The Group Board of the United Ban for Africa, UBA, on Tuesday announced the appointment of Kennedy Uzoka to succeed Phillips Oduoza as its new Group Managing Director.

Mr. Uzoka’s appointment, which is subject to the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN’s approval, is to take effect from August 1, 2016, as Mr. Oduoza’s retires on July 31 after two terms.

A statement by the bank’s head of media, UBA, Ramon Nasir, said Mr. Uzoka has been leading the transformation of the bank for some time, after completing the Advanced Management Programme of Harvard Business School.

The new GMD of the bank

Prior to his sabbatical at Harvard, Mr. Uzoka, who has over two and half decades of experience in commercial banking, strategy and business transformation, served as Deputy Managing Director, UBA Group.

He was also the CEO of UBA Africa, responsible for the Group’s operations in 18 countries across Africa.

A graduate of Mechanical Engineering from University of Benin, Mr. Uzoka is also a holder of a Masters Degree in Business Administration from University of Lagos.

In another appointment, Victor Osadolor was named the Deputy Managing Director, UBA Group. Mr. Osadolor brings a strong finance and risk background, having previously served as the Executive Director, Risk and Finance at UBA.

Holder of a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Accountants of Nigeria, Mr. Osadolor also held the position of Chief Strategy Officer at Ecobank Transnational Incorporation.

He also holds the Advanced Management Programme Certificate from the Harvard Business School.

The Chairman of UBA Group, Tony Elumelu, said “Kennedy brings an extremely strong skill set and is ideally positioned to lead UBA in its next phase of growth.”

Mr. Elumelu said Mr. Uzoka’s most recent experience of managing the Group’s increasingly important African business, is particularly relevant, as the bank 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,” Mr. Elumelu said.