Wema Bank MD, Adebise, retires, Oseni replaces him

Wema Bank Plc has announced the retirement of its Managing Director/CEO, Mr Ademola Adebise.

Although the retirement takes effect from March 31, 2023, the outgoing MD proceeds on terminal leave from January 2, 2023.

According to a statement by the bank, signed by Johnson Lebile, Company Secretary, the board has approved the appointment of Mr Moruf Oseni, the current Deputy Managing Director, as his successor.

Ademola Adebise was appointed as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Wema Bank Plc in June 2018. He joined the bank in June 2009 as an Executive Director and rose to become the Deputy Managing Director in 2015.

As MD, he expanded the bank’s footprints to other locations in Nigeria, improved the performance of the bank and spearheaded the first dividend payment in 13 years. Since then, he ensured consistent dividend payments.

On his watch, the bank grew its total assets by 155 per cent from N470 billion to over N1.2trillion. Deposits also grew by 214 per cent from N350 billion to N1.1 trillion.

According to the statement, the chairman of the board, Mr Babatunde Kasali, on behalf of the board and management, expressed the bank’s profound gratitude to Mr Ademola Adebise for his service and wished him the best in his future endeavours.

The MD designate, Mr Moruf Oseni, joined Wema Bank in June 2012 as an Executive Director. He has over 25 years of experience with more than 16 years at Senior and Executive Management levels.

He was an Executive Director for six years and has been Deputy Managing Director in the last four years. He is currently saddled with the responsibility for the Digital Optimization Directorate which includes – Digital, Retail, Treasury, Operations, and Technology Divisions.

He is also the Executive Compliance Officer of the bank. He supervised the launch of ALAT – Nigeria’s first digital bank that has received local and global awards and multiple accolades. Before joining Wema Bank, he was the CEO of MG Ineso Limited, a principal investment and financial advisory firm. Prior to MG Ineso, Moruf was a Vice President at Renaissance Capital and an Associate at Salomon Brothers/Citigroup Global Markets in London.

He holds an MBA degree from the Institut European d’Administration des Affaires (INSEAD) in France, a Master’s in Finance (MiF) from the London Business School and a B.Sc. in Computer Engineering from Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Nigeria. He is also an alumnus of both the Advanced Management Program (AMP) of the Harvard Business School and King’s College, London.

The board also approved the appointment of Mr Wole Akinleye as the Deputy Managing Director.

Mr Akinleye, who currently oversees Corporate Banking and South West Business Directorate of the bank, is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN). He is also an alumnus of the Advanced Management Program of the Harvard Business School. He obtained his first degree in Accounting from Obafemi Awolowo University in 1989 and subsequently, a master’s degree in Business Administration (Finance) from the same University.

Similarly, Mr Tunde Mabawonku was appointed as an Executive Director. With over 23 years of experience in the banking industry, he was till his new appointment, the Chief Finance Officer and the Divisional Head of Finance & Corporate Services.

The statement added that all the appointments take effect from April 1, 2023, and are subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria and other regulatory authorities.