The Institute of Directors Centre for Corporate Governance, loDCCG has appointed Mr. Urum Kalu Eke. MFR, F.loD, as Chairman of the Board of Governors, following the retirement of Alhaji Shuaibu Idris, mni, F.IoD, who served the Centre meritoriously as Chairman of the Board for two years.
The appointment of Mr. U.K Eke was ratified at the 43rd Board of Governors meeting held on Wednesday 18th October 2023 at the IoDCCG secretariat, Ikoyi, Lagos. With his appointment, the new Chairman would steer the ship of the leading Corporate Governance Centre in Nigeria and take charge of its affairs for the next two years.
UK, as he is fondly called, is a renowned professional and an astute Boardroom executive with over four decades of cognate experience in financial services, banking, strategy, auditing, consulting, taxation, process re-engineering, and capital market operations.
He worked at FBN Holdings and its subsidiaries for more than ten (10) years where he held strategic and leadership positions. He joined the Board of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, in 2011 as Executive Director of Public Sector South, and later became Executive Director of South before he was elevated to the position of Group Managing Director of FBN Holdings Plc, on January 1, 2016.
Also, he has served on the Boards of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, FBNQuest Merchant Bank Limited, FBNBank United Kingdom and First Pensions Custodian Limited as a Non-Executive Director. Before joining FBN Holdings, Mr. UK Eke had worked at Diamond Bank Plc, Deloitte Haskins & Sells International.
In 2017, he was appointed to the board of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (Sovereign Wealth Fund) and served until 2021. He chaired the Externally Managed Investment Committee in addition to his membership in the Board Governance, Audit and Risk Management and Finance, General Purpose Committees.
With a first degree in Political Science (University of Lagos) and an MBA in Project Management Technology (Federal University of Technology, Owerri), Mr. U.K Eke also holds fellowship of several professional bodies and associations including Chartered Institute of Directors of Nigeria, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, Institute of Management Consultants, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, among others.
Currently, he is the Executive Chairman of FAIRCHILD GROUP comprising Fairchild Capital Limited, Fairchild Base Investment Limited, Fairchild Laboratories Limited, Fairchild Ventures Limited and Hudiya + Esther Consulting Services. Mr. UK Eke makes a contribution to societal development through philanthropic and mentoring gestures. He is the founder and Chairman of Elder K.U. Eke Memorial Foundation, Patron of Lagos State Council, Boys’ Brigade Nigeria, and a member of the exclusive Arch Klumph Society (AKS) of Rotary International.
In recognition of his many contributions to the development of our world, he was awarded the coveted Zik Prize in Professional Leadership (2021) and Nigeria’s National Honour of Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR).
IoD Centre for Corporate Governance is a collaborative project of the Chartered Institute of Directors Nigeria, the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC and the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC. The Centre is committed to improving and promoting good Corporate Governance standards in Nigeria through advocacy, advisory services, research and high-quality training programmes for Board members and Management in public and private sector organizations. The Centre is also an Affiliate Member of the African Corporate Governance Network, ACGN and it collaborates with The Centre for International Private Enterprise, CIPE in Washington, USA on Anti-Corruption and Ethics compliance training and services.
The emergence of Mr. UK Eke is poised to help the Centre build on the cherished legacies of the founding fathers and to consolidate on the gains of previous years to reposition the Centre as a key governance watchdog in Nigeria. The Centre will no doubt gain immensely from his expertise, vast professional knowledge, wealth of experiences and valuable contacts.
Photo: Mr. Urum Kalu Eke, Chairman, IoDCCG.
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