The UBA Group Board has appointed Abiola Bawuah as Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of UBA Africa effective January 26, 2023.

Abiola becomes the first female CEO of the UBA operation in Africa and will be responsible and accountable for leading the UBA Africa operations.

Before Abiola’s appointment, she was the Regional CEO for West Africa, supervising operations in nine subsidiaries including Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Senegal, and Sierra Leone.

Prior to her appointment, Abiola served as MD/CEO for UBA Ghana.

In his announcement, Oliver Alawuba, Group Managing Director of UBA Plc stated that “Abiola has significantly contributed to the growth of UBA Africa and brings a wealth of experience in commercial banking, stakeholder engagement, people management and a culture of performance. I have no doubt that she will take UBA Africa to new heights of growth and performance.”

He further noted that “At UBA, we take pride in our corporate governance and our ability to nurture and develop our talent at every level and in every geography.

"These strengths have become critical pillars underpinning our business success and prowess across Africa and in the international financial marketplaces where we operate.”

The leadership of UBA Africa is of critical importance to our success, and we pride ourselves on the meritocratic approach the Group took in selecting the ideal candidate through a painstaking and transparent selection process undertaken by the Group Board.

Oliver reiterated the bank’s promise to diversity, saying, “Abiola, being a Ghanaian national, further confirms our commitment to diversity.

The Group Board now consists of three female Executive Directors and eight female Directors in total, making it a majority-female Board. We take gender equality very seriously within the group.”