Sterling Bank, on Tuesday, announced the appointment of six men and women to its board.

The bank, in a statement, stated that the appointment of six seasoned professionals with diverse experience in the private and public sectors would further enhance the capacity of the board to deliver on its corporate goals.

According to the bank, the inclusion of women is in line with the gender ratio requirement of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The new board members whose appointments have been approved by the CBN include, Ms. Tamarakare Yekwe, MON, Dr. (Mrs.) Omolara Akanji, MON, Asue Ighodalo, Raghavan Karthikeyan, Mr. Kayode Lawal (Executive Director) and Mr. Abubakar Suleiman (Executive Director).

The bank’s chief executive officer, Mr. Yemi Adeola, expressed optimism that the bank would benefit immensely from the wealth of experience of the six directors as their appointments were based on skills, rich professional experience and corporate governance best practice.

He said, “We are also mindful of the need to be gender-sensitive in the constitution of our board.”

Adeola added, “The track record of the six new appointees typifies the values system of the bank which is hinged on integrity, dynamism, excellent service delivery and entrepreneurship“.

The statement stated that Yekwe, the current Principal Partner, ‘KareYekwe & Co. (Legal Practitioners & Consultants), was a member of the Governing Council, Nigerian Institute of International Affairs and the Presidential Technical Committee on Housing and Urban Development.

She was the pioneer Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Bayelsa State and served as a Director in a number of institutions including the Federal Savings Bank of Nigeria, Continental Merchant Bank of Nigeria Plc, International Merchant Bank Plc and the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria. She holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Lagos and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1981.

In addition, it stated that Akanji, a member of the Petroleum Revenue Special Task Force, started her career with the CBN in 1978 as an Assistant Economist, retired in December 2007 as the Director, Trade and Exchange Department and served as a Consultant to the CBN between 2008 and 2011.

She holds a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Economics from the University of Ibadan, a Master of Science in Agricultural Economics from the University of Reading, a Diploma in Statistics from the University of Kent, Mathematical Institute, and a Doctorate degree in Finance from the European-American University, Commonwealth of Dominica.

Ighodalo is a Partner in Banwo& Ighodalo, a company he founded in partnership in 1991. His core practice areas are corporate finance, capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, banking & securities, foreign investments and divestments, energy and natural resources, privatisation and project finance. He obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics from University of Ibadan in 1971, a LL.B in 1984 from London School of Economics and a BL in 1985 from the Nigerian Law School.

Karthikeyan is presently the Chief General Manager, International Banking in State Bank of India, Mumbai and a certified associate of the Indian Institute of Bankers. He has worked in various capacities across several aspects of banking. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from St. John’s College, Tirunelveli, India and a Master of Arts from Madurai University, India.

Lawal started his career with NBM Bank where he worked from 1987 to 2005. During this period, he excelled in various marketing roles and was subsequently appointed as the bank’s Treasurer. Following the consolidation exercise and the emergence of Sterling Bank in 2006, he was again assigned to marketing, to head various regions in Lagos, a testament to the confidence in his abilities on the field.