plc has announced the appointment of two officials as non-executive directors.
A disclosure notice by the bank on Tuesday said the new non-executive directors are Emeka Ogbechie and Paul Kokoricha.
Mr Ogbechie’s appointment took effect from 27th May and he is to replace Dick Kramer who retired from the Board of the bank in September 2019.
On his part, Mr Kokoricha’s appointment took effect from 28th August 2020, and he is to replace Mr. Cyril Odu who passed on in September 2019.
Profile
The disclosure said that Mr Ogbechie is a seasoned finance professional with experience in Strategy and Corporate Planning; Portfolio Management and Benchmarking; Financial Reporting; Analytics and Tax planning; Treasury and Liquidity Management; and Cost Optimization.
He is currently the Chief Finance Officer of Capital Alliance Nigeria, a position he has held since 2019. Before joining Capital Alliance Nigeria, Mr Ogbechie had held positions in several local and international organizations including Equity Bank Kenya Limited; UBA Capital Plc. Lagos; Credit Suisse London; Deloitte London; and Ernst & Young, London.
Mr Ogbechie holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration from American Intercontinental University, and a Master of Science Degree in Management from the London School of Economics. He is also a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and holds an MBA (Strategy and Finance) from INSEAD.
On his part, Mr Kokoricha is a Partner at African Capital Alliance, a private equity investment management firm. He joined African Capital Alliance in 2002 as the Chief Financial Officer, before making a transition to Fund Manager role in 2004. He has extensive experience in private equity investment management as well as in business turnarounds, transformation, and re-organisation.
Before joining African Capital Alliance, Mr Kokoricha worked with Liberty Bank Plc for eight years as Group Head of Operations, with responsibility for Operations and Information Technology across the bank. Mr Kokoricha also worked with Arthur Andersen & Co., providing accounting, consulting, and audit services to varied clients in financial services, oil and gas, construction, and manufacturing sectors.
He is a Director of several companies, including Continental Reinsurance, Bankers Warehouse Limited, Fin Insurance and Swift Networks Limited. He is the Chairman of the Board of Private Equity and Venture Capital Association of Nigeria. Mr Kokoricha holds a B.Sc in Economics from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria.
Nigeria In Focus:
Population - 206.6 million (Compared to South Africa's 59.6 million)
GDP: $504.57 billion (Compared to South Africa's $369.85 billion)
GDP Per Capita: $2,465 (Compared to South Africa's $6,193)