Ralph Opara has been appointed as the Country Managing Director of Access Bank Kenya. He joins from the Group office, where he was the Group Head of the Commercial Banking Division.
Ten of Ralph’s twenty years of experience have been with Access Bank Group. He offers the Kenya team the advantages of his Group experience, which will be combined with the current management team’s local expertise.
Access Bank expresses gratitude to the acting Managing Director, Lillian Odhiambo for acting as a placeholder. She will continue her role as the Executive Director of Wholesale Banking.
The bank stated, “We would like to thank Lillian Odhiambo for holding the fort and leading the bank in an acting capacity since. She is a seasoned banking professional and will remain within the bank in her capacity as Executive Director, Wholesale Banking, whilst also ensuring a smooth handover to Ralph.”
“We are confident that, alongside the leadership team of Access Bank Kenya and National Bank of Kenya, Ralph will continue to play a leadership role in the Integration Management Office (IMO) to ensure the delivery of a stronger, regionally connected, future ready institution that blends local trust and heritage with pan African scale and capability to ensure inclusive growth and enable regional trade,” the bank added.
Ralph Opara’s portfolio
Ralph is a highly driven and adaptable business development management partner with more than 20 years of experience in business development, financial, operational, risk, and compliance processes. He also has high execution standards.
In some of Africa’s most prominent financial institutions, he has worked in key industry lines and segments like corporate finance, public sector, and commercial banking. He manages vital international connections with desks that serve clients from China, India, Lebanon, Germany, and the Netherlands.
Across all key performance metrics, he has continuously produced excellent work and led a number of important business initiatives.
Ralph Opara’s strong leadership and mentoring skills
His strong leadership and mentoring skills, based on a strong work ethic, knowledge of international development, risk management and change agility, digital innovation, and a wealth of experience in financial intermediation, are among his key competencies.
He is strongly committed to gender equality, inclusivity, and the development of young, outstanding leaders.
He has participated in a number of international programs at Harvard Business School, Wharton Business School, Cranefield, and IMD.
“I am honoured to take up the role of Country Managing Director for Access Bank Kenya at this important moment in its trajectory in the market. I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues both at Access Bank and National Bank of Kenya as we continue our efforts to deliver the World’s most respected African bank,” Ralph Opara said.