The mantle of leadership of Zenith Bank Plc has fallen on Peter Amangbo who takes over as managing director/chief executive officer, MD/CEO, from June 1, 2014, when Godwin Emefiele, the incumbent, assumes duty at the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, as governor. Amangbo will be expected to pilot the affairs of the bank and take it to the next level.

There are expectations that Amangbo’s appointment from within the bank rather than bringing in an outsider, when confirmed by the CBN, would usher the bank into a new era of affluence. His appointment is considered by many as appropriate having spent over two decades in corporate finance and investment banking, business development, credit and marketing, treasury, financial control and strategic planning and operations, all within the bank. Amangbo was appointed to the board of the bank and its subsidiary companies in 2005 and pioneer non-executive director of Zenith Bank UK. Before joining the banking industry, he was a senior consultant with PriceWaterhouse where he covered assignments in financial services, manufacturing and general commerce.

As an executive director of Zenith Bank for the last nine years, he was responsible for the supervision of corporate and commercial banking, corporate finance, trade services and all the subsidiaries of the bank. He is also a director of Zenith Insurance Ltd, Nigeria; Zenith Pensions Ltd, Nigeria; Zenith Capital Ltd, Nigeria and Zenith Bank, UK. He was a member of the Board of Interswitch Nigeria Ltd from 2005 to 2007.

Amangbo is an alumnus of INSEAD and a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, ICAN, and holds an MBA from the Warwick Business School and a B Eng in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the University of Benin.