Mr Uzoma Dozie is now the new GMD/CEO of Diamond bank. Uzoma appointment came as a result of the voluntary
retirement of the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Dr.
Alex Otti. Mr. Dozie’s appointment is subject to the approval of Central
Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
In an official statement released by the
Bank’s Corporate Communications Department, Chairman of the Board of
Directors, HRM Igwe Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe (the Obi of Onitsha)
announced the changes in management stating that Mr. Dozie appointment
was in recognition of his extensive managerial capabilities.
According
to the statement, “We are pleased to announce the appointment of Mr.
Uzoma Dozie as the new Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer
of Diamond Bank Plc in consonance with the Bank’s succession strategy
and in recognition of Mr. Dozie’s wealth of banking knowledge.
Expressing that the outgoing GMD/CEO will be sorely missed, Igwe
Achebe extolled Dr. Alex Otti’s enviable achievements in the Bank,
describing his tenure as “the brightest years of Diamond Bank’s 24
year-history”.
Under Dr. Alex Otti’s stewardship, Diamond Bank
made a remarkable return to profitability and has continued to record
impressive growth across all performance indicators year-on-year. After
writing off toxic risk assets which resulted in the loss of N16 billion
in 2011, the Bank posted a profit before tax of N28.36 billion in 2012
and N32.5 billion Naira in 2013. The Bank also saw its total assets rise
from N564.9 billion in February 2011 to N1.18 trillion by December 31,
2012 and N1.52 trillion on December 31, 2013.
Dr. Otti is credited
with creating the office of the Chief Risk Officer and designating an
Executive Director to head the department. He also spearheaded the
expansion of the Bank by doubling
the full staff count from around
2,000 in 2010 to over 4,000 as at mid-2014 even as he vigorously grew
the Bank’s footprints from a network of 210 branches in 2011 to over 265
branches 3 years later. It was also under his watch that the Bank
established an international subsidiary in the United Kingdom, in
addition to expansion in Francophone West Africa (Senegal, Togo, and
Ivory Coast).
It is to be noted that the Central Bank only recently classified the
bank as one of the eight systematically important banks in Nigeria under
Dr. Otti’s watch.
“Dr Alex Otti is a fine gentleman with an
outstanding career in the Nigerian Banking industry. We are pleased with
the time he spent at the helms of affairs of Diamond Bank Plc and wish
him every success in his future endeavours”, commented the Bank’s
Chairman.
Dr. Alex Otti, OFR is a 1988 graduate of the University
of Port Harcourt where he finished with a First class honors degree in
Economics. He subsequently received an MBA from the University of Lagos
in 1994 as well as honorary Doctorate degrees from Babcock University
and the Universities of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) and Nigeria (UNN) in
2009, 2012 and 2013 respectively.
Prior to his appointment as the
Group Managing Director/CEO of Diamond Bank Plc in March 2011, Dr Otti
worked in a number of financial institutions in various capacities.
He started from Nigeria International Bank Limited, a subsidiary of
Citibank N.Y. in 1989 and thereafter moved to United Bank for Africa Plc
as Principal Manager and Head, Corporate Banking Sector, South. In May
2001, he joined First Bank of Nigeria Plc as an Assistant General
Manager with responsibility for the
Bank’s Energy Group. In April
2004, he was promoted to Deputy General Manager and in September 2005,
he was appointed Executive Director Commercial Banking. In October 2006,
he was redesignated Executive Director (South), and given the
responsibility to oversee the bank’s businesses in both South-South and
South Eastern geo-political zones of Nigeria.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Kindly drop your comments and also follow
Twitter: @opecareem
Instagram: @opecareem