By Tope Ajayi
Many a man projects the breadth and intellect of Peter Amangbo, the amiable MD of Zenith Bank, and routinely fails to shine in the finer aspects of persona. But the man, Amangbo, is splendidly different.
Besides his razor-sharp intellect, he burnishes his style with inexorable dashes of ingenuity and bespoke suits. While his resourcefulness may be attributed to his genius, the custom-tailored suits, with charily sculpted contours and other personalized details projects the crucial aspects of a groomed character. Peter, no doubt, reinvents boardroom poise in the luster of his fastidious style.
However, to rumour mongers, mischief spreads butter and Peter Amangbo looks like their slice of bread. Makers of mischief are inherently troubled by the triumphs and acclaim of the Zenith Bank Managing Director (MD); this is why they have gone to town with unprintable stories about the bank chief.
Among other things, they call him a nerd and Jim Ovia’s stooge. Rumour has it that Ovia, the bank’s incumbent chairman, allegedly picked Peter as the bank’s MD to rubberstamp all of his whims unquestioningly. But contrary to the rumours being circulated about him, Peter is indeed a stand-up guy and respectable administrator of the new generation bank. Not only that, he’s quiet and earnest. Unlike most of his peers, he doesn’t flaunt what he has. Colleagues and business associates identify him as a perfect gentleman. According to them, he is nobody’s stooge.
Peter has been the Chief Executive Officer of Zenith Bank Plc since June 1, 2014 and he serves as its Group Managing Director. Until his emergence as the bank’s CEO, he was an Executive Director, a position he held since 2005. He served as its Head of Corporate and Retail Banking Group and Zonal Head in Lagos.
Peter has over 16 years of banking experience. Prior to that, he worked in PricewaterHouseCoopers before moving over to Zenith Bank Plc in 1993. He has over 16 years postgraduate experience out of which he spent 12 years in the banking industry and four years experience in PricewaterHouseCoopers. He has attended several offshore courses including the Advanced Management Programme at INSEAD, France. He serves as a Director of Zenith Securities Limited. He graduated with a B.Eng in Electrical/Electronics from University of Benin in 1988 and holds an M.B.A from Warwick Business School in 1995.
