Champion Man of the Year 2023 goes to Oliver Alawuba, GMD UBA.

Champion Man of the Year 2023 goes to Oliver Alawuba, GMD UBA.

Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of United Bank for Africa, UBA Plc, Oliver Alawuba, has been named Champion Newspapers Man of the Year for 2023.

Oliver, who is making history as the first CEO of any financial institution in the country to clinch the prestigious award, beat top contenders during a rigorous process by the top echelon of the media organization after consideration of all the feats he has been able to achieve last year while steering Africa’s Global Bank.

The UBA boss, according to a statement by the Group Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief of Champion Newspapers Limited, Dr. Mrs. Nwadiuto Iheakanwa, came in first among the star-studded nominees.

It would be recalled that the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) won the award back in 2021 and 2022 for his exemplary leadership in the war on drug and substance abuse.

Oliver, along with the other galaxy of recipients, will formally receive their awards at a ceremony slated for the Convention Centre, Eko Hotels and Suites in Victoria Island, Lagos, on Saturday, May 25, 2024.

Mr. Alawuba is a seasoned banking professional with a broad range of strategic and well-grounded experience in corporate and institutional banking, consumer banking, the public sector, retail and commercial banking, project management, corporate governance, and overall bank management.

He has acquired 25 years of work experience in the banking industry after his short foray into academia. He joined the former Standard Trust Bank (STB) as a pioneer staff member in 1997, and over the years, he has demonstrated a strong passion for excellence and result-oriented leadership capabilities.

Also, prior to his current appointment as the Group Managing Director/CEO of UBA Group, Oliver was at various times country CEO and regional CEO in the Rest of Africa, Executive Director, East Bank (Nigeria), and later Group Deputy Managing Director/CEO, covering Nigeria and other 19 subsidiaries in the Rest of Africa. He also worked at another bank and rose to the position of executive director.

Oliver is an effective and self-motivated professional and possesses B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Food Science and Technology and an MBA in Banking and Finance. He is an alumnus of the AMP and SEP programmes of the prestigious INSEAD Business School, France, and London Business School, respectively.

He is also a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM) and an Honorary Senior Member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN).

Meanwhile, Mrs. Nwadiuto, while justifying Mr. Alawuba’s emergence, explained that under his watch, UBA, as one of the leading financial institutions in Africa, has contributed immensely not only to the growth of the banking sector but also to the social, economic, and technological development in Nigeria and across the continent.

She added, “To be a role model for African businesses by creating superior value for all stakeholders, abiding by the utmost professional and ethical standards, and building an enduring institution,” as well as your resolve to “redefining public sector banking in Nigeria and across Africa,” are among the major reasons you have been selected for this prestigious award.

“More importantly, we note with satisfaction that UBA, as a leading pan-African financial institution, has under your leadership remained profitable, delivering return on investment to its numerous stakeholders, as well as showing sustainable and remarkable improvement in key performance metrics, reflecting its commitment to delivering value to shareholders and various stakeholders.

Continuing, she said, “For instance, the bank’s gross earnings grew by 115.2 percent to N1.309 trillion, up from N608 billion recorded last year, while operating income rose by 146 percent from N414 billion in September 2022 to N1.018 trillion this year.

“Similarly, the bank’s financial report filed with the Nigerian Exchange Limited indicated a whopping 262 percent rise in Profit Before Tax (PBT) to close at N502.01 billion compared to N138.49 billion recorded at the end of the third quarter of 2022, while Profit After Tax also rose impressively by 287.2 percent from N116 billion recorded a year earlier to N449.29 billion, massively surpassing its annualized return on average equity for Q3 2023 at 131 percent to 44.37 percent.

“Only recently, the Bank showed class on the international arena when it clinched nine prestigious awards at the Bankers Awards 2023, organized by the Banker Magazine, a publication of the Financial Times of London, the world’s leading business newspaper, including the highly coveted Bank of the Year Africa 2023,”  she stated.