Key highlights
- Roosevelt Ogbonna has an extensive career in the banking sector and is the Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer which he attained in May 2022.
- In 2015, he was selected as one of the Institute of International Finance’s (IIF) Future Global Leaders
- Under his leadership in Access Bank, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) signed a $280m financing with Access Bank in July 2022, to boost Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria.
Roosevelt Ogbonna is a through-bred and consummate professional with over two (2) decades of banking experience having joined Access Bank in 2002 from Guaranty Trust Bank. He believes in the African continent, pushing strongly the idea of wealth creation.
He currently serves as the Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer which he attained in May 2022. Prior to this, he was appointed as the Bank’s Deputy Managing Director in 2017 and Executive Director in 2013.
Academic background
Mr. Ogbonna has a very rich professional cum academic background. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (FCA), an Honorary Member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers (HCIB), a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government’s Senior Executive Fellow program, an alumnus of Harvard Business School and a CFA charter holder. He also holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from IMD Business School, Switzerland.
He obtained a Master’s degree (LL.M) in International Corporate & Commercial Law from King’s College, London; an Executive Master’s degree in Business Administration from Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business; and a Bachelor’s degree in Banking and Finance from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
In 2015, he was selected as one of the Institute of International Finance’s (IIF) Future Global Leaders. Roosevelt has attended Executive Management Development Programmes on diverse areas of banking and management in world-leading institutions.
Corporate experience
He has robust corporate board experience and currently serves as a Non-Executive Director of the Bank’s subsidiaries in the UK and South Africa. He also represents the Bank on the Boards of its investee companies – African Finance Corporation and CSCS Plc.
He is a board member of the technical committee on retail expansion, Information technology committee, risk management committee, and Credit Committee.
Committed to boosting the non-oil sector and women-led businesses
Under his leadership in Access Bank, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) signed a $280m financing with Access Bank in July 2022, to boost Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria.
The commitment letter for $280 million in financing for Access Bank Plc in Nigeria was signed alongside Roosevelt Ogbonna.
This clearly demonstrated his support for addressing the financing gap for SMEs and advancing financial inclusion in Nigeria, including the bank’s commitment to supporting women-owned and -led businesses.
Roosevelt Ogbonna believes that the move will enable Nigerians to benefit from greater access to finance, especially in an environment that is in need of stronger economic diversification to non-oil sectors and women’s businesses.
The critical ingredients needed to Support Africa
At the Africa Business Club’s annual conference at the Harvard Business School in 2020, he spoke on the conversation needing to change for Africa to move forward so that Nigeria can close its infrastructure gap and its teeming problems.
He went further to say that the country’s potential needs to be utilized but the government cannot do it alone hence why it is important to think about wealth creation.
He believes Nigerians have to go out as ambassadors of Africa spreading the word, and changing the narrative that it is a continent full of war, strife, hunger, and lack of institutions.
Roosevelt’s concern is that the wealth in Africa has triggered so many wars and strife, fighting for diamonds, oil, etc which divides the African man against his brother instead of bringing us together. For him, that narrative has to change for Africa to win in the future, it has to start thinking of sustainability and inclusiveness and ensuring that everyone’s voice is heard.
Entrepreneurial spirit and service to humanity
What drives Roosevelt is entrepreneurship and service to humanity. He once stated that “Being a great entrepreneur isn’t just about being brave and taking risks, it’s about unprecedented levels of attention to detail and a positive, productive mentality that resonates with team members across the entirety of an organization.
“Two questions I ask myself almost every day are, ‘Are we serving our customers and the larger society in the best way?’, and ‘What can I do today to make all Access Bank employees feel empowered, motivated, and capable of maintaining high levels of excellence?”
“Answering these help me abide by the mantras of excellence, responsibility and service and this ultimately cascades through the DNA of Access Bank.”
