In harmony with its upbeat corporate transformation and business expansion strategy, First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FirstBank) has announced the appointment of Dr. Adesola Kazeem Adeduntan (FCA) as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), to replace the former CFO, Mr. Adebayo Adelabu, who was recently appointed a Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. Adeduntan’s appointment, which is in the Executive Director cadre, has received the statutory approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
According to the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of FirstBank, Mr. Bisi Onasanya, the choice of the new CFO is in line with the Bank’s commitment to attracting the best resources in the industry, sustaining best practice in its operations, and enhancing the capacity of the Executive Management and Board, by deepening specialization and strengthening the corporate governance culture of the Bank which is in its 120th year.
A Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria with over 20 years’ experience, Dr. Adeduntan was prior to his appointment a Director and the pioneer Chief Financial Officer of Africa Finance Corporation. Before joining the Africa Finance Corporation, Dr. Adeduntan was a Senior Vice-President & Chief Financial Officer of Citibank Nigeria Limited, Citigroup’s largest subsidiary in Sub-Sahara Africa, and was previously a Senior Manager in the Financial Services Group of KPMG Professional Services where he led/managed high profile assurance, financial and risk advisory engagements. He has garnered diverse hands-on experience covering deep skills and expertise in Treasury & Financial Management, Risk Management, Accounting (IFRS)/Auditing/Internal Controls, Corporate Governance, Corporate Strategy Development and Implementation, Corporate Finance, Business Performance Management, Business/Financial Advisory, Investors, Regulators and Rating Agencies Relationship Management, Deployment and Management of Information Technology, and Compliance.
Dr. Adeduntan attended University of Ibadan, where he obtained a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree. He also holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from Cranfield University Business School, United Kingdom which he attended as a distinguished “British Chevening Scholar.” In addition to his MBA, he has attended executive/leadership programmes at Harvard, Cambridge, Oxford and INSEAD.
Commenting further on the appointment, Mr. Onasanya said as the leading financial services institution in Nigeria, the Bank is keen on ensuring adherence to leading international best practices in the constitution of its Board and Management. “We, therefore, continuously seek the most capable talents in-house and in the industry to fill vacant positions within the Group and the choice of the new CFO typifies FirstBank’s value system hinged on dependability, entrepreneurship, integrity, resilience, dynamism, good governance and service excellence. I trust that he will bring to bear his wealth of experience and positively impact our drive for sustainable growth and development,” he enthused.