Dr Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, OON is the Group Managing Director and
Chief Executive Officer of Fidelity Bank Plc, a foremost financial
institution with a client base of about 9 million customers.
Nneka joined Fidelity Bank as an Executive Director in 2015 and
was appointed Managing Director/CEO of the Bank in January
2021. Following her appointment, Nneka became the first female
MD/CEO in the history of the bank.
She is an alumnus of the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka
and Kings College, London where she holds a Bachelor of Law
and Master of Law respectively. She has also attended executive
training programs at Harvard Business School, The Wharton
School University of Pennsylvania, INSEAD School of Business,
Chicago Booth School of Business, London Business School and
IMD amongst others. She recently completed a Diploma
programme in Organizational Leadership at Said Business
School, Oxford University, UK and received an honorary doctorate
degree in Business Administration at the University of Nigeria,
Nsukka (UNN). She is also the recipient of the national award of
the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) which was awarded to
her by the Federal Government of Nigeria in 2023.
Dr Onyeali-Ikpe has over 32 years of rewarding banking
experience spanning Citizens International Bank, Zenith Bank and
Standard Chartered Bank among others. She was Executive
Director at Enterprise Bank and Fidelity Bank before her eventual
appointment as the Managing Director and Chief Executive
Officer at Fidelity Bank PLC. She has been involved in the
structuring of complex transactions in Oil and Gas, Manufacturing,
Aviation, Real Estate and Export among others.
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Nneka is widely regarded as one of Africa’s leading female CEOs
with a reputation for authentic leadership and proven people skills
in identifying talents, opportunities and executing complex
business deals. She has extensive business development
experience with proficiency in retail, corporate and commercial
banking and treasury management among others.
Under Nneka's watch, the Bank grew its PBT from N25.22bn in
FY 2021 to N122bn in FY 2023. Nneka has now set her horizon
on leveraging the opportunities in select high growth international
markets where the Bank has a competitive advantage. She most
recently guided the bank to obtain the approval of the Central
Bank of Nigeria to expand its operations to the United Kingdom
with the acquisition of the former Union Bank UK, now Fidelity
Bank UK Limited.
Passionate about innovation and embracing technology, Nneka
has pioneered several innovative and pacesetting products such
as the PayGate Plus, an online platform that enables businesses
make and receive payments.
Dr. Onyeali-Ikpe has also radically repositioned the bank as the
go-to financial institution for Small and Medium Enterprises.
Understanding the crucial role of small businesses in the
sustenance of economic growth and development, she led the
bank to create the Fidelity International Trade & Creative
Connect (FITCC) which is aimed at providing a global platform
for exporters, regulators, subject matter experts and foreign
markets to connect.
The FITCC 2022 edition was attended by representatives of both
the UK & the Nigerian Governments, Nigerian exporters,
investors, regulators from the United Kingdom and Nigeria, the
business community and other practitioners. The pipeline deals
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from the event was in excess of $200m. Over 2,000 people
registered to attend the event and daily foot-fall was about 1,000.
The second edition of FITCC, which was hosted in Houston,
Texas, United States of America in October 2023, was even
bigger with projected pipeline deals of over $250m and more than
160 businesses in participation. Tagged, FITCC Houston, the
success of the event is signposted by the designation of 25
October 2023 as the “Fidelity International Trade and Creative
Connect Day” by Mr. Sylvester Turner, Mayor of Houston.
In her bid to give back to the communities the Bank serves and as
part of her efforts to combat the twin issues of poverty and
hunger, Dr. Onyeali-Ikpe recently launched a National Corporate
Social Responsibility initiative tagged The Fidelity Food Bank
which provides free food bags to people across Nigeria monthly.
In recognition of her leadership and outstanding performance, she
received commendation from AMCON as a member of the
Management Team that restructured and turned around the
fortunes of the erstwhile Enterprise Bank. She also received
several board commendations from the Managing Directors of
Standard Chartered Bank and Citizens International Bank for
outstanding performance at various times.
With Nneka as the Chief Executive Officer, Fidelity Bank has been
the recipient of several awards within and outside Nigeria some of
which are:
1. Best Commercial Banking Brand in Nigeria by the Global
Brands Magazine Awards
2. Best Private Bank in Nigeria by The Financial Times in
association with The Banker Magazine
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3. Trade Ambassador Award by the Nigerian-American Chamber
of Commerce (NACC)
4. Global Finance’s World’s Best Private Banks 2023 awards for
Best Private Bank in Nigeria
5. The Best Payment Solution Provider Nigeria 2023 in the 2023
Global Banking & Finance Awards
6. Export Finance Bank of the Year at the BusinessDay and Other
Financial Institutions’(BAFI) Awards 2023.
7. The “Fastest Growing Bank” and “MSME & Entrepreneurship
Financing Bank of the Year” at the 2021 BusinessDay Banks
and Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards.
On her own part, Dr. Onyeali-Ikpe has been recognized by
numerous local and international bodies for her sterling
achievements. These include:
1. The national award of the Officer of the Order of the Niger
(OON) by the Federal Government of Nigeria in 2023.
2. The Banker of the Year 2022 at the 14th Leadership Annual
Conference and Awards and
3. The Best Banking CEO Nigeria 2023 in the 2023 Global
Banking & Finance Awards.
4. 2023 Top 25 CEOs in Nigeria at the BusinessDay Awards
5. The Banker of the Year 2022 at the Champion Newspapers’
Awards of the Year 2022.
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Considering her versatility, industry knowledge and vast network,
she also serves on the following Committees and organizations:
1. Chairperson, Financial Literacy and Public Enlightenment Sub-
Committee of the CBN Bankers Committee.
2. Chairperson, Funds and Grants Committee of the Chartered
Institute of Bankers of Nigeria
3. Member, Audit Committee of FMDQ Group PLC
4. Member of the Board, Shared Agent Network Expansion
Facilities (SANEF)
5. Member of the Board, Unified Payment Services Limited
She is married to Dr. Ken Onyeali Ikpe, PhD, a visionary leader
with strong business acumen and respected for his demonstrated
knowledge in Marketing, Branding and Consumer Consulting and
Business acceleration.
