Access Holdings Plc has announced the appointment of Mr. Uche Orji, the erstwhile Founding Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority as an Independent Non-Executive Director of its flagship subsidiary, Access Bank Plc, effective from January 7, 2025, following the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria (‘CBN’).
The disclosure was made via a press release made available to the media February 1 which was signed by the Company Secretary, Sunday Ekwochi.
“This appointment reflects our commitment to enhancing our governance practices and ensuring a diverse and experienced board”, the Secretary stated.
“Mr. Orji is a renowned investment banking professional, information technology entrepreneur, and finance expert with three (3) decades of professional and board experience. He is the Co-founder and Partner of Titangate Capital Management, an equity firm that invests in deep-tech, enterprise software, semi-conductors, hardware, and artificial intelligence companies.
“He is the Founder and Director of Vitesse Africa Limited, an investment advisory firm focused on African energy, technology and infrastructure sectors. He serves as an Executive Board member and investor in Ultrasafe AI, an artificial intelligence/IT development firm that maintains strategic collaborations with leading technology companies. He also sits on the Board of Private Infrastructure Development Group, London, and chairs the Risk Committee.
“Previously, Mr. Orji served as the founding Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority. He held positions as Managing Director and Senior Analyst at UBS Securities Limited New York and Managing Director and Head of European Technology/Semiconductor Equity Research at JP Morgan Securities, London. He also served as Executive Director/Portfolio Manager at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, London. Earlier in his career, he was Acting Financial Controller at Diamond Bank Limited and an Audit Trainee at Arthur Andersen & Co.
“He holds a Bachelor of Engineering Degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Port-Harcourt and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School.
Welcoming him to the Bank’s board, the Chairman of the Bank, Mr. Paul Usoro (SAN) said:
“Mr. Orji has been appointed based on his exceptionally rich professional, academic, and corporate board experience which will be invaluable to the Bank as we continue to pursue our strategic objectives.
“We are confident that his addition to the Board would further enrich the quality of our decision-making process, enabling us to deliver even greater value to our customers and stakeholders.
“His appointment has been made in accordance with the Bank’s internal policies and has been notified to all relevant regulatory authorities underscoring our commitment to upholding the highest standards of corporate governance.
“On behalf of the Board, Management and staff, I warmly welcome Mr. Orji to the Board and look forward to his contributions towards our goal of becoming one of the top 5 African Banks in the shortest possible time.”