The Chief Financial Officer of Zenith Bank Plc, Dr. Mukhtar Adam, has been named
‘Chief Financial Officer of the Year’ at the 11th All Africa Business Leaders Awards
(AABLA) in partnership with CNBC Africa. The award ceremony took place at the King’s
Ballroom, Sun City, South Africa, on June 23, 2023. This honour places Dr. Mukhtar
alongside other celebrated professionals across Africa.
Expressing his gratitude for the recognition, Dr. Mukhtar thanked the judges and
organisers of the award, expressing his appreciation for being deemed a fitting recipient
of the ‘Chief Financial Officer of the Year’ for 2023. He dedicated the award to the
Founder and Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, Jim Ovia, CFR. Additionally, he expressed
his gratitude to the management of Zenith Bank, his colleagues in Nigeria and the bank’s
subsidiaries for fostering a positive work environment. Dr. Mukhtar also extended his
thanks to the bank’s many customers.
The All Africa Business Leaders Awards (AABLA), in partnership with CNBC Africa,
represents Africa’s largest single-business awards, celebrating the pinnacle of African
business achievement. The AABLA has consistently narrated an African story of
perseverance, success, innovation, and accountability. It has become synonymous with
recognising the finest in business leadership on the African continent.
Dr. Mukhtar Adam is a distinguished finance professional with over two decades of
cognate experience. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Finance from Leeds
Beckett University, an M.Sc. in Finance – Financial Sector Management from the
University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies, an MBA in Finance from
the University of Leicester, and a B.Ed. in Social Sciences, specialising in Economics
and Management, from the University of Cape Coast in Ghana. Dr. Mukhtar Adam also
holds a Diploma in International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) from the
esteemed Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and a
Postgraduate Diploma in Islamic Banking and Insurance from the Institute of Islamic
Banking and Insurance in the UK.
Dr. Mukhtar Adam has participated in several executive programmes at world-leading
institutions, including the General Management Program (GMP) at Wharton Business
School in the USA, Harvard Business School, INSEAD Business School in Paris, the
London School of Economics and Political Science, and the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology. He is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN),
the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ghana (ICAG), and the Chartered Institute of
Taxation of Nigeria (CITN).
Prior to his current role as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Zenith Bank Plc, Dr.
Mukhtar Adam served as the bank’s Deputy CFO, leading the Financial Reporting, Tax
Management and Strategic Planning Groups and supervising the Zenith Group’s entire
financial reporting function. Before joining Zenith Bank in 2007, he honed his skills as a
Senior Consultant in the Financial Services Group of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
His vast expertise spans numerous financial areas, from financial sector management
and policy analysis to financial reporting and analysis, tax management, audit
management, strategy development and execution, enterprise risk management, credit
risk management, and financial advisory. He is also accomplished in capacity building
and training. Dr. Mukhtar Adam is a prolific researcher with several professional and
academic publications.
