Yemi Adeola, managing director and chief executive of Sterling Bank Plc, was recently conferred with the Sun Banker of The Year Award for 2015. Eric Osagie, managing director and editor-in-chief of The Sun Publishing Company Limited, stated that the Sterling Bank boss was chosen for the Award based on the transformation he had brought to the Bank by increasing its total assets from a mere N110 billion in 2006 to over N800 billion in 2015 and increasing its market share to 3 percent measured by assets from less than 1 percent in just 10 years. Sterling Bank has also grown to become one of the 30 most capitalised companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE.

Adeola started his career in the banking sector at Citibank Nigeria Limited where he worked between August 1988 and June 2003 in various capacities including chief legal counsel and executive director, Commercial Banking, Public Sector and Infrastructure. He later moved to Trust Bank of Africa Limited where he served as deputy managing director between June 2003 and December 2005. Following the merger of Trust Bank with four other banks to form Sterling Bank, he became the executive director, Corporate and Commercial Banking in January 2006.

The Sterling Bank boss holds a Bachelor of Law, LLB, degree from the University of Ife and Master of Law, LLM, degree (with specialisation in Law of Secured Credit Transactions, Comparative Company Law and International Economics Law) from the University of Lagos. He is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School, Stanford Business School, Said Business School, Oxford University and Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He is also a John F. Kennedy Scholar.

The Sun Awards are given to encourage and appreciate people in various sectors of the economy who are doing things right for the development of humanity and the economy as a whole.