About Us
Board of Directors
Committed to providing you with a first-class service
Our Board members have significant experience of working in the banking and financial services industries, each bringing with them a unique set of skills to ensure strong governance which supports our moderate appetite for risk and enables us to deliver high levels of customer service.
Herbert Wigwe
Chairman and Non-Executive Director
Herbert Wigwe started his professional career with Coopers and Lybrand Associates, the international accountancy firm.
He spent more than 10 years at Guaranty Trust Bank where he managed several portfolios including financial institutions, corporates and multinationals. He left Guaranty Trust as an Executive Director to co-lead the transformation of Access Bank Plc in March 2002 as Deputy Managing Director. He was appointed Group Managing Director/CEO in January 2014 and served in that capacity until May 2022. He was subsequently appointed a Non-Executive Director of the Bank in May 2022. He is currently the Group Chief Executive Officer of The Access Corporation Plc.
He is an alumnus of Harvard Business School Executive Management Programme. He holds a master’s degree in Banking and International Finance from the University College of North Wales, a master’s degree in Financial Economics from the University of London and a B.Sc. in Accounting from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He is also a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN).
He is also Chairman of The Access Bank UK Ltd and Non-Executive Director of Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company Plc.
Stephen Clark
Independent Non-Executive Director
Independent Non-Executive Director Stephen Clark was formally appointed Non-Executive Director at The Access Bank UK Ltd in November 2016. Stephen is an investment banker who has over 40 years’ experience including retail, corporate banking, wealth management, investment banking, stockbroking and fund management. He has held senior executive positions including CEOs’, CFOs’, COOs’ and CROs’ in significant financial institutions.
He is a qualified banker (FCIB) and is an honours graduate in financial services from UMIST (University of Manchester) and a FCSI (Hon) Chartered Institute of Securities & Investment.
David Charters
Independent Non-Executive Director
Independent Non-Executive Director David Charters was appointed Non-Executive Director in March 2019. His experience of leadership and advisory roles in finance, security/intelligence and legal services comes from previous roles in the public and private sectors, including as a Director of SG Warburg Securities, Managing Director of Deutsche Bank and Chairman of the capital markets think tank New Financial.
He graduated with first-class honours in Modern and Medieval Languages, Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge.
Heather McLaughlin
Independent Non-Executive Director
Heather McLaughlin was appointed Independent Non-Executive Director at The Access Bank UK Ltd in November 2022.
Heather is a Pro Vice-Chancellor at De Montfort University and a member of its executive board. Her university-wide portfolio includes continuing professional development, academic resourcing and promotions as well as leading the Faculty of Business and Law as Dean. She has held a number of senior leadership positions in universities and is a Council member of the Chartered Association of Business Schools.
Heather has degrees in economics and finance, and her PhD examined the impact of exchange rate risk on the shipping industry. As a Professor of International Transport, she has published extensively in a range of international academic journals, and has undertaken consultancy work for a number of global organisations. She served as a Specialist Advisor to the House of Commons Select Committee for Transport, and has been on numerous expert and advisory panels worldwide. She is a currently on the editorial board of ‘Research in Transportation Business and Management’ and ‘Maritime Policy and Management’ of which she was editor for 10 years.
She is a Fellow of both the Chartered Institute of Accountants in England and Wales and Chartered Management Institute.
Roosevelt Ogbonna
Non-Executive Director
Roosevelt Ogbonna was appointed as the Access Bank Plc Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer in May 2022. Prior to this, he was appointed as the Bank’s Deputy Managing Director in 2017 and Executive Director in 2013.
He has a wealth of experience in the banking industry, spanning the various areas of treasury, commercial, corporate and investment banking. Before joining Access Bank Plc in 2002, he managed the largest business team in the Institutional Banking Group of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc.
He holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Institute of Management Development (IMD), an Executive Master’s degree in Business Administration from Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business and a B.Sc. in Banking and Finance from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and sits on the Board of Africa Finance Corporation and Central Securities Clearing System Plc.
He is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School (HBS) and the Institute of Management Development (IMD).
Gregory Ovie Jobome
Non-Executive Director
Gregory Ovie Jobome was appointed Non-Executive Director at The Access Bank UK Ltd in November 2022.
Gregory is a banking and finance professional with almost thirty years’ experience spanning banking and academia. He is currently Executive Director and Executive Compliance Officer at Access Bank Plc, where he has led the group enterprise wide risk management function since 2010. Prior to joining Access Bank he previously worked at Guaranty Trust Bank in financial control and treasury, and subsequently as a risk management consultant with the same bank; he was also a researcher in financial services fraud and operational risk at the University of Manchester and a lecturer in finance and corporate governance at the University of Liverpool.
His work has spanned risk management, financial control, corporate governance and sustainable finance. Gregory holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics, with First Class Honours, from University of Maiduguri; a Master’s in Business Administration, with Distinction, from Obafemi Awolowo University; a Master of Science in Economics and Finance from Loughborough University; and a Doctor of Philosophy in Financial System Development and Economic Growth from Loughborough University. He also holds several professional certifications in risk management including Certified Risk Specialist; Certified Operational Risk Professional; Certified Risk Manager ISO/IEC 31000 and Certified Risk Manager.
Jamie Simmonds
Chief Executive Officer / Managing Director
Jamie Simmonds was appointed founding CEO/MD in January 2008. He is an alumnus of Harvard Business School Executive Management Programme, an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, a member of the Association of Foreign Bankers and a certified financial adviser.
He has a wealth of financial services experience, having held several director roles at National Westminster, Coutts, Royal Bank of Scotland, Gerrards and Close Brothers. He has a proven track record in the start-up and turnaround of financial service businesses, delivering sustainable benefits for all stakeholders. He has extensive knowledge of corporate, retail and private banking.
Sean McLaughlin
Finance Director
Sean McLaughlin is a chartered accountant with excellent financial and operational management skills. He has experience gained in senior positions with international investment banking institutions. He qualified with Deloitte, where he worked as a senior manager specialising in the auditing of complex banking and securities firms.
He spent 10 years as Finance Director at Credit Lyonnais Securities, where he had responsibility for the settlements and middle office departments. He spent five years as Chief Operating Officer at Robert W Baird Limited, the UK subsidiary of the US investment bank, where he was responsible for all operational functions.
Before joining The Access Bank UK Ltd in 2008, he spent two years with an internet start-up developing a property trading exchange dealing with small institutions and investors.
The Access Bank UK Limited is registered in England & Wales, Company Number 06365062. Registered Office: 4 Royal Court, Gadbrook Way, Gadbrook Park, Northwich, Cheshire, CW9 7UT. Authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. FCA & PRA Registration Number 478415.
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