Uzoka succeeds Oduoza as UBA GMD

With effect from August 1, 2016, Kennedy Uzoka will function as the Group Managing Director (GMD) of United Bank for Africa (UBA).
Victor Osadolor will also function as the Deputy Managing Director, UBA Group from the same date.
The appointments were made on Tuesday in Lagos at the UBA House, Marina, after a meeting of UBA Group Board.
Uzoka will replace Phillips Oduoza who retires on July 31 after serving two terms.
The appointments are subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Uzoka has most recently been leading the transformation agenda of the Bank, after returning from completing the Advanced Management Programme of Harvard Business School.
Uzoka has over two and half decades of experience in commercial banking, strategy and business transformation. Prior to his sabbatical at Harvard, he served as Deputy Managing Director, UBA group and was also the CEO of UBA Africa, responsible for the Group’s operations in 18 countries across Africa.
A graduate of Mechanical Engineering from the University of Benin (UNIBEN), he holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration from the University of Lagos (UNILAG).
Osadolor brings a strong finance and risk background, having previously served as the Executive Director, Risk and Finance at UBA. He also held the position of Chief Strategy Officer at Ecobank Transnational Incorporation. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Accountants of Nigeria. He also holds the Advanced Management Programme Certificate from the Harvard Business School.
Chairman of UBA Group, Mr. Tony Elumelu, said of both appointments:
“Kennedy brings an extremely strong skill set and is ideally positioned to lead UBA in its next phase of growth. His most recent experience of managing the Group’s increasingly important African business, is particularly relevant, as we all work to build one of the leading financial services franchises in Africa. I have no doubt that both he and Victor with their expertise and depth of business experience will ensure that the Bank is best positioned to deliver on its strategic ambition.
“I would also like to take the opportunity to thank Phillips, for all that he has done for the Bank in guiding UBA through a particularly challenging period. The Board feels that the strong foundations created during Mr Oduoza’s term provide an excellent basis for our further success.”
UBA is one of Africa’s leading financial institutions, with operations in 19 African countries and three global financial centres: London, Paris and New York.
From a single country operation founded in 1949 in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, UBA has emerged as a pan-African provider of banking and other financial services, to more than 10 million customers, through close to 1,000 branches and touch points globally.