Access Holdings Plc has announced the appointment of Ms. Bolaji Agbede as the Acting Group Chief Executive Officer.
This is following the tragic passing of its former Group Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Herbert Wigwe, in a helicopter crash alongside his wife, son, and former chairman of the Nigeria Exchange Group, Abimbola Ogunbanjo, on Friday in California, United States.
The company’s Board of Directors issued a statement dated February 12, 2024, noting that the appointment is subject to approval by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
“Further to its announcement dated February 11, 2024, the Board of Directors of Access Holdings Plc (‘the Company’) has today announced the appointment of Ms. Bolaji Agbede as the Acting Group Chief Executive Officer of the Company following the unfortunate demise of its former Group Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Herbert Wigwe, on February 9, 2024.”
“The appointment is subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria,” stated the statement signed by the Group Company Secretary, Sunday Ekwochi.
Until her recent appointment, Ms. Agbede served as the company’s most senior founding Executive Director, overseeing business support functions.
With nearly three decades of professional experience spanning banking and business consultancy services, Ms. Agbede began her career in 1992 at Guaranty Trust Bank. Over the years, she held various roles within the commercial banking and operations functions, eventually rising to the position of manager in 2001.
In 2003, Agbede joined Access Bank as an assistant general manager, where she assumed responsibility for overseeing the bank’s portfolio of chemical trading companies.
She assumed the role of head of human resources for the Access Bank Group in 2010, where she spearheaded the human capital development efforts of the group. This position remained hers until June 2022, when she ascended to the role of executive director at Access Holdings, following the bank’s transition to a holding company.
A graduate of the University of Lagos, Agbede embarked on her professional journey at Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB), where she started as an executive trainee in 1992 and progressed to a managerial role by 2001. During her tenure at GTB, she served as a relationship manager and vault custodian.
Ms. Agbede subsequently assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer at JKG Limited, a business consulting firm, in 2003.