Keystone Bank gets new board

Following the successful conclusion of the divestment of Keystone Bank Limited by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), which culminated in the Completion Meeting of 23 March 2017; and the formal handover of the bank to the Sigma Golf-Riverbank Consortium , a transitional governance board has been constituted for the bank.

According to a statement released on Tuesday, which was signed by Omobolanle Osotule, Head, Corporate Communications, the five-man board is led by Alhaji Umaru H. Modibbo as chairman.

Other members of the board are Mr. Hafiz Bakare, ​Acting Managing Director/CEO; Mrs. Yvonne Isichei​​​, Executive Director; Mrs. Titilayo Tairat Adebiyi​​, ​Non-Executive Director; and Mr. Bulus Bunken Dan-Habu​, Non-Executive Director.

The statement added that “the transitional governance arrangement, which will take effect from the 1st of April 2017, is subject to approval by the Central Bank of Nigeria.”

The statement also noted that by the 31st of March 2017, the current board of the bank (including the MD/CEO, Mr. Philip Ikeazor) would have fully disengaged, except for Mr. Bakare and Mrs. Isichei, who will continue as part of the transitional governance board.

Alhaji Modibbo started his working career as a Commercial Officer in the then Gongola State Civil Service, and would later join the Gongola State Investment Company Limited where he rose to the rank of Senior Investment Executive.

A 1983 graduate of Business Administration from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Alhaji Modibbo qualified as a Chartered Stockbroker in 1991 and was elected to the Council of The Nigerian Stock Exchange from 1993 to 1996. He is currently a member of the Investors Protection Fund (IPF) of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

Alhaji Modibbo founded Sigma Pensions Limited, and served as its Managing Director/Chief Executive from 1st February 2011 to 31st October 2016.

Hafiz Bakare is currently the Executive Director, Corporate Bank & Treasury at Keystone Bank Limited also overseeing the Lagos & West Directorate. Before his appointment to the Board of Keystone Bank in July 2014, he was running a management consulting and capacity development firm he founded with the objective of assisting organizations across different sectors to deliver sustainable value in an increasingly challenging and dynamic environment.

Mr. Bakare has wide ranging professional experience cutting across management consulting, banking, insurance, manufacturing, health and other sectors locally and across Africa. He was Chief Strategy Officer, First Bank of Nigeria Plc responsible for bank and group strategy; mergers and acquisition; new business development; conception/incubation of new subsidiaries and group co-ordination; economic intelligence; local/international ratings;  investor relations; brand management and corporate communications. He equally oversaw the Products portfolio in FirstBank at some point covering Consumer Banking Products, Agricultural Business, Money Transfer and Wholesale Banking Products. In the course of his career, Mr. Bakare was also Group Director, Industrial and General Insurance Plc; and Non-Executive Director, Societe Nouvelle d’Assurances du Rwanda (SONARWA), the premier insurance institution in Rwanda.

A qualified Pharmacist, Mr. Bakare has an MBA from IESE Business School, University of Navarra, Spain and was the best in his class at the preparatory programme, setting a record of 25As in 26 courses. His management consulting experience was nurtured at Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) where he was on the firm’s “Outstanding Track”.