Olufunke Iyabo Osibodu | |
---|---|
Born | 1959 |
Nationality | Nigerian |
Occupation | CEO |
Spouse | Victor Gbolade Osibodu |
Olufunke Iyabo Osibodu or Funke Osibodu is a Nigerian banker who led Ecobank Nigeria and the Union Bank of Nigeria.
Funke Osibodu was born in January 1959. [1] She attended the University of Ife and the Harvard Business School. [2]
She was CEO and later a director of the holding company of Ecobank Nigeria until she left in 2006. [3] Her husband Victor Gbolade Osibodu is a Nigerian entrepreneur. [4]
She came to notice when there was a shake-up in the Nigerian banking industry when five bank CEOs were dismissed on 13 August 2009, and five replacements were named by the Central Bank of Nigeria. [3] She was chosen to lead the Union Bank of Nigeria replacing Bartholomew Bassey Ebong. [5] Others replaced on the same day included the CEO of FinBank who was replaced by Suzanne Iroche. [3] Ebong was sacked for giving collateral free multibillion-dollar loans to speculators that included Peter Ololo. [6]
Osibodu was praised for the transparency and discipline that she introduced at the Union Bank of Nigeria. She was placed at position 47 on a list of the world's most powerful businesswomen by the Financial Times in 2011. [5] She was the only African woman to make the list. [7] She stood down from her position as CEO of the Union Bank at the end of 2012. [8] After she left the bank she entered the power industry as the CEO of the Benin Electricity Distribution Company for Benin City in Nigeria [9] where her husband, Victor, is the chairman.