The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) hosts some of the country’s most influential companies, many led by CEOs who do more than oversee operations.
A select group of these executives also stands out as major shareholders, combining managerial authority with significant personal stakes.
Large shareholding by a CEO is often seen as a signal of confidence in a company’s long-term prospects.
It aligns the interests of management with those of other shareholders, since the fortunes of both rise and fall together.
In markets like Nigeria’s, where corporate governance and investor trust are constant talking points, such ownership structures provide added reassurance about accountability and decision-making.
At the same time, the size of their stakes not only reflects financial strength but also hints at the level of control they wield in steering company policies, strategies, and growth paths. This makes their positions unique when compared to executives whose personal financial exposure is limited.
Nairametrics has compiled this report using the latest disclosures by companies on directors’ shareholdings. Where available, figures are drawn from Q2 2025 filings; otherwise, data from FY 2024 reports were referenced.
Collectively, the top ten CEOs on the NGX hold over 5.23 billion shares in their respective companies, spanning the financial services, insurance, and conglomerate sectors.
Here are the top ten CEOs of NGX-listed companies with the largest shareholdings in their companies.
Ladi Balogun is the Group Chief Executive of FCMB Group Plc, a holding company with interests spanning commercial and investment banking, asset management, and pension administration.
- Balogun became Group Chief Executive in March 2017 after leading First City Monument Bank for two decades, where he transformed it from a small merchant bank with fewer than 200 staff into a major commercial bank with 10,000 employees, over 4 million customers, 200 branches, and a UK banking subsidiary.
- Balogun holds a total of 648.38 million shares, made up of 209.54 million direct shares and 438.83 million indirect shares. This represents 1.64% of FCMB Group’s total 39.60 billion shares.
- His career began in 1993 at Morgan Grenfell & Co. Limited, a leading UK investment bank later integrated into Deutsche Bank. He later joined Citibank in the United States, where he managed structured trade finance across Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
Returning to Nigeria, he rose to become Group Managing Director and CEO of FCMB, where he led the acquisitions and integration of four banks and oversaw the creation of subsidiaries such as Credit Direct Limited, Nigeria’s largest micro-lending company.
At the closing share price of N10.85 on August 29, 2025, his stake was valued at about N7.03 billion.
These are mostly financial organizations. Is it wiser to buy shares of a company where the CEO has a larger stake, or one where the CEO has a smaller stake?