By Abdul Rahman Aliagan
The only thing permanent in life is change; change is as inevitable as it is constant. It is part and parcel of both social and organisational life.
From time to time organisations make changes to allow new innovations and ideas to flourish with the sole aim of moving them forward in achieving set goals and objectives, especially in a strict and competitive-driven environment.
For sure, Africa’s global bank, the United Bank for Africa belong to the class of organisations who embrace change, think positive about it and make a remarkable difference in its leadership succession plan.
To such an organisation, change is not destructive, neither is it disruptive. It is rather an avenue to bring on board the new ideas that will eventually rule the world and change its fortunes for the better.
It is not shrouded in obscurity that one Group Managing Director will leave for another at a stipulated time, it is rather an organisation’s culture and as the law governing and regulating the system provides. For the love, passion and strong belief in the mission and vision of the organisation by the key stakeholders, they had for long made provision for a succession plan.
This had made UBA to wax stronger as one of the leading financial institutions not only in Nigeria but also in Africa.
Instructively, March 1 marked another watershed in the history of UBA when the Board of Directors came together to announce the appointment of a very diligent and intelligent man who has displayed profound understanding of different financial systems.
Kenedy Uzoka has successively demonstrated the zeal and passion in pursuing his goals to achieve excellence. No wonder, the appointment got the nod of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Kenedy Uzoka
For sure, the growth and development of any organisation lie in its ability to identify brilliant and focus minded person who create innovations. Such people have the ideas and possess the intellectual and technical know-how to thrive in a competitive-driven economy. Without mincing word, Uzoka perfectly fits in these categories.
Uzoka is a no stranger in financial circles, particularly in the banking sector. The current Deputy Managing Director is billed to take over the mantle of leadership of the bank from the current Group Managing Director and CEO, Phillips Oduoza.
An energetic man who bestrodden the financial circle for more than two decades definitely holds a whole lot of prospects for the UBA brand.
The confidence the Chairman of UBA Group, Mr. Tony Elumelu, reposed in the capacity of the new GMD is an indication of the glowing prospects awaiting the institution.
According to Elumelu, “Kennedy brings an extremely strong skill set and is ideally positioned to lead UBA in its next phase of growth.
“ His most recent experience of managing the group’s increasingly important African business is particularly relevant, as we all work to build one of the leading financial services franchises in Africa.
“ I have no doubt that with his expertise and depth of business experience will ensure that the Bank is best positioned to deliver on its strategic ambition.”
Mr. Elumelu statement is reassuring, especially for shareholders, that Africa’s global bank is in safe in the hands.
On August 1, 2016, Uzoka would formally take charge of both operations and marketing frontiers of the bank for another prosperous period. The transition period is between March 1 and August 1.
A product of Harvard Business School, he has been Deputy Managing Director in the last six years and has over two and half decades of experience in commercial banking, strategy and business transformation.
Prior to a sabbatical study leave at Harvard, Uzoka served as Deputy Managing Director, UBA group and was the CEO of UBA Africa, and was responsible for the group’s operations in 18 countries across Africa. He is most recently leading the Transformation Agenda of the bank.
A multiple award winner, Uzoka has also supervised other key areas in the bank including e-Banking and Information Technology. He has supervised the bank’s business in New York and London in addition to strategic support groups such as Human Resources, Legal Advisory Services, Procurement and Vendor Management, Corporate Relations and Marketing, among others.
He has also had direct supervision and oversight of critical business functions like Group Treasury and International Financial Institutions and Transaction Banking, UBA Pensions Custodian, Consumer Banking and Cash Management. He was once Head, Strategy and Business Transformation and also Regional Bank Head, South Bank covering 17 states in Southern part of Nigeria.
Also prior to the merger of legacy Standard Trust Bank (STB) and United Bank for Africa (UBA), he was Regional-Director South East, Vice President Northern Nigeria, Chief Marketing Officer, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief Marketing Officer, Lagos, and Managing Executive Officer, STB. Explaining some of the consideration that resulted in the appointment, Elumelu said, “Kennedy brings an extremely strong skill set and is ideally positioned to lead UBA in its next phase of growth. His most recent experience of managing the Group’s increasingly important African business is particularly relevant, as we all work to build one of the leading financial services franchises in Africa.”
Uzoka is a graduate of Mechanical Engineering from University of Benin and holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration from University of Lagos.
According to Mr Philips Oduoza in the 2015 Financial Year, UBA recorded a decent 10% year-on-year growth in gross earnings, driven primarily by balance sheet optimization. With disciplined approach to cost management, the brand achieved a tighter cost-to-income ratio of 67% and preserved earnings growth for its shareholders. In overall, UBA grew profit before tax by 22% to an historic record of N68.5 billion and closed the year with a 25% year-on-year growth in profit after tax to N59.7 billion; impressive performance which translates to 20% return on average equity.
“The performance of our business in Africa (ex-Nigeria) was impressive, as we further our synergy extraction. Precisely, UBA Africa contributed 24% of our Group’s profit before tax in the 2015, despite the impact of cross- currency depreciation in some of our markets.
“Our resilient business model, geographic diversification, proactive strategies and strong governance created an edge for us throughout the year. We will continue to invest in our future whilst managing cost tightly to generate strong returns to shareholders. Our 2015 profit is a new record and I am pleased that our performance is beginning to reflect the hard work and discipline of the Board, Management and Staff in creating superior value for our stakeholders.
“I wish to commend all of you for this performance. We remain committed to our quest for industry leadership and I urge all of us to re-double our efforts in ensuring that we meet and surpass our 2016 financial target,’’ he had said.
Clearly, UBA’s strength as a group lies primarily in diverse people and their limitless capacity to bring their passion to bear on the development and delivery of innovative products and services, creating an excellent customer experience to deliver timely and bespoke solutions for multinational and multicultural customers.
The bank has created a corporate culture founded upon strong organizational values and performance-driven operating standards. Nothing less is expected of Uzoka’s administration in UBA.
This ironically becomes the challenge to be surmounted by the incoming GMD.as all eyes are on him to do the needful and surpass the successes recorded by his predecessors.
More importantly, the enabling environment has been created for smooth running of the inherited administration at Africa’s global bank.
Uzoka’s appointment invariably offers immense possibilities for this pan-African financial mega institution.
