On July 14, 2021, Guaranty Trust Bank officially announced the completion of its reorganisation process; the creation of its holding company, Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO); constitution of board members for GT Bank and GTCO.
The bank also officially announced Mrs. Miriam Olusanya as its new captain. Her appointment is an addition to the number of female CEOs/MDs of Financial institutions in Nigeria. With this incremental progress, observers have described the surge in number of female CEOs/MDs within Nigeria’s banking sector as a long awaited paradigm shift. Until her appointment, Olusanya was an executive director at the bank, emerging as the bank’s first female MD since it was established in 1990.
She is said to have over 23 years of banking experience across various units, including transaction services, asset and liability management, financial markets, corporate finance and investor relations. Olusanya joined GTbank as an executive trainee and rose to the position of general manager until she was appointed executive director in 2018.
Fingers are crossed; having spent much of her career in the wholesale banking division, the direction she steers the bank during her tenure as Managing Director is of interest to many observers.
It is believed that Miriam Olusanya’s experience in the banking industry will help her transition smoothly into her role as Managing Director and influence her actions as she strives to attain new milestones and propel the organisation further than her predecessor. The new CEO may have to run vigorously with the bank’s retail strategy to ensure an excellent customer service delivery, digital innovation and a well cut-out partnerships and collaboration strategy.
Mrs. Olusanya, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy from the University of Ibadan and a Master of Business Administration (MBA), majoring in Finance and Accounting, from the University of Liverpool. She was appointed as an Executive Director of the bank in 2018 after a successful period as the General Manager/Head, Wholesale Banking.
Her appointment is expected to further move the bank forward into a higher office as the head of GTCO. Olusanya, as the MD, will play a crucial supervisory role in the newly formed parent company, growth of its customers’ base, overseeing the bank and various other subsidiaries which are projected to include Fintech, insurance and e-commerce amongst others.
Though the new generation Bank has not been devoid of challenges, such as complaints and drawbacks plaguing the bank and its customers; cases of lagging bank application systems have been reported by customers trying to use the app to make payments and settle bills. The functionality of the bank’s USSD code alternative has also been noticed in recent times, despite being one of the pioneer banks to launch the service in Nigeria. However, these are not peculiar to the bank and have been sorted. The appointment of Mrs. Olusanya has been adjudged as the proverbial round peg in a round hole. She is an astute, skilled leader who focuses on her game. Many have optimistically foreseen that her visionary leadership will definitely impact the bank’s operations going forwards.
Some stakeholders in the bank also say her grit and charisma makes her fit to take over from Mr Agbaje. She has been a top performer and a great team-builder from her time as a general manager. She also has the requisite experience in various sectors of the bank that we are hopeful will come to bear in her leadership of the bank.
An achiever herself, Miriam facilitated GT Bank’s appointment as a Primary Dealer/ Market Maker in Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) Bonds with the Debt Management Office (DMO) and also the bank’s appointment as a Money Market Dealer in Nigerian Treasury Bills by the Central Bank of Nigeria. She has spent over 17years with GT Bank, taking her through various phases of the bank’s evolution, from when it was a high-end wholesale bank to post-2007 when it expanded to focus on the retail segment.
A holder of the Professional ACI (Association Cambiste Internationale) Dealing Certification-The Financial Markets Association, Miriam Olusanya has also attended various courses and Executive programmes at institutions such as the Cranfield School of Management. Information has it that she had a short stint in Transactions Services before joining the Bank’s Treasury Group in 1999.
Before becoming the Bank’s Chief Dealer in 2003 and Treasurer in 2004, she oversaw the local and international currency trading departments. She rose through the ranks to become the Bank’s Group Treasurer and Head, Wholesale Banking Division. Miriam was appointed Executive Director in 2018.
She serves on the Board of Guaranty Trust Bank (Gambia) as a non-executive Director The onus is on Miriam to take a cue from her predecessor, and run GT Bank with an aggressive focus on increasing its customers’ base with the undeniable result of the bank’s over 8 million retail customers.
Olamide Adeniji is a member of the editorial team of TheScript Newspaper.
