Mrs. Bola Adesola
Keynote Speaker
Bola is an Amazon in the banking sector, not just in Nigeria but across the continent of Africa. With about three decades of experience in banking, there are no questions about how deserving she is of her appointment as the first female Board Chairman of Ecobank Nigeria and also Chairman, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund. Bola retired from Standard Chartered Bank as the Senior Vice-Chairman, Africa and as Chairman of Standard Chartered Mauritius.
She had previously served on the boards of Standard Chartered Bank Ghana, Cote D’Ivoire, and Cameroon, respectively, and between 2010 and 2019, was Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria and West Africa. Her banking career, Executive Director at First Bank of Nigeria Plc, and Managing Director of Kakawa Discount House, Nigeria. She also worked in Citibank in senior leadership roles in Nigeria and Tanzania.
Bola has over 32 years banking experience and is an alumnus of Harvard Business School and Lagos Business School. Bola holds a Law degree from the University of Buckingham, UK and is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, U.K., and Nigeria.
Bola is passionate about the development and economic empowerment of women and in 2001 along with 11 other women and one man, she co-founded Women in Management, Business and Public Sector (WIMBIZ), to create a women’s network and elevate the profile of women in management and business. It later expanded to include women in public service and other sectors. She counts it as one of her biggest achievements to have nurtured and coached men and women who are making impacts in their chosen paths. “I would say that my biggest achievement is seeing them grow, develop and blossom and become leaders in their own right. I consider it an achievement when I have made a positive impact in the lives of others.”
Bola was honoured as the Most Outstanding Woman in Business, 2013 at the Africa Business Awards and was also awarded CEO of the year 2014 from the Nigeria British Chamber of Commerce.
She holds and has held several appointments and positions both on the local and international scene. She is an Honorary Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers Nigeria (CIBN). She has also previously served on the boards of FMDQ and the Nigerian Interbank Settlement Systems (NIBSS) Plc. She chairs the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Bankers’ Sub-Committee on Economic Development, Sustainability and Gender and sits on the boards of the Financial Markets Dealers Quotations Plc and Nigeria Inter-bank Settlement Systems Plc. She has served as Vice President of the Lagos Business School Alumni Association (LBSAA) and was recently appointed the first female President of Lagos Business School Alumni Association (LBSAA), Board Member of the Fate Foundation, and Executive Member of the Nigeria National Competitiveness Council, among others. She was appointed to the Board of the United Nations Global Compact by the UN Secretary-General in 2015 and elevated to Co Vice-Chair of the Board in 2018. She is a member of the Women Corporate Directors Foundation and also a member of the Institute of Directors.
Bola’s keen interest in FinTech led to her appointment to the Board of Trustees of the FinTech Association of Nigeria. She is a board member of Imperial Logistics Plc, an African focused provider of integrated market access and logistics solutions, listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. She is also a trustee of the Healthcare Federation of Nigeria.
Bola is married and is the proud mother of twin girls. She is an avid reader, extensively travelled, and an art enthusiast and collector.