Mrs. Abiola Bawuah, a Ghanaian native, has been named the new chief executive officer for Africa of the United Bank for Africa Plc.

A statement claims that Bawuah would be in charge of the bank's activities in all of Africa apart from Nigeria.

She is the first female CEO of UBA Africa, and the bank's decision to hire her is a sign of its commitment to diversity.

With Bawuah's appointment, the UBA Group now has eight female directors, according to a Nairametrics analysis.

Bawuah managed operations in nine subsidiaries, including Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Senegal, and Sierra Leone before being named the bank's Africa CEO. She has previously led UBA Ghana as CEO.

Commenting on Bawuah’s appointment, the UBA Group’s Board Chairman, Mr Tony Elumelu, said, “Abiola has contributed significantly to the growth of UBA Africa for close to a decade. She brings a wealth of experience in commercial banking, and stakeholder engagement. It also gives me great pleasure that with her appointment, the UBA Group Board has now become a majority female board.”

Other significant executive appointments within the business were also made public by the bank.

The following appointments have been made: Chris Ofikulu, Regional CEO of UBA West Africa; Uzoechina Molokwu, Deputy Managing Director of UBA Ghana; Ayokunle Olajubu, Managing Director/CEO of UBA Liberia; Theresa Henshaw, CEO of UBA UK; Usman Isiaka, Deputy CEO of UBA America; and Adeyemi Adeleke, Group Treasurer. All of these appointments are subject to their various local regulatory approvals.