Ecobank Group has appointed Arunma Oteh, former treasurer of the World Bank, to its board of directors as a non-executive director.
The bank made this public on Friday via a notice to the Nigerian Stock Exchange, as mandated by law.
Oteh, research areas of focus are capital markets, development, and financial technology, recently joined Oxford University as an academic scholar at St. Antony’s College and an executive-in-residence at SAID Business School.
She was Treasurer of the World Bank from 2015 to 2018 where she led a team that managed the World Bank’s $200 billion debt portfolio as well as an asset portfolio of $200 billion for the World Bank and 65 central banks and other public sector clients.
She was also responsible for an extensive public sector financial advisory business and back office operations, administering payments of over $7 trillion.
Prior to joining the World Bank, Oteh was director general of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Nigeria from 2010 to 2015.
During this period, she led the rebuilding of the Nigerian capital markets after the global financial crisis and served on Nigeria’s economic management team.
Previous to SEC Nigeria, she worked at the Africa Development Bank for 17 years in a variety of roles including Group Vice President, Corporate Services (2006 to 2009) and Group Treasurer (2001 to 2006).
Her career in finance started at Centre Point Investments Limited, Nigeria in 1985.
Through her 33-year career, Oteh also served on several Boards, notably, the International Organization of Securities Commissions (2010 to 2015), which regulates 95% of the world’s securities markets and the pioneer Board of the International Financing Facility for Immunization (2006 to 2011).
She also served on the Board of the Nigerian Pension Commission, the World Economic Forum Agenda Council on Institutional Governance, and the Africa Advisory Council for World Women’s Banking. In 2011, in recognition of her contribution to the economic development of Nigeria and role in transforming the Nigerian capital markets, she was awarded the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) National Honor.
In 2014, she was named the Africa Investor Capital Market Personality of the Year and in 2016 received the New African Woman Award in Finance and Banking. In 2018, she was honored as the Ai Global Institutional Investment Personality of the Year.
Oteh holds a Masters degree in Business Administration from Harvard Business School and a First Class Honors Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
Arunma Oteh left the World Bank on December 1, 2018 to resume at Oxford University.
