Fidelity Bank Plc has announced its Board of Directors’ decision to extend the employment contract of its GMD/CEO, Dr. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, from 2024 to 2026.
This was contained in the company’s notice to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) seen by Nairametrics.
The statement signed by Ezinwa Unuigboje, the Company Secretary noted that the decision was taken at the Board meeting on February 12, 2024.
It added that the extension is in furtherance of the Bank’s strategic objectives and premised on Dr. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe’s sterling performance since the assumption of office on January 1, 2021.
The statement reads:
- “Fidelity Bank Plc (the Bank) is pleased to announce its Board of Directors’ decision to extend the employment contract of its GMD/CEO, Dr. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, from 2024 to 2026.
- The decision was taken at the Board meeting on February 12, 2024. The extension is in furtherance of the Bank’s strategic objectives and premised on Dr. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe’s sterling performance since assumption of office on January 1, 2021,”
The Board noted that it is confident that the Bank’s performance will continue its upward trajectory under Dr. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe’s leadership and looks forward to working closely with her and the Executive Management Team on execution of various strategic initiatives including international expansion.
Nairametrics had reported the appointment of Mrs. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe as its new Chief Executive Officer Designate with effect from January 1st, 2021.
Her appointment follows the impending exit of Mr. Nnamdi J. Okonkwo, who is scheduled to retire from the bank’s board of directors come December 31st, 2020.
Profile of Onyeali-Ikpe
According to a statement from the bank, Onyeali-Ikpe joined Fidelity Bank as an Executive Director in 2015 and was appointed Managing Director/CEO of the Bank in January 2021. Following her appointment, Nneka became the first female MD/CEO in the history of the bank.
She is an alumnus of the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka and Kings College, London where she holds a Bachelor of Law and Master of Law respectively.
She has also attended executive training programs at Harvard Business School, The Wharton School University of Pennsylvania, INSEAD School of Business, Chicago Booth School of Business, London Business School and IMD amongst others.
She recently completed a Diploma programme in Organizational Leadership at Said Business School, Oxford University, UK and received an honorary doctorate degree in Business Administration at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN).
She is also the recipient of the national award of the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) which was awarded to her by the Federal Government of Nigeria in 2023.
Dr Onyeali-Ikpe has over 32 years of rewarding banking experience spanning Citizens International Bank, Zenith Bank and Standard Chartered Bank among others.
She was Executive Director at Enterprise Bank and Fidelity Bank before her eventual appointment as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer at Fidelity Bank Plc
. She has been involved in the structuring of complex transactions in Oil and Gas, Manufacturing, Aviation, Real Estate and Export among others.
Nneka is widely regarded as one of Africa’s leading female CEOs with a reputation for authentic leadership and proven people skills in identifying talents, opportunities and executing complex business deals.
She has extensive business development experience with proficiency in retail, corporate and commercial banking and treasury management among others.
Under Nneka’s watch, the Bank grew its PBT from N25.22bn in FY 2021 to N122bn in FY 2023. Nneka has now set her horizon on leveraging the opportunities in select high growth international markets where the Bank has a competitive advantage.
She most recently guided the bank to obtain the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria to expand its operations to the United Kingdom with the acquisition of the former Union Bank UK, now Fidelity Bank UK Limited.
Passionate about innovation and embracing technology, Nneka has pioneered several innovative and pacesetting products such as the PayGate Plus, an online platform that enables businesses make and receive payments.
Dr. Onyeali-Ikpe has also radically repositioned the bank as the go-to financial institution for Small and Medium Enterprises.
Understanding the crucial role of small businesses in the sustenance of economic growth and development, she led the bank to create the Fidelity International Trade & Creative Connect (FITCC) which is aimed at providing a global platform for exporters, regulators, subject matter experts and foreign markets to connect.
The FITCC 2022 edition was attended by representatives of both the UK & the Nigerian Governments, Nigerian exporters, investors, regulators from the United Kingdom and Nigeria, the business community and other practitioners.
The pipeline deals from the event were in excess of $200m. Over 2,000 people registered to attend the event and daily foot-fall was about 1,000.
The second edition of FITCC, which was hosted in Houston, Texas, United States of America in October 2023, was even bigger with projected pipeline deals of over $250m and more than 160 businesses in participation.
Tagged, FITCC Houston, the success of the event is signposted by the designation of 25 October 2023 as the “Fidelity International Trade and Creative Connect Day” by Mr. Sylvester Turner, Mayor of Houston.
In her bid to give back to the communities the Bank serves and as part of her efforts to combat the twin issues of poverty and hunger, Dr. Onyeali-Ikpe recently launched a National Corporate Social Responsibility initiative tagged The Fidelity Food Bank which provides free food bags to people across Nigeria monthly.
In recognition of her leadership and outstanding performance, she received commendation from AMCON as a member of the Management Team that restructured and turned around the fortunes of the erstwhile Enterprise Bank.
She also received several board commendations from the Managing Directors of Standard Chartered Bank and Citizens International Bank for outstanding performance at various times.
With Nneka as the Chief Executive Officer, Fidelity Bank has been the recipient of several awards within and outside Nigeria some of which are: Best Commercial Banking Brand in Nigeria by the Global Brands Magazine Awards, Best Private Bank in Nigeria by The Financial Times in association with The Banker Magazine, Trade Ambassador Award by the Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce (NACC) and among others.