Speakers

Stephen Olabisi Onasanya
Group MD/CEO, FirstBank

Stephen Olabisi Onasanya is group managing director and CEO of FirstBank and has 23 years of experience in the industry. Prior to joining the board of FirstBank he was managing director and CEO of First Pension Custodian Nigeria. He started his banking career as a senior accountant with Wema Bank in 1985, joining FirstBank in 1994 as a senior manager and held several positions following that. He was deputy general manager and group head, finance and performance management department, as well as coordinator, Century 2 Enterprise Transformation Project, before his appointment as MD/CEO of First Pension Custodian in 2005. He holds a HND Upper Credit in Accountancy from Lagos State College of Science & Technology .

Rotimi Nihinlola
Chief Operating Officer, Domestic Bank, Ecobank

Rotimi Nihinlola is chief operating officer of the Domestic Bank of Ecobank Group. The Domestic bank in Ecobank includes various businesses namely retail, SME, medium corporates, public sector, microfinance and cards & the eBanking businesses. In this role he works with the executive head of the business to manage execution and implementation of business strategy and initiatives. Prior to this, Nihinlola held several other senior roles in the Ecobank group, including group head, microfinance, group CFO, group head, international organisations & financial institutions, among others. His experience in banking spans two decades and covers diverse aspects of banking including retail, microfinance, commercial and corporate banking as well as branch operations and finance in banks including Guaranty Trust Bank in Nigeria.

Qasif Shahid
CEO & Founder FinSurgents

FinSurgents is a financial services startup consultancy firm with specialization in re-tooling ‘analogue business cases to digital ones. The firm currently has clients in Pakistan, UAE and Africa. Qasif previously served as head of digital banking for MCB, one the largest and the most profitable banks in Pakistan. Before that he was head of Marketing and Alternative channels for ABN AMRO bank Singapore where in addition to being the custodian of the brand, he was also responsible for managing and building electronic channels including the call center, Internet banking, mobile commerce and other non-branch customer touch-points. Before his four-year stint in Singapore, Qasif served in different product, channel and marketing related roles in ABN AMRO Pakistan for five years. Before joining MCB, Qasif worked at Standard Chartered Pakistan for a period of four years. He initially headed Alternative Channels and the Marketing function and later on severed as the General Manager Front-line Experience.

Dauda Lawal
Executive Director (North), First Bank of Nigeria

Dauda Lawal joined the board of First Bank of Nigeria (FirstBank) in 2012 and was until this appointment, executive director, public sector (North). He has held several management positions within the bank, including business development manager, Maitama Abuja, where he grew the bank’s business with the Abuja metropolis as his principal remit. Lawal has over 26 years of experience in the industry covering commercial and public sector banking. His capabilities have recorded strong achievements in his present function within the public sector group. Lawal is also a two-time recipient of the FirstBank CEO Merit Award for outstanding performance as “Best Business Development Manager” in 2006 and “The Most Enterprising Staff” in 2009.

Urum Kalu Eke, MFR
Executive Director, South, First Bank of Nigeria

Urum Kalu Eke joined the board of First Bank of Nigeria (FirstBank) in 2011 and until his appointment as executive director, South, he was executive director, public sector (South). Before his appointment to the board of FirstBank, Eke was executive director, regional businesses, Lagos & West, Diamond Bank. He has in the past been with Deloitte Haskins & Sells International where he rose to the position of senior audit Consultant and Diamond Bank, where he was branch manager, regional manager and divisional head before he became executive director. He has over 30 years’ experience in financial services, auditing, consulting, taxation, process engineering and capital market operations. His sound managerial and motivational skills coupled with his vast experience has helped develop the bank’s businesses within the public sector group as well as on the board.

Gbenga Francis Shobo
Executive Director (Lagos and West), First Bank of Nigeria

Gbenga Francis Shobo was appointed to the board of First Bank of Nigeria (FirstBank) in 2012. Prior to his appointment, he was executive vice president (retail South). Shobo was also general manager in charge of products and channel deployment for the bank and help several management positions. His banking career spans over 24 years with experience in corporate banking, institutional banking, commercial banking, retail banking and treasury. He is an alumnus of the University of Ife, Harvard Business School and Kellogg School of Management. Shobo is also Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and a recipient of the FirstBank CEO Merit Award for “Most Outstanding Business Development Manager” in 2007.

Sunil Sachdev
Chief Business Development Officer, GlobeOne

Sunil Sachdev is chief sales officer for GlobeOne responsible for cultivating new markets, shaping product strategy and strengthening the global network of member banks, corporate members and strategic alliances. Prior to this, Sachdev was managing director of international payments for Fiserv where he was responsible for developing the payments business for Fiserv outside the US and all business development activities in India. He also served as vice president, business development, emerging payments and new ventures at American Express where he was responsible for the creation and implementation of business development strategies to diversify the American Express business model in India. Sunil is an advocate for the role technology plays in closing the digital divide and ensuring that anyone, anywhere has equal access to banking services.

Ahmed Khidhir
Senior Consultant, Digital Channels, Misys

Ahmed joined Accenture in 2006 and worked in a variety of roles in consulting. He has worked at Misys, an industry leader in digital banking solutions, as a senior consultant specializing in online and mobile banking solutions, working with some of the largest banks in Europe and the Middle-East in a range of digital banking transformation programs.

Percy Thaver
VP & Head, Africa, Nucleus Software

Currently serving as the Vice President for Nucleus Software- Africa office, Percy Thaver has over 22 years of experience in banking and technology across Africa. He has successfully contributed to the growth and success of several large multinational organisations operating out of South Africa, with his most recent being NCR, as the area director for Sub-Saharan Africa. Having started his career in one of South Africa's big four banks, Thaver grew to be the business manager for the East Rand. Thereafter he joined Bytes Technology Group, Africa’s largest IT company, managing their key banking accounts. Thaver also spent some time at SAS, the world’s largest independent software company, as the industry executive for the South African financial sector.

Hemant Kulkarni
Tech Mahindra

Hemant Kulkarni is a banking technology professional with 22 years of experience. He runs banking competency for Tech Mahindra and supports clients all over the globe. He is responsible for growing the company’s banking business based on domain strength. Prior to this, Kulkarni worked with Cognizant and Oracle Financial Services in domain leadership roles. He has consulted with global banks across regions and has worked in the US for ten years, being involved in retail banking, wholesale banking and risk management. In the early part of his career, Kulkarni worked with Credit Lyonnais and IDBI Bank in corporate banking and risk management in Mumbai.