DBN Names New Executive Director, Non-Executive Director

By Ndubuisi Francis

The Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) has announced the appointment of Mrs. Ijeoma Ozulumba and Mr. Kyari Abba Kyari as Executive Director and Independent Non-Executive Director respectively, on the board of the bank.

The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the DBN, Dr. Shehu Yahaya, who made the announcement, noted that the appointment of Ozulumba and Kyari would further strengthen the DBN’s vision to provide adequate and sustainable financing to Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) across the country.

In a statement issued by the bank, Yahaya maintained that the organisation would continually uphold the highest standards of corporate governance, which have kept the bank on a steady trajectory of progress.

He said: “We are thrilled to have Ijeoma and Kyari join the board and we look forward to them applying their knowledge, experience, and expertise in helping to deliver the DBN’s core mandate as Nigeria’s primary wholesale development finance institution, providing sustainable financing to MSMEs across the nation.”

Also, the Managing Director of the DBN, Mr. Tony Okpanachi, stated that he was particularly excited by the depth and quality that both appointees are bringing to the board and ultimately, the institution.

Okpanachi noted that the new appointees would bring combined reservoir of knowledge and expertise in the financial services sector that would add immense value to the bank and significantly contribute to its development impact.

Ozulumba served as the Financial Controller at the defunct Continental Trust Bank Limited (now part of UBA Plc) and the MBC International Bank Limited that was acquired by the First Bank of Nigeria Plc.

She was also the Chief Financial Officer at defunct FinBank Plc and the Basel Risk Consultant and Finance Manager at Bank of Montreal and Scotia Bank, Toronto, Canada.

Ozulumba also managed corporate budgeting and management reporting for Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc, the largest independent E&P Company in Nigeria.

She graduated from the University of Benin and an alumnus of the Lagos Business School.

She is also a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and a Certified Professional Accountant of Canada.

She holds an MBA in International Business from Royal Holloway, University of London, and is a project management Professional.

Until her appointment, she was the Chief Financial Officer at the Development Bank of Nigeria.

Kyari, who is the newly-appointed Independent Non-Executive Director of the DBN, was the managing director/Co-Founder of Trans Sahara Investment Corporation, a Lagos based private equity firm in Nigeria.

He had an outstanding career in engineering and technology and served as the former Managing Director/CEO of the Central Securities Clearing System Plc, Lagos and the ValuCard Nigeria (Unified Payments Ltd).

He also served as an executive director in charge of Information Technology at FSB International Bank Plc.

Before joining FSB International Bank Plc, he served in various roles as Manufacturing Development Engineer, Marketing Programme Manager, Senior IT Consultant, and as a manager in various sectors of the Hewlett Packard Corporation in the United States of America.

Kyari was the former Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG).

He holds a bachelor’s degree in Physics from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and a master’s degree in Nuclear Engineering from Oregon State University’s, Corvallis, Oregon, USA.

The DBN carries out its function by providing financial institutions, predominantly deposit money and microfinance banks with on-lending facilities.