Recently the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) appointed a new Board of Directors for Spring Bank Plc to reposition the bank and ensure it achieves its objectives of being one of the top banks in Africa. Following is the profile of the new Board members who are tested and successful professional bankers and operators both within and outside the financial industry.
VINCENT OMOIKE Chairman Vincent Omoike is a professional banker and a Chartered Accountant, having joined the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as a teenager and risen to the highest career position of a Director of the apex bank. He retired in 2003 as the Director, Banking Operations. Omoike, who had a distinguished career, was in 1988 seconded to the Federal Savings Bank when the bank was being commercialized and privatized to set up and restructure the finance, accounts and treasury operations of the bank. He served as Chairman of many strategic committees at the CBN between 1997 and 2003, like, the MICR Implementation Committee which was a sub-committee of the Bankers’ Committee and also the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settle System Plc.
CHARLES OJO Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer
Charles Ojo was until his appointment as Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Spring Bank Plc, an Executive Director with Bank PHB. An experienced banker, with over eighteen years banking experience, Ojo’s background spans corporate and project finance, structured finance, credit and marketing. Prior to joining Bank PHB, he was Head, Project and Specialized Finance Group at Diamond Bank Limited, with responsibility for overseeing the bank’s foreign asset management, coordination of real-estate and SME investment projects.
A graduate of Accountancy from the University of Nigeria, Kingsley Umadia started his professional career with Pricewaterhouse (now Pricewaterhouse-Coopers), from where he joined the SCOA Group in 1989 as a Business Analyst. He was at various times Assistant Manager, Audit and Procedures Department and Accountant, Trading Division.After qualifying as a Chartered Accountant in 1990, Umadia joined Midas Merchant Bank as Deputy Financial Controller and later Internal Auditor. He worked with Diamond Bank where he was Head, Financial Control and Planning, Head, Corporate and Investment Bank, Warri and Branch Manager, Warri.
Lanre Fagbohun is a seasoned banker with over 23 years experience. Fagbohun began what would become a robust career in banking, when he joined the former Habib Bank in 1985. He rose through the ranks, working in operations, retail, branch development and relationship management, culminating in his appointment as Regional Manager, Lagos and South West Bank. He joined Bank PHB in January 2006 as Regional Director, Ikeja, where he championed the regional relationship management function as a strategy to attain very high market share and profitability for the bank.
A reputable banker, Anogwi Anyanwu has over 19 years experience in the banking industry. His long years in the banking sector have seen him occupy so many challenging positions in three different banks namely, Ecobank Nigeria Plc, Citizens International Bank Plc and now Spring Bank Plc. Until his appointment as an Executive Director in Spring Bank Plc, he was the Regional Head, South East II of the bank.
A professional with vast knowledge of the financial sector, Olukayode Akintunde Falowo has extensive boardroom experience. He is currently the Chairman of Cayden Limited; Managing Director, Grenwich Trust Limited and director in both I-Skill Knowledge Management Limited and Hoakland Ventures Limited. He is an alumnus of the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) and University of Benin, Benin City where he received a B.sc in Agricultural Engineering in 1982 and an MBA in Finance in 1988 respectively. He also did a Chief Executive Programme in the Lagos Business School in 2006. Falowo is a member of many professional bodies in Nigeria and has also attended numerous seminars and courses in Nigeria and abroad.
A consummate banker of repute, Francis Atuche had garnered 19 years of cognate banking experience before assuming office in March 2000 as the founding Managing Director/CEO of Bank PHB. He has extensive hands-on experience from reputable banks such as UBA Plc, Chartered Bank and Ecobank in areas as diverse as credit and marketing, branch development/coordination, branch management as well as in mortgage banking where he founded Finacorp Building Society, a leading mortgage institution in Nigeria.
ADEBAYO ADEWAKUN Director Adebayo Adewakun, a seasoned Architect with over 26 years experience in the profession, is the principal partner of B-Waks Consultants, a reputable firm of architects based in Lagos, Nigeria. He has handled several celebrated projects among which are the Gateway International Hotel, Otta, Ogun State; former FSB International Bank Head Office, Ikoyi, Lagos and former Standard Trust Bank (STB) Head Office in Victoria Island, Lagos. Until his appointment as a director of Spring Bank Plc, Adewakun was an Internal Managing Director at Bank PHB.
VINCENT OKWECHIME Director Vincent Okwechime is a consummate lawyer, security expert and public relations practitioner. He taught Law at the University of Benin, Benin City, between 1987 and 1993 and conducted a research on Law of International Conflicts at the University of Alberta, Canada in 1989. After practicing Law in New York, USA in 1991, Okwechime joined Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) as Assistant Legal Adviser in 1993. Between 1993 and 2008, he held several leadership positions across the company in areas such as Land Acquisition and Compensation, Security Planning and Strategy, External Relations and Brand Management.
DR. SULEYMAN ABDU NDANUSA 00N Director A graduate of Economics from the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Suleyman A. Ndanusa, began his banking career in the former Continental Merchant Bank of Nigeria (CMB) from where he left as an Assistant General Manager in 1993. Between then and 1996, he became the Group Managing Director of Empire Group Ltd., a financial services holding company with five subsidiary companies covering finance and investment; stock broking; insurance broking; savings and loan and commodities trading. By 1996, he became the Chairman of the Group, a position he held until 1999 when he was appointed Director-General of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Nigeria where he distinguished himself by introducing changes that aligned the operations of the Commission to international standards. He was the DG at SEC for five years. In 2007, he became the Managing Director/CEO of Spring Bank Plc under the Interim Management Board (IMB) appointed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to run the affairs of the bank.
Vincent Omoike is a professional banker and a Chartered Accountant, having joined the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as a teenager and risen to the highest career position of a Director of the apex bank. He retired in 2003 as the Director, Banking Operations. Omoike, who had a distinguished career, was in 1988 seconded to the Federal Savings Bank when the bank was being commercialized and privatized to set up and restructure the finance, accounts and treasury operations of the bank. He served as Chairman of many strategic committees at the CBN between 1997 and 2003, like, the MICR Implementation Committee which was a sub-committee of the Bankers’ Committee and also the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settle System Plc.
Charles Ojo was until his appointment as Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Spring Bank Plc, an Executive Director with Bank PHB. An experienced banker, with over eighteen years banking experience, Ojo’s background spans corporate and project finance, structured finance, credit and marketing. Prior to joining Bank PHB, he was Head, Project and Specialized Finance Group at Diamond Bank Limited, with responsibility for overseeing the bank’s foreign asset management, coordination of real-estate and SME investment projects.
Lanre Fagbohun is a seasoned banker with over 23 years experience. Fagbohun began what would become a robust career in banking, when he joined the former Habib Bank in 1985. He rose through the ranks, working in operations, retail, branch development and relationship management, culminating in his appointment as Regional Manager, Lagos and South West Bank. He joined Bank PHB in January 2006 as Regional Director, Ikeja, where he championed the regional relationship management function as a strategy to attain very high market share and profitability for the bank.
A professional with vast knowledge of the financial sector, Olukayode Akintunde Falowo has extensive boardroom experience. He is currently the Chairman of Cayden Limited; Managing Director, Grenwich Trust Limited and director in both I-Skill Knowledge Management Limited and Hoakland Ventures Limited. He is an alumnus of the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) and University of Benin, Benin City where he received a B.sc in Agricultural Engineering in 1982 and an MBA in Finance in 1988 respectively. He also did a Chief Executive Programme in the Lagos Business School in 2006.
A consummate banker of repute, Francis Atuche had garnered 19 years of cognate banking experience before assuming office in March 2000 as the founding Managing Director/CEO of Bank PHB. He has extensive hands-on experience from reputable banks such as UBA Plc, Chartered Bank and Ecobank in areas as diverse as credit and marketing, branch development/coordination, branch management as well as in mortgage banking where he founded Finacorp Building Society, a leading mortgage institution in Nigeria.
Adebayo Adewakun, a seasoned Architect with over 26 years experience in the profession, is the principal partner of B-Waks Consultants, a reputable firm of architects based in Lagos, Nigeria. He has handled several celebrated projects among which are the Gateway International Hotel, Otta, Ogun State; former FSB International Bank Head Office, Ikoyi, Lagos and former Standard Trust Bank (STB) Head Office in Victoria Island, Lagos. Until his appointment as a director of Spring Bank Plc, Adewakun was an Internal Managing Director at Bank PHB.
Vincent Okwechime is a consummate lawyer, security expert and public relations practitioner. He taught Law at the University of Benin, Benin City, between 1987 and 1993 and conducted a research on Law of International Conflicts at the University of Alberta, Canada in 1989. After practicing Law in New York, USA in 1991, Okwechime joined Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) as Assistant Legal Adviser in 1993. Between 1993 and 2008, he held several leadership positions across the company in areas such as Land Acquisition and Compensation, Security Planning and Strategy, External Relations and Brand Management. 
A graduate of Economics from the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Suleyman A. Ndanusa, began his banking career in the former Continental Merchant Bank of Nigeria (CMB) from where he left as an Assistant General Manager in 1993. Between then and 1996, he became the Group Managing Director of Empire Group Ltd., a financial services holding company with five subsidiary companies covering finance and investment; stock broking; insurance broking; savings and loan and commodities trading. By 1996, he became the Chairman of the Group, a position he held until 1999 when he was appointed Director-General of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Nigeria where he distinguished himself by introducing changes that aligned the operations of the Commission to international standards. He was the DG at SEC for five years. In 2007, he became the Managing Director/CEO of Spring Bank Plc under the Interim Management Board (IMB) appointed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to run the affairs of the bank.