ifie sekibo

Ifiesimama “Ifie” Sekibo (born April 18, 1965) is a Nigerian banker, entrepreneur, and philanthropist who is the founder of Heritage Bank (Nigeria), a leading retail financial institution in Nigeria. He was before this appointment the Executive Vice-chairman of International Energy Insurance Plc, IEI, before emerging as the pioneer MD/CEO of Heritage Bank. In September 2021, he was named the most reputable bank CEO in Africa alongside Yemisi Edun, CEO of First City Monument Bank.

Sekibo was born in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. He attended both primary and secondary schools in Port Harcourt before proceeding to the University of Science & Technology, Port Harcourt, where he obtained a degree in accountancy. He attended the Harvard Business School between 2006 and 2009. He holds a PhD. Credit Management from the London Post Graduate Credit Management College, UK, an affiliate of American University, London. In 2002, Sekibo became a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria.

As the Managing Director/CEO of Heritage Bank (Nigeria), Sekibo positioned the bank to become the most innovative banking service provider in Nigeria. The bank has won several awards under his leadership including Best SME Bank in Nigeria by Capital Finance International (CFI) 2018, Agriculture Bank of the Year at Nigeria Agriculture Awards (NAA) 2018, and many other awards. Currently, the bank has 127 branches and 202 automated banking centres with over 350 ATMs in all states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) of Nigeria.