Wema Bank Announces CEO Retirement, Appoints New MD/Ceo

Wema Bank Plc has announced the retirement of its Managing Director/CEO, Ademola Adebise from Wema Bank Plc; with effect from March 31, 2023.

In a statement signed on Friday by Johnson Lebile, Company Secretary/Legal Adviser, Wema Bank stated that Mr. Moruf Oseni, who is currently the Deputy Managing Director is to take over as Managing Director/CEO of the bank.

The statement also added that an Executive Director of the bank, Mr. Wole Akinleye, has been appointed as Deputy Managing Director while Mr. Tunde Mabawonku has been appointed as Executive Director.

Mr. Ademola Adebise will be proceeding on terminal leave from January 2nd, 2023, after over 13 years of meritorious service on the Board of the Bank.

Ademola Adebise was appointed as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Wema Bank Plc in June 2018. He joined the Bank in June 2009 as an Executive Director and rose to become the Deputy

Managing Director in 2015.

Under his leadershp, he expanded the bank’s footprints to other locations in Nigeria. He improved the performance of the Bank and spearheaded the first Dividend payment in

13 years. Since then, he has ensured consistent dividend payment over the last 4 years.

The Bank has grown its Total Assets by 155%, from N470bn to over N1.2trillion. Deposits also grew by 214% from N350billion to N1.1 trillion. He initiated the partnership with Bank of Africa to support its customers across the African continent which has increased the Bank’s market share and customer

base. All these led to an additional growth of 2 million customer accounts n Nigeria and a market share of 3% of industry volumes. The Bank is now the leading collection bank for state and government agencies due to its effective and efficient platform.

The Bank’s rating by agencies was upgraded to BBB investment grade. The Banks significantly changed the digital landscape through the ALAT platform. The innovative

platform also came tops in the KPMG Digital Scorecard for leading retail banks in Nigeria and this was based on in-depth insights into the state of user experience on retail banks’ digital channels.

Furthermore, the Bank launched the first SME Business School for capacity building and empowerment of SMEs –this has benefitted over 20,000 small businesses. The Bank also became one of the founding members of the United Nations Environmental plan for financial institutions (UNEPFI) and continues to provide digital solutions for societal impact.

The Chairman of the Board, Mr.Babatunde Kasali on behalf of the Board and Management expressed its profound gratitude to Ademola for his service and wish him the best in his future endeavors.

The newly appointed MD/CEO, Moruf Oseni joined Wema Bank in June 2012 as an Executive Director. He has over 25 years of

experience with more than 16 years at Senior and Executive Management level.

Moruf Oseni was an Executive Director for 6 years and Deputy Managing Director for the last 4 years and has demonstrated capacity to lead the Bank. He presently has responsibility for the Digita Optimization Directorate which includes Digital, Retail, Treasury, Operations, and the Technology Divisions.

Moruf is also the Executive Compliance Officer of the Bank. He supervised the launch of ALAT –Nigeria’s 1st digital Bank that has received local and global awards and multiple accolades.

Before joining Wema Bank, Moruf was the CEO of MG Ineso Limited, a principal investment and financial advisory firm. Prior to MG Ineso, Moruf was a Vice President at Renaissance Capital, and an Associate at Salomon Brothers/Citigroup Global Markets in London.

Moruf holds an MBA degree from the institute European d’Administration des Affaires (INSEAD) in France, a Master’s inFinance (MiF) from the London Business School and a B.Sc. in Computer Engineering from Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ie-Ife, Nigeria.

He is aso an alumnus of both the Advanced Management Program (AMP) of the Harvard Business Schoo and King’s College, Lagos