Nigeria (Common Wealth) _ Dr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu, group managing director and chief executive officer of Zenith Bank Plc, was awarded the International Banker 2023 Banking Awards title of “Best Banking CEO of the Year in Africa.”
Dr. Onyeagwu receives the honor among other people and banks from the Middle East and Africa in the International Banker Magazine’s spring 2023 issue.
Dr. Onyeagwu conveyed his gratitude for the honor and thanked the International Banker’s Publishers for choosing him as the “Best Banking CEO of the Year in Africa.” This further reflects how far the bank is standing as a premier financial institution in Nigeria and on the African continent, he added. It also demonstrates our dedication to the values of sustainability and high moral standards, which have become central to our bank’s overall approach.
He gleefully thanked and dedicated the awards to the bank’s management team and staff including the founder and the Chairman Jim Ovia, who served as the foundation upon which his accomplishments and success as CEO rested and all clients of the bank for choosing Zenith Bank as their bank of choice.
Due to Onyeagwu’s exceptional professionalism, he has won numerous honors under his belt, including CEO of the Year (2020 and 2021) – SERAS Awards, CEO of the Year (2022) – Leadership Newspaper, and Bank CEO of the Year (2019, 2020, 2021, & 2022) by BusinessDay Newspaper.
Dr. Onyeagwu has led Zenith Bank to accomplish outstanding feats and milestones in financial performance (including a 47% increase in the bank’s market capitalization in four years), financial inclusion, corporate governance, and sustainability while serving as group managing director and CEO.
These efforts have resulted in numerous local and international awards and recognitions, such as Tier-1 Capital’s recognition of the bank as Nigeria’s top bank for the 13th year in a row in the Top 1000 World Banks Ranking published by The Banker Magazine in 2022; the recognition of the bank as Nigeria’s bank of the year in The Banker’s Bank of the Year Awards in 2020 and 2022; and the recognition of the bank as the best bank in Nigeria for three consecutive years from 2020 to 2022 in the Best Commercial Bank, Nigeria in the World’s Best Banks Awards for 2021 and 2022 in the World Finance Banking Awards; Best Corporate Governance Bank, Nigeria; ‘Best in Corporate Governance’ Financial Services’ Africa’ for four years in a row from 2020 to 2023; by the Ethical Boardroom; and ‘Most Responsible Organization in Africa’ in 2021 by SERAS Awards.
In honor of his outstanding accomplishments as Group Managing Director/CEO of Zenith Bank and his contributions to the expansion of the financial services industry in Nigeria and across the African continent, he was awarded a Doctorate Degree in Business Administration on March 25, 2023, by the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria’s first indigenous university. The honor was presented at the University’s 50th convocation event.
The International Banker, a leading global source of authoritative analysis and comment on banking, finance, and international affairs, is published by Finance Publishing Limited. It has gained an international reputation for its influence, integrity, veracity, and unbiased opinion. The International Banker Awards work to honor the world’s most deserving financial institutions—those who go above and beyond the call of duty, operate at the cutting edge of their field, and set new benchmarks for excellence that others will follow.
