ACCESS Holdings, on Monday, February 12, announced the appointment of Ms. Bolaji Agbede as the Acting Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), following the death of its GCEO, Mr. Herbert Wigwe, in a plane crash in the United States (US) 0n Saturday, February 11.

The bank’s Board of Directors, in a statement, announced that Agbede’s appointment is subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

With over 27 years in the banking sector, Agbede boasts a wealth of expertise in human resources management, customer relationship management, and banking operations.
  She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Statistics from the University of Lagos (1990) and an MBA from Cranfield University (2002) and is affiliated with the Chartered Institute of Management, UK, and Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria.

   Agbede has participated in prestigious leadership and professional development programmes, including the High-Performance Leadership Programme at IMD and the Strategic Talent Management Programme at the London Business School.

Since joining Access Bank in 2003, she has been instrumental in its human capital development, serving as the Head of Human Resources (HR) for the Access Bank Group since 2010 in a tenure that successfully saw to the integration of staff during significant mergers and acquisitions, including those involving Marina International Bank, Capital Bank, Intercontinental Bank Plc and the merger between Access Bank Plc and Diamond Bank Plc.

An advocate for gender equality, Agbede has championed the introduction of progressive initiatives, such as paternity leave, six months’ maternity leave, the bank’s crèche and the Access Women Network.
   Beyond her corporate responsibilities, she is involved in several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) focused on women’s empowerment, capacity building and leadership, and serves on the boards of many such organisations.