President Bola Tinubu has appointed Rotimi Akinde and Ifeoma Uz’Okpala as executive directors of the Bank of Industry.
According to a statement by the head of the public relations division at BOI, Theodora Amechi, the appointment took effect on August 26.
Akinde will serve as executive director of corporate finance and risk management, while Uz’Okpala will take on the role of executive director of large enterprises directorate.
BOI described Akinde as a finance professional with over 20 years of investment and corporate banking experience, with an extensive track record covering capital raising and corporate finance. Before joining BOI, he worked as an associate partner project and corporate finance at Infrastructure Delivery International and as corporate finance advisor at the Nigeria Infrastructure Advisory Facility.
Akinde’s previous roles included serving as group head and assistant general manager, multinationals at UBA Plc, and vice-president of corporate finance and advisory at UBA global markets (now United Capital).
“He was a privatization adviser and head of the oil and gas team at the Bureau of Public Enterprises, where he closed on the divestiture and sale of the government’s equity interest in 11 oil services companies and achieved the sale of all the government’s LPG assets,” BOI said.
Akinde also has experience in the financial sector in the UK, having worked as an investment analyst with Barclays Funds and an analyst with Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, London. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, a master’s degree in international securities, investment, and banking from the University of Reading, UK, and an executive MBA from INSEAD.
Meanwhile, BOI described Uz’Okpala as a seasoned credit and risk management professional with over 30 years in the financial sector. She joined BOI in September 2014 as group head of Enormous Enterprises Credit and later served as the bank’s chief risk officer before her appointment. As chief risk officer, BOI said she played a crucial role in managing and mitigating risks associated with the bank’s operations while providing environmental, social, and governance risk support.
According to the bank, Uz’Okpala offered invaluable ESG support within transactions and provided the roadmap for attracting impact investments. Before joining BOI, she worked at International Merchant Bank, MBC International, First Bank, Stanbic Bank, and UBA.
“She commenced her career at International Merchant Bank and progressed through key roles at MBC International, First Bank, Stanbic Bank, and UBA. Her versatile expertise includes internal auditing, corporate finance, credit evaluation and origination, foreign operations, and risk management,” the bank said.
Uz’Okpala is an alumna of the University of Nigeria, where she attained a BSc. In Accountancy and a graduate of the prestigious Lagos Business School. She is also a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, an honorary senior member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, and a member of the Chartered Risk Management Institute.
