The Ghana Association of Bankers (GAB) has appointed the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Universal Merchant Bank (UMB), John Awuah as the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Association.
Mr. Awuah is expected to later take over as the CEO of the Association from D. K. Mensah who retires later in the year.
A statement jointly signed by the President of the Association, Alhassan Andani and the Chief Executive Officer, D. K. Mensah which was copied to 3news.com said “the Ghana Association of Bankers has appointed Mr. John Awuah as the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Association and would eventually take over from the current Chief Executive Officer, Mr. D.K. Mensah when the latter retires later in the year”.
Prior to his appointment, Mr. Awuah was the Managing Partner of Jawuah & Co. Advisors Ltd, a management and financial services consulting firm.
Mr. Awuah is expected to “lead all strategic initiatives of GAB and champion the Banking Industry’s response to global banking practices, research opportunities, regulatory compliance, and emerging trends in sustainable financial services and financial inclusion efforts of Banks in Ghana”.
Responding to news of his appointment, Mr. Awuah said “the practice of banking has evolved; the change has been deep and impacted every aspect of the trade – our job is to navigate this phenomenal change professionally and remain in control”.
He added, “I draw my excitement from the superior service experience that banking customers are enjoying and will continue to benefit as a result of unimpeded banking evolution globally. At GAB, we will focus on building more inclusive banking with emphasis on technology, collaboration and holistic risk management practices across all our networks and channels”.
The President of GAB, Alhassan Andani acknowledged that “Mr. Awuah’s strong knowledge of the banking industry can only be an advantage to the Association”.
“We have every confidence in his ability to proactively coordinate industry efforts and be a strong advocate not only for Banks in Ghana but for the entire financial services sector in the country and beyond. We assure him of our unflinching support”.
Background of Mr. John Awuah
John has an MBA from the Oxford Institute of International Finance (Oxford Brookes University) and is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (UK) and a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Ghana (ICAG).
He has previously worked with Universal Merchant Bank (UMB) as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Bank.
John has also held senior leadership positions as Finance Director at GCB Bank, Group Chief Finance Officer at Ecobank Capital, Financial Controller at Barclays Bank of Ghana (now ABSA Bank), Chief Finance Officer at UBA Ghana and as Finance Business Partner at Standard Chartered Bank Ghana with industry exposure from Tractor & Equipment Ghana (now Mantrac) and Western Castings Limited. He brings to the Association a wealth of industry experience and broad knowledge of stakeholder management and optimization of social capital.
By Kweku Antwi-Otoo|3news.com|Ghana