HERBERT WIGWE,
CEO ACCESS HOLDINGS PLC
Herbert Wigwe is the Group Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings PLC, an ecosystem orchestrator offering financial products and services for the retail, private, corporate, institutional and non-institutional sectors in Africa, Asia and Europe.
He holds an Accountancy degree from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and Master degrees in Banking and Finance from the University of North Wales (now Bangor), Financial Economics from the University of London. He also holds a Law degree from University of London and is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School Executive Management Program.
His professional journey began at Coopers & Lybrand, Lagos, as a management consultant, during which he qualified as a chartered accountant. Thereafter he joined GTBank, spending over a decade working in corporate and institutional banking. In 2002, Wigwe and his partner bought into Access Bank (at the time ranked 65th largest bank in Nigeria). Wigwe began his leadership tenure at Access Bank as Deputy Managing Director, before assuming the role of Group Managing Director/CEO in 2014, a position he held until 2022. In that eight-year period, Wigwe steered Access Bank to become Sub-Saharan Africa’s largest retail bank, and one of the top 500 financial institution brands in the world.
In 2021, Wigwe was recognised as the African Banker of the Year at the African Banker Awards, for the second consecutive year. In the same year, he was also awarded the ‘Best Banking CEO’ at the Global Brands Magazine Awards and was recognised with the Juris Law Award by the Juris Law Office for his contributions to corporate governance and rule of law in Nigeria’s banking industry.
During the COVID-19 crisis, Wigwe acted swiftly by co-leading the formation of CACOVID (Coalition Against COVID) comprised of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Deposit Money Banks and other private sector institutions in Nigeria. CACOVID established 39 isolation centers across Nigeria and supported the Aviation Authority with IT, communication, infection prevention and control infrastructure, and consumables at major airports.
In 2016, he launched his not-for-profit organization – The HOW Foundation, to be a catalyst for positive impact in the areas of education, health, and youth empowerment.
The HOW Foundation, Access Bank and UNICEF have also collaborated to support vulnerable children, and internally displaced persons in the northern part of Nigeria. To raise awareness for this purpose, the Bank hosts the annual Access Bank/UNICEF Charity Shield Polo Tournament in Kaduna, London and Cape Town.
Looking to make a scaled impact on Nigeria’s educational system, Herbert has broken ground on the Wigwe University. His vision is to build a world-class institution that will offer educational standards on par with Ivy League schools across the world while creating a unique experience that only Africa can offer.