Access Holdings Plc, the parent of Access Bank, has announced the retirement of Ms Bolaji Agbede as Executive Director, Business Support, effective 30 June 2026, on the completion of her tenure. For investors, the announcement is less a departure than a marker of orderly succession at one of Africa’s largest banking groups.Venture Capital
Ms Agbede’s significance to the Access story is hard to overstate. When the Group lost its Group Chief Executive Officer, the late Dr Herbert Wigwe, CFR, in February 2024, she stepped in as Acting Group Chief Executive Officer and held the institution steady through its most testing leadership moment. That she now exits in a planned and time-bound manner, rather than under pressure, speaks to the depth of the bench she helped to build over more than two decades with the Group.
The exit also sits within a wider pattern of leadership renewal across the holding company and its subsidiaries, consistent with a maturing holdco governance model. The investor question at such moments is continuity, and the record here points to institutional resilience rather than key-person risk.
Access Holdings Plc has announced the retirement of Ms Bolaji Agbede from her position as Executive Director, Business Support, effective June 30, 2026, following the completion of her tenure.
Ms Agbede has served the Access Group with distinction for over two decades, making significant contributions to the Group’s growth, transformation, and institutional development in various leadership capacities.
Ms Agbede is a versatile professional with over 27 years of experience in Human Resources management, customer relationship management and banking operations. She has a proven record of successful people integration during mergers and acquisitions, culture transformation and execution of corporate strategies.
She commenced her professional career at Guaranty Trust Bank and served in various capacities, including as a Relationship Manager and Vault Custodian. She distinguished herself and swiftly rose from Executive Trainee in 1992 to Manager in 2001. Ms Agbede subsequently served as the Chief Executive Officer of JKG Limited, a business consulting outfit, in 2003.
Ms Agbede joined Access Bank in 2003 as an Assistant General Manager and was responsible for managing the Bank’s portfolio of chemical trading companies. She has served as Head, HR, at Access Bank Group since 2010, during which time she has overseen the Group’s human capital development.
Agbede holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Statistics from the University of Lagos (1990) and subsequently obtained a Master of Business Administration degree from Cranfield University in 2002. She is a member of the Chartered Institute of Management, UK, and the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria. She has attended several renowned leadership and professional development programmes, including the High-Performance Leadership Programme organised by IMD and the Strategic Talent Management Programme organised by London Business School.
The Board expresses its profound appreciation for her dedicated service and for the exemplary leadership she provided as Acting Group Chief Executive Officer of the Company following the tragic passing of the former Group Chief Executive Officer, Dr Herbert Wigwe, CFR, in February 2024. During a critical period in the Group’s history, she demonstrated remarkable professionalism, stability, and commitment, helping to ensure continuity of leadership and sustained business performance.
The Board thanks Agbede for her invaluable contributions to the Group and wishes her continued success and fulfilment in all her future endeavours.
The development forms part of the Company’s ongoing corporate governance and leadership transition process as it continues to strengthen its position as one of Africa’s leading financial services groups.
