Nigeria: Ajene named new CEO of Standard Chartered Bank

Standard Chartered Bank has appointed Dalu Ajene as the Chief Executive Officer of its operations in Nigeria.

Ajene assumes this role following the retirement of Lamin Manjang, the Vice Chairman Africa and Acting CEO, who served the bank for 25 years and has reached the mandatory retirement age.

Ajene brings with him over 23 years of experience in the global financial services sector to his new position.

“We are pleased to announce the appointment of Dalu as the Chief Executive Officer for Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Limited. With an extensive background in banking and finance, Dalu brings a wealth of experience and expertise to lead our operations in Nigeria.

“As a leading international bank, Standard Chartered remains committed to driving economic growth and supporting our clients in Nigeria. The Bank’s leadership will further strengthen our presence in the region and enable us to continue delivering exceptional service and innovative solutions to our customers.

“Dalu brings a strong business and commercial leadership acumen to the new role. He has managed several portfolios across multiple markets in Africa, the US, and the Middle East which have helped to deepen his understanding and appreciation of the complex landscape of delivering results across diverse markets,” the bank’s Regional CEO, Kariuki Ngari, said in the statement.

Prior to his current appointment, Dalu served as the Nigerian CEO of Rand Merchant Bank. During his tenure, he is recognized for leading the business to achieve double-digit profit before tax growth in 2023, demonstrating strong leadership and resilience.

Speaking on joining the Bank, Dalu said, “I am deeply honoured to join Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria at this critical juncture of profound change and development in Nigeria. Our bank is an important provider of trade finance, structured solutions, and development finance and we leverage technology to deliver client-centric services that embed trust with our customers and stakeholders.

“Our teams are deeply experienced to navigate our dynamic environment to deliver value to our clients. I am excited to work together with them to accelerate our activities across the Corporate & Investment Banking business and Wealth & Retail business to serve our customers and intermediate catalytic financing into the Nigerian economy. Ultimately, executing on this will positively uplift the communities we operate in.”

Ajene holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Standard Chartered has a presence in 53 markets worldwide.