By Abiola Olawale
Managing Director of First Bank Group, Adesola Adeduntan, has announced his decision to resign his appointment from the company after nine years at the helm of affairs.
It was gathered that Adedutan tendered his resignation to the board of the holding company of the bank. He also communicated an effective resignation date of April 20, 2024.
This comes months before his due retirement which is in December when his tenure would have been fully completed.
The letter read: “As you are aware, my contract would be expiring on 31 December 2024, after which I would no longer be eligible for employment within the bank having served as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of FirstBank for a record time of nine years.
“During this period the bank and its subsidiaries have undergone significant changes and broken new grounds. We have repositioned the institution as an enviable financial giant in Africa. I have however decided to proceed with retirement with effect from 20 April 2024, to pursue other interests.
“I am eternally grateful to the board of directors of FirstBank and FBN Holdings Plc for the support that I received from them during my stewardship. I wish our iconic institution continued success and progress as we move into the next phase of its evolution. Warm regards.”
The New Diplomat reports that Adeduntan’s resignation also follows the recent appointments of 5 new elite directors at the Holdco and bank levels, a move which has been seen by some analysts as an attempt to strengthen the corporate governance framework of the bank.
The directors appointed by the bank all have strong resumes suggesting a new direction for one of Nigeria’s largest financial institutions.
The holding company announced the appointment of Mr. Olusola Adeeyo, and Mr. Viswanathan Shankar as Non-Executive Directors of FBN Holdings Plc respectively. The bank (a subsidiary of the HoldCo) also appointed Mrs. Remilekun Adetola Odunlami as Non-Executive Director and Mr. Anil Dua and Mrs Fatima Ibrahim Ali as Independent Non-Executive Directors of FirstBank.
Adedutan played a pivotal role in navigating the bank through challenging economic periods, focusing on digital transformation initiatives and strengthening the bank’s market position.
His tenure was controversially renewed in April 2021 for a second term, following an initial six-year term. This April marks the end of another three-year term at the helm of the bank for Adedutan, adhering to First Bank’s tradition of MD/CEOs serving three-year tenures, of which Adedutan has now completed two.
Adedutan holds a Doctor of Science, Honoris Causa, and an MBA from Cranfield University, United Kingdom which he attended as a Chevening Scholar, and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) awarded by the University of Ibadan.
He has attended various executive and leadership programs at Harvard Business School (USA), Wharton School (USA), London Business School (UK), IESE (Spain), University of Oxford (UK), University of Cambridge (UK), CEIBS (China) and INSEAD (France).
He is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN
