Biography:
Herbert Onyewumbu Wigwe is a Nigerian banker and entrepreneur. Until his death on February 11, 2024, he served as the CEO of Access Holdings Plc, traded as Access Corporation.
Herbert was the Group Managing Director/CEO of Access Bank plc, one of Nigeria’s top five banking institutions, after succeeding his business partner, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede in January 2014 till April 2022.
Early Life:
Mr. Wigwe started his professional career with Coopers & Lybrand Associates, an international firm of Chartered Accountants. He spent over 10 years at Guaranty Trust Bank Plc where he managed several portfolios, including financial institutions, large corporates and multinationals.
He left Guaranty Trust Bank as an Executive Director to co-lead the transformation of Access Bank Plc in March 2002 as Deputy Managing Director. He was appointed Group Managing Director/CEO effective January 1, 2014 and served in that capacity till May 2022. He was subsequently appointed a Non-Executive Director of the Bank effective May 2022.
Mr Wigwe is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School Executive Management Programme. He holds a master’s degree in Banking and International Finance from the University College of North Wales, a master’s degree in Financial Economics from the University of London and a B.Sc. degree in Accounting from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
He was also a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN). Mr Wigwe is the Chairman of The Access Bank (UK) Ltd and a Non-Executive Director of Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company Plc; FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange; Shared Agents Network Expansion Facilities Ltd and Agri-Business/ SME Enterprises Investment Scheme. He is also a member of the Governing Council of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria.
Wife
He is married to Chizoba Wigwe (née Nwuba) and has 4 children.
Family:
Herbert Onyewumbu Wigwe, born in Lagos to parents of Ikwerre descent from Omueke Isiokpo.
He hails from Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State, but lives and works in Lagos. He has 3 sisters and 1 brother: Joyce, Peggy, Stella and Emeka as well as 2 nieces: Aleruchi and Zara including 4 nephews: Ruchi, Oj, Chinweike and Obumneke..
Children
Chizi
Tochi
Hannah
David
Age
15 August 1966
Education:
Wigwe has a degree in accountancy from the University of Nigeria, an MA in Banking and Finance from the University College of North Wales (now Bangor), an MSc in Financial Economics from the University of London, and is an Alumnus of the Harvard Business School Executive Management Program.
Career:
Wigwe started his career at Coopers & Lybrand, Lagos as a management consultant, later qualifying as a chartered accountant. After a stint at Capital Bank, he joined GTBank where he spent over a decade working in corporate and institutional banking, rising to become the executive director in charge of institutional banking.
In 2002, Wigwe and his business partner, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede bought into what was then a small commercial bank, Access Bank – at the time, the 65th largest of the 89 banks in the country.
Over the past 30 years, Access Corporation has evolved from an obscure Nigerian Bank into a world-class African financial institution. Today, the Corporation is one the largest in Nigeria in terms of assets, loans, deposits and branch network; a feat which has been achieved through a robust long-term approach to client solutions – providing committed and innovative services from Banking, Payments, Lending, to Insurance and Pension Assets.
Access Bank is now one of the top five banks in Nigeria and ranked among the top 500 global banks according to a 2015 report by The Bankermagazine and is aiming to be Africa’s top bank. It currently serves over 6.5 million account-holders, through 350 branches and with more than 1,500 ATMs in major centres across Nigeria, Sub-Saharan Africa and the UK.
As one of Nigeria’s foremost corporate bankers, he has helped develop some of Africa’s biggest companies in the construction, telecommunications, energy and oil and gas sectors through a unique model, which involves understanding and providing financial support and expertise. His career in financial services spans more than 25 years including over a decade as Deputy Managing Director.
Wigwe also served as the Chairman of Access Bank Ghana Limited, Access Investment & Securities Limited, Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS) and is the current Chairman of Access Bank (UK) Limited. He is a board member of Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company and a member of the advisory Board for Friends Africa. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN – FCA), a Fellow of The Institute of Credit Administration, and an Honorary member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria.
Source of Wealth
Banking
Fintech
Net Worth
Mr Herbert Wigwe is the CEO of Africa’s leading commercial bank and a member of several boards, Herbert has a high net worth.
Although his net worth has not been stated officially, but Mr Herbert Wigwe worth about $65.2 million.
AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS
Under Wigwe, Access Bank has amassed quite a number of awards. In 2016, it won Bank of the Year and CEO of the Year at the BusinessDay Banking awards in Lagos. It also clinched three prestigious awards at the annual Africa Banking Awards for the “Outstanding Business Sustainability” in the 2016 Karlsruhe Sustainable Finance Awards in Germany, the first ever for an African financial institution. Access Bank Plc repeated the performance at the 2017 Karlsruhe Sustainable Finance Awards in Germany by receiving the “Outstanding Business Sustainability Achievement Award”.
Wigwe himself was named 2016 Banker of The Year separately by The Sun and Vanguard newspapers, two of Nigeria’s biggest newspapers.
Disclaimer
The information in this article was curated from online sources. NewsWireNGR or its editorial team cannot independently verify all details.
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