Ebenezer Onyeagwu:  Legacy of Achievements

Donatus Eleko

With less than six weeks for the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive of Zenith Bank, Dr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu to hand over the baton of leadership at Zenith Bank to his successor, the financial institution has continued to gain global recognition due to the efforts of the outgoing chief executive and his team.
 Dr. Adaora Umeoji is expected to succeed Onyeagwu as from June 3, 2024.
In line with what has become a tradition since Onyeagwu assumed the leadership of the bank, Zenith Bank recently emerged as the Best Bank in Nigeria in the Global Finance Best Banks Awards 2024, winning the award for the fourth time since 2019.

The Bank was among other banks from 36 countries in Africa recognised as the prestigious Global Finance announced its 31st Annual Best Bank Awards Winners.
The editors of Global Finance made the selections after extensive consultations with corporate financial executives, bankers and banking consultants, and analysts worldwide. Factors considered in selecting the top banks ranged from the quantitative objective to the informed subjective.
Objective criteria considered included: growth in assets, profitability, geographic reach, strategic relationships, new business development and innovation in products. Subjective criteria included the opinions of equity analysts, credit rating analysts, banking consultants and others involved in the industry.
Commenting on the award, Onyeagwu said: “This award serves as a powerful affirmation of our resilience and tenacity despite headwinds and a very challenging macroeconomic environment. Indeed, it is a testament to our status as the leading financial institution in Nigeria, dedicated unwaveringly to delivering exceptional value to our stakeholders.”

 He expressed profound gratitude to the founder and chairman, Jim Ovia, CFR, for his exceptional vision and foundational role in establishing a resilient and enduring financial institution. He also lauded the board for their astute insights and exemplary leadership, the staff for their steadfast commitment and unwavering dedication, and the customers for their staunch loyalty to the Zenith brand.

Publisher and Editorial Director of Global Finance, Joseph D. Giarraputo said: “Banking has reached another watershed moment with the debut of generative artificial intelligence, which promises to rewrite the industry playbook.”
He added that: “In this ever-changing environment, the Best Bank Awards recognize the financial institutions that offer the broadest range of services, long-term reliability, and technological innovation.”

Zenith Bank’s track record of excellent performance has earned the brand numerous awards, under the leadership of Onyeagwu. Under his leadership, Zenith Bank as an institution won a total of 51 awards in the last five years. A breakdown of the awards showed that in 2019 alone, Zenith Bank was adjudged Best Commercial Bank, Nigeria by the World Finance; Biggest Bank in Nigeria by Tier-1 capital by the The Banker; Most Valuable Banking Brand in Nigeria by the The Banker; Best Digital Bank in Nigeria 2019, by Augusto & Co.; Best Company in Promotion of Good Health and Well-Being by SERAS Awards;  Bank of the Year by BusinessDay Newspaper; Retail Bank of the Year by BusinessDay Newspaper, and Most Innovative Bank of the Year by Tribune Newspaper

This continued in 2020, where the financial institution was named Bank of the Year, Nigeria by The Banker; Best Bank in Nigeria by Global Finance; Biggest Bank in Nigeria by Tier-1 capital by The Banker; Most Valuable Banking Brand in Nigeria, by The Banker; Best Corporate Governance ‘Financial Services’ Africa by Ethical Boardroom; Best Company in Promotion of Good Health and Well-Being by SERAS Awards; Best Company in Promotion of Gender Equality and Women Empowerment by SERAS Awards; Bank of the Decade (People’s Choice) by Thisday Newspaper; Bank of the Year by Independent Newspaper, and Retail Bank of the Year by BusinessDay Newspaper.

Furthermore, in 2021, Zenith Bank was also named Best Bank in Nigeria by Global Finance; Best Commercial Bank, Nigeria by World Finance; Biggest Bank in Nigeria by Tier-1 Capital from The Banker; Most Valuable Banking Brand in Nigeria by The Banker; Best Corporate Governance ‘Financial Services’ Africa by Ethical Boardroom; Most Responsible Organisation in Africa by SERAS Awards; Best Company in Infrastructure Development- SERAS Awards; Best Company in Reporting and Transparency-SERAS Awards; Best Company in Gender Equality and Women Empowerment- SERAS Awards; Bank of the Year- Champion Newspaper, and Retail Bank of the Year- BusinessDay Newspaper

In 2022, it was named Bank of the Year, Nigeria- The Banker; Best Bank in Nigeria -Global Finance; Biggest Bank in Nigeria by Tier-1 Capital -The Banker; Best Commercial Bank, Nigeria -World Finance; Best Corporate Governance, Nigeria- World Finance; Best Commercial Bank, Nigeria -International Banker; Best Innovation in Retail Banking, Nigeria -International Banker; Best Corporate Governance ‘Financial Services’ Africa – Ethical Boardroom; Bank of the Year- New Telegraph Newspaper; Retail Bank of the Year- BusinessDay Newspaper; Best Company in Technology for Development – SERAS Awards, and Best Company in Work Place Practice- SERAS Awards.

This continued in 2023, in which it was adjudged the Biggest Bank in Nigeria by Tier-1 Capital -The Banker; World Finance 100- World Finance; Best Commercial Bank, Nigeria -World Finance; Best Corporate Governance, Nigeria – World Finance; Best Corporate Governance ‘Financial Services’ Africa- Ethical Boardroom; Most Sustainable Bank, Nigeria – International Banker; Best Bank for Digital Solutions, Nigeria – Euromoney; Bank of the Year- BusinessDay Newspaper, and Most Sustainable Bank of the Year -New Telegraph Newspaper.

Also, in the five-year period, Onyeagwu was severally rewarded for being consistently humble, disciplined, ethical, hardworking, an outstanding professional and inspirational corporate leader with impeccable track records of excellence.  In 2019, he was named Bank CEO of the Year by Champion Newspaper; in 2020, again he was recognised as Bank CEO of the Year by BusinessDay Newspaper and SERAS Awards respectively. Also, in 2021, BusinessDay and SERAS Awards awarded him Bank CEO of the Year respectively; In 2022, he was adjudged as Bank CEO of the Year by BusinessDay Newspaper and Leadership Newspaper respectively and in 2023, he emerged as Best Banking CEO of the Year, Africa, an award bestowed on him by International Banker, Bank CEO of the Year by BusinessDay Newspaper, and Bank CEO of the Year by New Telegraph Newspaper.

Onyeagwu, the Chairman of the Body of Banks’ Chief Executive Officers in Nigeria, is 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.
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.
In line with efforts to ensure customer satisfaction, the bank under Onyeagwu has been recognised for introducing several cutting-edge offerings. These innovations include the deployment of the first offsite automated teller machine (establishing an ATM in a location outside the bank’s premises in 2003), real-time online banking across its entire branch network, transaction notifications via SMS (Short Message Service) and email, an online payment gateway and QR (quick-response) code payment system.

Today, some of its internet banking solutions include the *966# Banking, which is a convenient, fast, and secure way for its customers to access their bank account and perform banking transactions via non-smartphone without internet connectivity. This service is available to all individual account holders with any feature phones that run on the GSM platform.
Beyond a shadow of a doubt, Onyeagwu had a successful five-year tenure as all the major metrics used to measure the health of a financial institution maintained a positive trajectory throughout his tenure. This has seen Zenith Bank surpass its peers in all metrics.