11th March, 2014
Ecobank Transnational Incorporated on Tuesday announced the appointment of Mr Albert Essien as its new Chief Executive Officer.
A statement by The Quadrant Company, a public relations company in Lagos, also announced the departure of the bank’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr Thierry Tanoh, with effect from March 12. Tanoh spent less than two years in the saddle, as he was appointed in October 2012.
Essien was formerly the bank’s Deputy CEO/ Group Executive Director for Corporate and Investment Banking.
Essien has been at Ecobank for more than 20 years, rising to the position of deputy group CEO two years ago.
Prior to becoming Deputy CEO, Mr Essien was the Regional Head for the Anglophone West Africa (excluding Nigeria) and Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) regions.
He started his banking career in 1986 with the National Investment Bank in Accra, Ghana and joined the Corporate Banking Department of Ecobank Ghana in 1990.
Ecobank, one of the biggest banks in Africa, had in the past few weeks faced some internal crisis, leading to regulators in Nigeria advising the bank to address some governance issues.
Matters came to a head two weeks when a major shareholder of the bank, he South African government-owned Public Investment Corporation’s (PIC), demanded the immediate removal of the Ivorian Thierry Tanoh.
Four senior executives had called earlier that Tanoh step down, listing a series of allegations, including that Tanoh took a unilateral decision to dismiss finance director Laurence do Rego, contrary to a decision by the board.
ETI Interim Chairman, André Siaka, commended the effort of Tanoh while serving the company.
He said: “We wish to thank Thierry Tanoh for his service to Ecobank and we wish him every success in the future.
“We believe that Essien has the experience and knowledge that Ecobank needs to take us forward as we continue to implement our strategy which is to deliver outstanding customer service, to improve long-term shareholder value and returns and to be the employer of choice in our markets.”
Essien promised to continue in the good steps of his predecessor and called for support of all stakeholders.
“I have been working for Ecobank for more than 20 years and I am proud of what we have achieved so far.
“I am committed to achieving our vision of building a world class pan-African bank which contributes to the economic development and financial integration of Africa,’’ he said.
The new CEO also promised to uphold the bank’s “mission of providing our retail and wholesale customers with convenient, accessible and reliable financial products and services.”
The bank had on Sunday appointed a seven-member committee to search for members of its board. It will be assisted by an external search firm.
This was part of the bank’s detailed 51-point Governance Action Plan agreed by shareholders at an Extraordinary General Meeting held at Ecobank’s pan African Centre in Lomé on March 3.
According to Ouedraogo, the search Committee consists of two former chairmen Mr Gervais Djondo and Chief Philip Asiodu, two representatives of the current board and three shareholder representatives.
He said the Committee would recommend potential board members to the shareholders of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated at their Annual General Meeting to be held in June.
He added that at their Extraordinary General Meeting on March 3 the shareholders agreed to limit the size of the board to a maximum of 15 people.
“It will comprise representatives of both majority and minority shareholders, executives and independent directors.
“In addition the reconstituted board will reflect the geographical spread of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated as well as a more balanced gender and professional mix,“ he added.
