Meet Bolaji Agbede Access Holdings New GCEO

The death of the co-founder of Access Holdings Plc, Herbert Wigwe, left a vacuum that was filled on Monday by the appointment of a new Group Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Bolaji Agbede

Agbede was described by AccessCorp as the most senior founding executive director of the company.

Although her appointment is yet to be confirmed by the Central Bank of Nigeria, the board believes that she will continue with the game plan put in place by the late visionary leader, Wigwe.

Access Bank was first issued a banking licence in 1988, and in 2002, the founding partners Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede and Wigwe were appointed by the board as the Managing Director/CEO and Deputy Managing Director respectively.

Agbede’s Career Journey

The banker, Agbede, is described by AccessCorp as a versatile professional with over 27 years’ experience in human resources management, customer relationship management, and banking operations.

Agbede has a proven record of successful people integration during mergers and acquisitions, culture transformation, and execution of corporate strategies.

The banker began her professional journey in Guaranty Trust Bank and served in various capacities, including Relationship Manager and Vault Custodian.

She swiftly rose from the grade of Executive Trainee in 1992 to Manager in 2001.

In 2003, Ms. Agbede served as the Chief Executive Officer of JKG Limited, a business consulting outfit.

She joined Access Bank in 2003 as an Assistant General Manager and was responsible for managing the Bank’s portfolio of chemical trading companies.

In Access Holdings, she has occupied the role of Head, HR, for the Access Bank Group since 2010, wherein she oversees the human capital development of the Group. She was a non-executive director of Access Corp before her new role as GCEO.

Agbede’s Educational Experience

In 1990, Ms. Agbede got a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and statistics from the University of Lagos.

She obtained a Master of Business Administration degree from Cranfield University in 2002, and she is a member of the Chartered Institute of Management UK and Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria.

The GCEO has attended several leadership and professional development programs, including the High-Performance Leadership Programme organised by the IMD and the Strategic Talent Management Programme organised by the London Business School.