Harriet-Ann Omobolanle (Bola) Adesola is the senior vice-chairman at

Standard Chartered Bank Standard Chartered PLC is a British multinational bank with operations in wealth management, Wholesale banking, corporate and investment banking, and treasury services. Despite being headquartered in the United Kingdom, it does not conduct retai ...

Group where she was previously the CEO of Standard Chartered Bank for

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

and

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

. Adesola has over 33 years of experience in the banking sector.

Education and career

Bola Adesola commenced her banking career with Prime Merchant Bank, where she served as Treasury Officer before moving to Citibank in 1990. While at Citibank, she held several Treasury roles, including Country Treasurer for Citibank

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

between 1995 and 1997. Her nine years with Citi included other senior management roles for nine (9) years in

. In 1999, Bola was headhunted and appointed Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Kakawa Discount House Limited, a securities trading and asset management firm owned by a consortium of the biggest banks in

at that time. Bola was approached to join the board of Nigeria’s premier bank,

First Bank of Nigeria First Bank of Nigeria is a multinational bank and financial services company with headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria. First Bank was founded in 1894 by Sir Alfred Jones and is currently owned by First HoldCo PLC, which in itself has diversified own ...

Plc, in 2005 and was appointed Executive Director, Corporate Banking. Thereafter, she became Executive Director of the Lagos Directorate for the bank. She also served as Director on the boards of FBN Capital Limited, and FBN Trustees Limited. In 2011, Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Limited appointed Bola as the first Nigerian and first female CEO. Bola’s portfolio for Standard Chartered Bank was expanded in 2015 to include the Group’s business in West Africa. She also served on the boards of Standard Chartered Bank in

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

Cameroun Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

Cote D’Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and ...

, respectively, and Bola was Chairman of Standard Chartered Bank,

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

. After 8 years of firmly embedding sustainable profitability for the bank, and championing the growth and development of African talent for the bank, Bola was appointed Senior vice-Chairman, Africa for Standard Chartered Bank. In May 2021, Mrs Adesola retired from Standard Chartered Bank after 10 years of impactful service. In July 2021, Mrs Adesola was appointed to the board of Ecobank Nigeria Limited as Chairman. She has also been Chairman of the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) since July 2020. As a board member of Imperial Logistics Plc, a shipper listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, Bola also serves on the Board Social, Ethics & Sustainability Committee. She is an alumnus of

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

and

Lagos Business School Lagos Business School (LBS) is the graduate business school of Pan-Atlantic University and is owned by the Pan-Atlantic University Foundation (PAUF), a non-profit foundation registered in Nigeria. LBS was founded by three professionals - Juan Ma ...

, where she is the immediate past president of the Alumni Association. Bola holds a Law degree from the

University of Buckingham The University of Buckingham (UB) is a non-profit private university#United Kingdom, private university in Buckingham, England, and the oldest of the country's six private universities. It was founded as the University College at Buckingham (U ...

, UK and is an Associate of the

Chartered Institute of Arbitrators The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (abbreviated as CIArb) is a professional organisation representing the interests of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) practitioners. Founded on 1 March 1915, it was granted a royal charter by Queen Elizabe ...

U.K. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and

. She is an Honorary Fellow and former Council Member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers Nigeria, a founding Trustee of the Financial Markets Dealers Association, and has served on the boards of Nigeria Interbank Settlement Systems Plc and the Financial Institutions Training Centre. Bola is also past Chair of the Bankers’ Committee sub-Committee on Economic Development, Sustainability and Gender (Nigeria). She is also a member of the Institute of Directors and of Women Corporate Directors. Bola’s keen interest in FinTech led to her appointment to the Board of Trustees of the FinTech Association of Nigeria. In 2001, Bola co-founded Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ) and she currently serves on the WIMBIZ Board of Trustees. In 2015 she was appointed to the

United Nations Global Compact The United Nations Global Compact is a non-binding United Nations pact to get businesses and firms worldwide to adopt sustainable and socially responsible policies, and to report on their implementation. The UN Global Compact is the world's ...

(UNGC) Board by the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki Moon, and as Co Vice-Chair of the Board in February 2018. Bola is married and is the proud mother of twin girls. She is an avid reader, extensively travelled, and an art enthusiast.

Honors and activities

Financial Markets Dealers Association - Trustee and Executive Board Member

Central Bank of Nigeria The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is the central bank and apex monetary authority of Nigeria established by the CBN Act of 1958 and commenced operations on 1 July 1959. The major regulatory objectives of the bank as stated in the CBN Act are t ...

Bankers’ Committee on Economic Development, Sustainability and Gender - Chairperson

– Member, 2018 United Nations - Director, 2015 Nigeria National Competitiveness Council - Executive Member, 2013

Alumni Association (LBSAA) - Vice President, Fate Foundation - Board Member Women in Business and Management (WIMBIZ) - Co-founder and Former Chairperson, 2001

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adesola, Bola Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Alumni of the University of Buckingham Harvard Business School alumni Nigerian accountants Nigerian corporate directors Women corporate directors Nigerian women business executives Nigerian bankers Nigerian women lawyers