Wema Bank Appoints 2 New Directors

Wema Bank Plc, Nigeria’s foremost innovative bank and pioneer of Africa’s first-fully digital bank, ALAT, has announced the appointment of two seasoned industry professionals, Segun Opeke and Yusuf Kazaure, to the Bank’s board of Directors, following the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Segun Opeke is an alumnus of the University of Lagos, where he studied Banking and Finance and also obtained his MBA. He is also an alumnus of the Colombia Business School and the London Business School. He has attended several professional and leadership programmes in world-class institutions, including INSEAD Business School in France and Euromoney, London.

Segun started his professional career at the then Chartered Bank Limited and later played diverse strategic roles in various banking institutions including leading the Consumer Banking Team in FSB International Bank before proceeding to Prudent Bank as an Area Manager. Following the consolidation of Skye Bank in 2006, Segun worked as the bank’s Treasurer, Regional Director and later became the Group Head of Corporate Banking, Aviation and Maritime group. Upon Polaris Bank taking over the defunct Skye Bank in 2018, Segun was made an Executive Director in charge of Lagos Business and Corporate Banking directorates until June 2023 when he retired from the bank.

Yusuf Kazaure is a Corporate and Technology Industry expert with over 35 years cumulative multi-sector working experience spanning Architecture, Construction, Banking, as well as Information and Communication Technology (ICT). He is an alumnus of the Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, where he obtained his BSc and MSc in Architecture, the Bayero University in Kano, where he obtained an MBA and Oxford University in the UK, where he obtained a Diploma in Computing.

Kazaure has also attended executive training courses at various institutions across the world including INSEAD in France, Wharton, University of Pennsylvania and the CIO Institute of Carnegie Mellon University in the US and the Advanced Management Training Program (AMP) of the Lagos Business School, among others. He is a fellow of the Nigeria Computer Society, the Nigeria Institute of Management Consultants and the Nigerian Institute of Architects and is currently pursuing a PhD in Cybersecurity at the Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Nigeria.

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Kazaure started his career in 1987 as an Architect in the Kano State Ministry of Works and Housing before moving into the banking sector where he worked for 10 years. He served as the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce and that of Urban & Regional Planning in Jigawa State and later became a Director General of International and Governmental Affairs in the Executive Governor’s Office of Jigawa State between 1999 and 2002. He was the pioneer Managing Director/CEO of Galaxy Information Technology and Telecommunication Ltd – the Jigawa State owned ICT company in 2002, and later the CEO of the Federal Government owned Galaxy Backbone Ltd from 2014 to 2019. He was also the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Nigeria Satellite Communications Ltd from January 2020 to June 2023 and a Director of MAG Group Ltd.

Weman Bank in a statement on Wednesday said the duo were credited for powering transformative outcomes and making immense contributions in areas ranging from Business Development, Corporate Finance/Restructuring and Digital Transformation to ICT, in their previous employments, hence Segun and Yusuf’s addition to the Wema Bank Management Team is set to be a transformative experience for the Bank.

Announcing the appointment, Wema Bank’s chairman, Dr. Oluwayemisi Olorunshola, asserted the Bank’s commitment to strengthening its workforce and forging strategic partnerships that will help the Bank achieve its corporate goals and ensure customer satisfaction.

“On behalf of the entire staff and Management, I welcome Segun Opeke and Yusuf Kazaure into this unique family,” she said.

Also, commenting on the appointment, Wema Bank MD/CEO, Mr. Moruf Oseni, said: “I am convinced that the Board has made the right decision for the continued growth of the Bank. Segun and Yusuf have joined us at a crucial point in our journey where we are driving our efforts for significant growth, and with their extensive wealth of industry experience, I believe they have come in at the right time.”

With Wema Bank already amassing reputable awards early in the year, coupled with the expedited financial growth recorded in its 2023 financial report, 2024 is evidently a promising year for the innovative financial powerhouse and its customers.