Kennedy Uzoka, group managing director/chief executive officer, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, has been announced as a winner of the 2019 Zik Award for Professional Leadership.

Kennedy Uzoka, GMD, UBA

Uzoka clinched the much-coveted award alongside Prof Umar Danbatta, executive vice chairman/chief executive officer at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

The Zik Leadership awards is organised by the Public Policy Research and Analysis Centre (PPRAC) and was instituted 25 years ago, in 1995, in honour of Late Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe,  first President of Nigeria, primarily to encourage and nurture leadership on the African Continent and in the Diaspora.

The UBA GMD and others were announced winners in a letter signed by Professor Pat Utomi, member Advisory Board, PPRAC, and Emeka Obasi, executive secretary, which stated that Uzoka was chosen as a result of his outstanding contributions to the development and growth of the Banking and Financial Services Industry and unblemished record of service as a banker of international repute.

The letter read, “The GMD/CEO, of Africa’s global bank, UBA Plc, Mr Kennedy Uzoka is a banker’s banker and an astute player in the Nigerian financial services sector. He has consistently led the Bank to set a year-on-year track record of profitability, wealth creation and innovative financial products across its operations in the African continent despite global economic challenges.

Continuing, it said, “Kennedy Uzoka continues to lead his team in chalking newer and higher credits by the day. Not even the current challenge of COVID-19 has been a dampener as the bank under his watch continues to scale new frontiers and post assuring results.”

Apart from Uzoka and Danbatta, other winners in various categories of public service, good governance, business, and professional leadership included Senate President Ahmed Lawan; Borno Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum; Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa; Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde; SGF, Boss Mustapha; Dr. Stella Okolli amongst others.

The PPRAC which is celebrating the silver jubilee anniversary of the Zik prize in leadership awards, pointed out that in the last 25 years, some other notable leaders have been recipients of the prize such as; President J.J. Rawlings, President Nwalimu Julius Nyerere, Dr. Salim Ahmed Salim, President Sam Nujoma, Dr. Nelson Mandela, President Yonweri Muzeveni, President John Agyekum Kuffor, Senator David Mark, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, Otunba Subomi Balogun, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Alhaji Ahmed Joda and Mr Godwin Emefiele.

Whilst congratulating Uzoka and the UBA family, the organisers noted that the formal presentation ceremony of The Zik Prize awards will be a celebratory event to be held on Sunday 6th December, 2020.

Uzoka is a renowned African business executive, with vast experience in banking, business development, financial and business advisory, strategic planning and execution as well as human resource management.

He is an advocate of disruptive technology and has led many game changing innovations in the African banking industry over the past two decades of his career.

Kennedy holds a BSc. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Benin and an MBA from the University of Lagos.

He is an alumnus of the Advanced Management Program (AMP) of the Harvard Business School, Boston USA, the International Institute of Management Development (IMS) in Lausanne, Switzerland, and the London Business School, United Kingdom.

Kennedy is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers in Nigeria (CIBN).