Ebenezer Onyeagwu’s Leadership Makes the Difference

Donatus Eleko

Since his appointment as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Zenith Bank in 2019, Mr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu has continued to lead the financial institution on a positive trajectory. This has seen Zenith Bank surpass its peers in all metrics with the bank carting away numerous awards.
Onyeagwu, a strategic thinker, an inspirational leadership, an energetic banker who possesses entrepreneurial skills, is a vastly experienced banker and financial expert. He was trained in reputable institutions of learning in Nigeria, the United Kingdom and United States of America and has about 35 years industry experience.

Indeed, true leaders are gifted with exceptional influencing and charismatic qualities which can drive others towards delivering their best. Inspirational leaders play crucial role in inspiring their teams and motivating them towards achieving superior performance. They are also passionate about their environment and keep communicating the vision of the organisation in a way as to excite and encourage others towards delivering their best performances. These are the attributes that Onyeagwu embodies that makes the difference between Zenith Bank and other financial institutions. In terms of financial indicators, customer experience, stakeholders’ engagements and awards, Zenith Bank has continued to record phenomenal growth since Onyeagwu assumed office.

Onyeagwu is the Chairman of the Body of Banks’ Chief Executive Officers in Nigeria. A graduate of Accounting from Auchi Polytechnic where he obtained the Ordinary National diploma in 1984 and Higher National Diploma in 1987, he qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1989 while he was still undergoing the compulsory National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) post-graduation and was named a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (FCA) in 2003.
He is an alumnus of the prestigious University of Oxford, England, from where he obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Financial Strategy, and certificate in Macroeconomics. He also undertook extensive executive level business education in Wharton Business School of the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia Business School of Columbia University, the Harvard Business School of Harvard University (all in the United States) and Lagos Business School of the Pan African University, Nigeria.

Onyeagwu, joined Zenith Bank Plc in 2002, as a Senior Manager, in the Internal Control and Audit Group of the bank.  His professionalism, competence, integrity and commitment to the set objectives of the bank saw him rise swiftly between 2003 and 2005, first, as Assistant General Manager, then Deputy General Manager, and eventually as General Manager of the bank.  In these capacities, he handled strategies for new business and branch development, management of risk assets portfolios, treasury functions, strategic top level corporate, multinationals and public institutional relationships, among others.
As Deputy Managing Director, Onyeagwu had oversight over the bank’s Financial Control and Strategic Planning, Risk Management, Retail Banking, Institutional and Corporate banking business portfolios, IT Group, Credit Administration, Treasury and Foreign Exchange Trading, as well as general administration of the bank, among others.

He was named Executive Director of the bank in 2013, and put in charge of Lagos and South-South Zones as well as strategic groups/business units of the bank including Financial Control & Strategic Planning, Treasury and Correspondent Groups, Human Resources Group, Oil and Gas Group, and Credit Risk Management Group, etc. He was named Deputy Managing Director of the bank in 2016.
Onyeagwu is unassuming and committed to his job. Inspiring in silence and action, Onyeagwu is a sure-footed leader of men with a sense of corporate clairvoyance. He is the brain behind the superlative financial performances that Zenith Bank continues to churn out, to the delight of its shareholders. Onyeagwu’s myriad exploits have solidified his sterling leadership qualities.

He was recently named the ‘Best Banking CEO of the Year in Africa’ in the International Banker 2023 Banking Awards.
Expressing gratitude over the recognition, Onyeagwu, in a statement commended Publishers of the International Banker for considering him a fitting recipient of the ‘Best Banking CEO of the Year in Africa’ award.

He stated, “This award reflects the bank’s position as a leading financial institution in Nigeria and the African continent. It also attests to our commitment to principles of sustainability and high ethical standards, which have become integral to our overall strategy as an institution.”
He dedicated the award to the Founder and Chairman, Jim Ovia, CFR, for his guidance and mentorship; the bank’s management team and staff, for being the shoulder upon which his achievements and success as CEO rests; and the bank’s customers for making Zenith Bank their bank of choice.

Onyeagwu’s outstanding career has led to him receiving multiple awards, including Bank CEO of the Year (2019) by Champion Newspaper, Bank CEO of the Year (2020, 2021 & 2022) by BusinessDay Newspaper, CEO of the Year (2020 and 2021) – SERAS Awards, and CEO of the Year (2022) – Leadership Newspaper.
As Group Managing Director/CEO, Onyeagwu has led Zenith Bank to achieve tremendous feats and milestones in financial performance (including 47 per cent growth in the bank’s market capitalisation in four years), financial inclusion, corporate governance and sustainability.
These efforts have culminated in several local and international awards and recognitions including being recognised as Number One Bank in Nigeria by Tier-1 Capital, for the 13th consecutive year, in the 2022 Top 1000 World Banks Ranking published by The Banker Magazine; Bank of the Year (Nigeria) in The Banker’s Bank of the Year Awards 2020 and 2022; Best Bank in Nigeria, for three consecutive years from 2020 to 2022, in the Global Finance World’s Best Banks Awards; Best Commercial Bank, Nigeria 2021 and 2022 in the World Finance Banking Awards; Best Corporate Governance Bank, Nigeria in the World Finance Corporate Governance Awards 2022; ‘Best in Corporate Governance’ Financial Services’ Africa, for four consecutive years from 2020 to 2023, by the Ethical Boardroom; and the Most Responsible Organisation in Africa 2021 by SERAS Awards.

On March 25, 2023, he was conferred with a Doctorate Degree in Business Administration by the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria’s first indigenous University, in recognition of his immense achievements as Group Managing Director/CEO of Zenith Bank as well as his contributions to the growth of the financial services sector in Nigeria and across the African continent. The award was given during the 50th convocation ceremony of the University.

Also, Zenith Bank was recently named the “Best Bank for Digital Solutions in Nigeria” in the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2023. Established in 1992 as the first of their kind, the awards recognise excellence in the global banking industry, with this year’s edition receiving a record number of submissions from banks in the regional and country awards programme that covers more than 50 regional awards and best bank awards in 100 countries.
Unarguably, Zenith Bank laid the foundation for digital banking in Nigeria and has remained a leader in offering alternative banking channels, under Onyeagwu. The bank is verifiably a leader in the deployment of various channels of banking technology, and the Zenith brand has become synonymous with the deployment of state-of-the-art technologies in banking.

Built upon the three principles of people, technology and service, the optimisation of experience and satisfaction across its vast customer base inspires Zenith Bank’s digitalisation strategy, which delivers innovative solutions that are consistently ahead of the local competition.
The bank can proudly boast of having deployed several firsts in cutting-edge offerings that continuously satisfy evolving customer preferences and are thus pioneering the digital-banking revolution transpiring across the country—and, indeed, the continent—at present.

While Zenith Bank’s full year 2023 financial performance is being awaited, its unaudited results for the third quarter (Q3) ended September 30, 2023, showed that it recorded a remarkable triple-digit growth of 114 per cent from N620.6 billion reported in Q3 2022 to N1.33 trillion in Q3 2023. The performance demonstrated the Group’s resilience and strong market share despite a very challenging macroeconomic environment. It also reflected the leadership direction Zenith Bank has been enjoying under its Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director, Ebenezer Onyeagwu.

According to the bank’s unaudited Q3 financial results presented to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), the triple-digit growth in the top-line also enhanced the bottom line, as the Group recorded a 149 per cent year-on-year (YoY) increase in profit before tax, growing from N202.5 billion in Q3 2022 to N505 billion in Q3 2023.
Under Onyeagwu, Zenith Bank’s profit after tax also grew remarkably by 149 per cent from N174.3 billion to N434.2 billion in the same period. The growth in the top-line arose from both interest income and non-interest income. Interest income grew in the current period by 72 per cent to N670.9 billion from N390.8 billion in Q3 2022, while non-interest income grew by 186 per cent, from N212 billion to N607.2 billion. The growth in profit was similarly attributable to the twin effects of the improvement in interest and non-interest income. Interest income increased because of the growth in risk assets as well as the effective pricing thereon.
Indeed, Onyeagwu, as a transformational leader, is committed to Zenith Bank’s vision that promotes re-engineering and innovation and we expect this to continue to rub off positively on all aspects of the financial institution.