The group managing director/chief executive officer of Zenith Bank Plc, Dr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu, has been named the ‘Best Banking CEO of the Year in Africa’ at the International Banker 2024 Banking Awards, retaining this title for the second consecutive year.
This award, published in the Spring 2024 issue of International Banker Magazine, United Kingdom, coincides with Dr. Onyeagwu’s completion of his five-year tenure as Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer on May 31, 2024.
Speaking on receiving the award, Dr. Onyeagwu expressed his gratitude to the publishers of International Banker for the honour. He stated, “It is indeed an honour to be recognised as the ‘Best Banking CEO of the Year in Africa’ for a second consecutive year. This award is a testament to our team’s collective efforts and our commitment to innovation, growth, and delivering value to our customers and stakeholders. It also reflects our dedication to sustainability and high ethical standards, which are integral to our overall strategy. I am immensely proud of our accomplishments and look forward to future opportunities for the bank as I hand over the baton to my successor and begin the mandatory regulatory cooling-off period.”
Dr. Onyeagwu dedicated the award to the Founder and Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, Dr. Jim Ovia, CFR, for his mentorship, which was crucial to his success as Group Managing Director/CEO; to the bank’s management team and staff for their unwavering commitment over the past five years; and to the bank’s customers for their loyalty
In a statement, the bank said that throughout his distinguished tenure, Dr. Onyeagwu has received multiple awards, including Bank CEO of the Year (2019, 2023) by Champion Newspaper, Bank CEO of the Year (2020–2023) by BusinessDay Newspaper, CEO of the Year (2020 and 2021) – SERAS Awards, and CEO of the Year (2022) – Leadership Newspaper, and Banking CEO of the Year, Africa (2023) – International Banker.
Appointed as the group managing director/chief executive officer on June 1, 2019, as part of Zenith Bank’s succession planning strategy, Dr. Onyeagwu has led the bank to achieve significant milestones in financial performance, financial inclusion, corporate governance, and sustainability. These achievements have earned the bank numerous local and international awards, including being named Best Bank in Nigeria for the fourth time in five years from 2020 to 2022 and in 2024 by the Global Finance World’s Best Banks Awards; Best Bank for Digital Solutions in Nigeria by the Euromoney Awards 2023; being listed in the World Finance Top 100 Global Companies in 2023; and being recognised as the Number One Bank in Nigeria by Tier-1 Capital for the 14th consecutive year in the 2023 Top 1000 World Banks Ranking published by The Banker Magazine.
