Who is Aigboje Aig Imoukhuede, Pioneer Access Bank CEO?

Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede is an investor, banker and philanthropist. With a track record of major accomplishments in both for-profit and not-for-profit initiatives within Nigeria and beyond.

As co-founder of the Tengen Family Office, Aig-Imoukhuede oversees a multibillion-dollar portfolio of investments and businesses in banking, finance, insurance, technology, real estate and energy.

While through the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation and its subsidiaries. The Africa Initiative for Governance and the Aig-Imoukhuede Institute, Aigboje and his wife, Ofovwe, manage a significant family commitment focused on building Nigeria’s next generation of government leaders. Helping transform public sector effectiveness, and improving access to quality primary health care.

Aig-Imoukhuede’s career in banking and finance spans three decades and has earned him international recognition. He became group managing director and chief executive officer of Nigeria’s Access Bank in from 2002. And led its transformation from a minor player into one of the country’s top five banks, with a presence in nine other African countries and the United Kingdom.

Under his stewardship, Access Bank grew its customer base from 10 000 to 6.5 million, with more than 20 000 employees and an asset base of USD $12 billion.

Aigboje Aig Imoukhuede Biography

Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, CFR was the former MD/CEO of Access Bank Plc (now Access Holdings) for 10 years and handed over to the late Herbert Wige upon the expiry of his tenure.

Aig-Imoukhuede was born on 24 September 1966 in Ibadan, Oyo State in Western Nigeria to parents who were in the civil service. His father, Frank Aig-Imoukhuede and mother, Historian Emily Aig-Imoukhuede(née Ihonde) had 3 other children, Erekpitan, Oluwakemi, and Aigbovbioise.

He hails from Sabongida-Ora, Edo State in Southern Nigeria. Aigboje lived with his family in Lagos but went to Federal Government College Kaduna, in Northern Nigeria. He earlier attended St. Saviours School (primary) in Lagos and at aged 16, he enrolled to study law at University of Benin, Edo State, Nigeria.

He graduated with a LLB degree in 1986 at age 19 and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1987. Also, he holds a Trium MBA, awarded jointly by the London School of Economics, New York University, and HEC Paris. In 2000 he attended a three-month Executive Management Programme course at Harvard Business School.

His Career

He began working as a lawyer with Continental Merchant Bank during his NYSC year in 1988. Aigboje joined Guaranty Trust Bank Plc in December 1991 where he resigned as executive director in March 2002. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede was the leader of the 2002 acquisition of Access Bank, then a fringe regional player.

From his early banking days at Guaranty Trust Bank, where between 1991 and 1999 he quickly rose to become the Bank’s Treasurer and subsequently an Executive Director, Aigboje has consistently been a flagbearer of excellence in the nation’s financial markets.

He was part of the team of Money Market of Nigeria treasurers who worked with the CBN to set up the NIBSS (Nigeria Interbank Settlement System). The foundation of Nigeria’s globally celebrated automated payment system which has enabled Nigeria’s fintech revolution.

A turning point in Aig-Imoukhuede’s journey was his 2001 decision to buy his own bank. A story which he chronicled in his bestselling book ‘Leaving the Tarmac – How to buy a bank in Africa’.

This journey which he embarked on with his friend and partner Herbert Wigwe, saw them acquire Access Bank a small ailing bank in 2002. With Aig-Imoukhuede in the saddle as Managing Director and Herbert as his able deputy. They took Access Bank on a journey of transformation that has had a profound and long-lasting impact on the Nigerian banking sector.

Appointed MD/CEO

In March 2002, when Aigboje was appointed MD/CEO. The bank was ranked in the bottom quartile of a field of 90 banks. By 2012 barely 10 years later Access Bank ranked amongst Nigeria’s top five banks with subsidiaries in the UK and nine African countries.

Under his stewardship, Access Bank grew its customer base from 10 000 to 6.5 million. With more than 10,000 employees and an asset base of USD $12 billion. These major achievements did not go unnoticed.

In 2011 at the age of 45 Aigboje received Nigeria’s Commander of the Order Niger national honour. The following year he received the prestigious African Banker of the year award from African Banker magazine.

Retired as CEO of Access Bank

In 2013, he took the decision to retire as CEO of Access Bank ahead of the end of his tenure. He handed over to his partner Herbert Wigwe in a much applauded and celebrated CEO succession process.

Under Herbert’s leadership Access Bank maintained its enviable growth and is now Nigeria’s largest bank. Aigboje left the Banking sector when the ovation was loudest with his record at Access Bank as his most memorable legacy.

However, during his final years as a bank professional. He made three key contributions at the national level which today are notably celebrated for their impact.

The first was his role as Chairman of Nigeria’s Banker’s Committee subcommittee on economic planning. Where he led the banking sector’s’ voluntary adoption of the Nigerian Sustainable Banking Principles, an initiative that has since been emulated by several countries across the world.

The second was his role as Chairman of the 2012 Presidential Committee on the verification of Fuel Subsidies. The work of the Aig-Imoukhuede Committee is credited with saving Nigeria from making billions of dollars of fraudulent fuel subsidy payments. Even though it came at great risk to the safety of him and his family.

His third outstanding contribution was the Founding of FMDQ OTC Exchange in 2013 as its pioneer Chairman along with its CEO and other key FMDA stakeholders. Just like NIBSS, FMDQ Plc has become one of the fundamental pillars of Nigeria financial system.

Life after retirement

After retiring from the banking industry, Aig-Imoukhede drew inspiration from the Rockefeller Family Office and established the Tengen Family Office.

His ambition, alongside Herbet Wigwe, was to create a lasting legacy of wealth transfer and business succession across multiple generations.

He shifted his focus on building the Coronation ecosystem, a unified financial services platform which he established through the Coronation Capital Cornerstone Fund. The ecosystem comprises “long money” financial service businesses operating in Nigeria and Ghana.

Aigboje then accepted an invitation from Alhaji Aliko Dangote, the President of the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) at the time, to become the first Vice President of the NSE’s National Council.

Joined Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE)

In 2014, on the invitation of then Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) President Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Aigboje joined the Nigeria Stock Exchange’s National Council as its first Vice President.

In 2014, he was elected President of the Nigeria Stock Exchange, this has uniquely placed him as the first African to have the honour of chairing two national exchanges in a lifetime.

After decades of focus on the banking sector, Aig-Imoukhuede turned his attention to endeavours aimed at strengthening the Nigeria’s capital markets and the broader financial ecosystem.

First in assuming the mantle of NSE President his trademark of transparency and integrity helped to foster investor confidence and foreign direct investment in Nigeria’s capital markets.

Most importantly, through his leadership the Council and management where able to instil much higher standards of market practice and conduct amongst operators.

He was and remains an advocate for much stronger and better capitalised capital market operators and challenged the capital market community to build formidable investment groups that would match their banking sector contemporaries in capacity and relevance.

In 2017, as outgoing NSE President he pledged to establish his own formidable capital market operator. He orchestrated the steps that culminated in the demutualisation of the Nigerian Stock Exchange in 2021.

Aigboje Aig Imoukhuede’s Achievements & Awards

• He was conferred with Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) in 2011 by then President Goodluck Jonathan for his contributions to the development of banking and finance.
• Awarded the National Productivity Order of Merit Award in 2009.
• In 2011 he was inaugurated into the Ernst and Young World Entrepreneurs Hall of Fame as the Ernst & Young West Africa Entrepreneur of the Year.
• African Banker Magazine’s “African Banker of the Year” in 2013.
• He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and was appointed a member of the international advisory board of Oxford University’s Blavatnik School of Government.
• He is a fellow of the African Leadership Institute affiliated with the Aspen Institute in Colorado, USA.
• Aigboje is also honorary fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria.
• In 2018, he was awarded the honorary Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) by the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, Nigeria.

Philanthropy

He is the founder and chairman of the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation, an independent non-profit that promotes good governance in Africa.

The Foundation partners with Oxford University’s Blavatnik School of Government. It gives scholarships that send qualified Africans to the Oxford for a Master of Public Policy degree and Fellowships for senior Public Servants. The Africa Initiative for Governance (AIG) partnership will run for five years, from 2017/18 until 2021/22.

Aig-Imoukhuede is the first African co-chairman of the Global Business Coalition on Health (GBC Health) and the chairman of Friends of the Global Fund – Africa (Friends Africa).

In 2010, he made a $1 million contribution to the Global Fund. And he has since made donations to the Global Fund through the ‘Gift from Africa’ campaign.

He is currently the chairman of ABCHealth, a regional non-profit established by the Aliko Dangote Foundation and GBCHealth. He is also a director of the Private Sector Health Alliance of Nigeria (PSHAN).
In 2019, Aigboje initiated the Adopt-A-Healthcare-Facility Programme (ADHFP).

He is also the vice chairman of Global Citizen Nigeria and through a partnership with the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Fund (NSIA), has created the Nigerian Solidarity Support Fund (NSSF).

Aigboje Aig Imoukhuede Net Worth

Aigboje’s ventures in banking and investment led him in accumulating significant wealth. Although the precise details of his net worth remain undisclosed to the public. However, it’s estimated that his fortune approximates $10-50million according to sources. If these sources are correct, it positions him as one of the wealthiest bankers on the African continent. His financial success underscores his prominence and respect within the financial sector. Solidifying his reputation as a notable figure in the industry.

Aigboje Aig Imoukhuede Family

Aigboje is married to development specialist Ofovwe and has four children, Ohiozoje, Aima, Morenike and Renuan. He is an ordained minister of the Promised Land Ministries.

Aig-Imoukhuede’s wife

Ofovwe Aig-Imoukhuede is a philanthropist, lawyer, and banker with over twenty-five years’ experience working in the financial and not-for-profit sectors.

She co-founded the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation with her husband, Aigboje. To promote a Nigeria and Africa in which all citizens are empowered to pursue their goals and aspirations. Contribute to the economic development of their communities and live healthy and productive lives.

As Vice-Chair of the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation. Ofovwe focuses on driving change and oversees philanthropic initiatives and partnerships with government and private sector.

Her exceptional leadership has helped the Foundation navigate through complexities, achieve greater efficiency and institutionalise the organisation’s vision across the subsidiaries – Africa Initiative for Governance (AIG).

Founded to inspire the transformation of Africa’s public sector through collaborations with governments, academic institutions, and other partners to improve governance and transform public sector performance. The Aig-Imoukhuede Institute for Public Policy which has been uniquely designed to train individuals for public sector leadership.

Her other philanthropic capacities include her roles as Vice-Chair of the board of The Ovie Brume Foundation. They provide educational programmes and services to underserved school aged children in Nigeria. Advisory board member of the Oxford University Africa Society and Trustee of The Funding Network.

Ofovwe is a Chevening Scholar and holds an LLB from Kings College, London. A Bachelor of Law from the Nigerian Law School. An MBA from the University of Cambridge. And an MSc in Development Management from the London School of Economics.

She is a certified MBTI and FIRO-B practitioner. She holds a certificate in Developmental Coaching from the University of Cambridge. And has been actively involved in youth development since 2003.

Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation

The Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation is a public-sector focused philanthropic organization founded by Aigboje and Ofovwe Aig-Imoukhuede. To improve the lives of Africans through transformed public-service delivery and access to quality primary healthcare.

The Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation accomplishes its mission by:

• supporting the reform initiatives of public sector entities
• providing financing
• consulting support and capacity building programmes and resources for the public sector workforce

The work of the Foundation is primarily executed through subsidiary entities, the Africa Initiative for Governance (AIG) and the Aig-Imoukhuede Institute.

In addition, the Foundation provides funding and strategic support to drive the work of affiliate organisations such as:

• ABCHealth
• The Private Sector Health Alliance of Nigeria (PSHAN)
• The Solidarity Support Fund (NSSF) and others

The Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation works with government, academic institutions and other partners to improve governance and transform public sector performance possessing a firm belief that collaboration and a long-term strategy are essential drivers for continued success.

Access Holdings has reappointed Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede as its non-executive chairman after 10 years of serving as the bank’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO). His appointment comes in the wake of the death of the immediate past Group Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings Herbert Wigwe and following what the company described as “extensive consultations with key stakeholders”.

References:

Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation
Wikipedia
KPMG
Thisdaylive
Coronation