• Why The World Celebrates Access Bank Boss
If virtue truly is the fount of honour, then Wigwe is a virtuous man. He wears his entrepreneurial savvy like a badge of honour; constantly burnishing it with honest industry and sweat, as true virtuous men do.
Yes, Herbert Wigwe is a miracle-working banker. Unlike the middling marabou, his miracles aren’t deceptive in nature rather each one is an event that creates faith in his abilities as fiscal guru and bank chief. The Access Bank chief is not just administrative Managing Director (MD) but a seasoned leader.
Its often said, administrators are always cheap and easy to find, and even cheaper to keep but leaders are worth their weight in gold. Leaders are risk takers and they are often in very short supply; ones with enduring vision however, like Herbert, are pure gold. This is why he is continually revered and celebrated, among his peers and league of extraordinary men in the world.
He understands the rudiments of the business landscape enough to tame the odds and he has done just that. He also understands that to be a man of honour and substance requires indeterminate exploits at dawn through dusk in honest industry. The Wigwe knows that honour and longevity, like celery, flourishes in the dark shade – far from the blaze of disconcerting neon lights.
Hence he exerted himself creditably through quiet seasons and storms, in good times and bad times.
And in honour of his astounding capacity to rewrite the African business narrative in glowing terms, nations and global leaders have invested Wigwe with the most coveted 2017 African Business Leader of the Year.
The All Africa Business Leader Awards (AABLA) in partnership with CNBC named the Group Managing Director/CEO, Access Bank Plc, Herbert Wigwe, as the 2017 African Business Leader of the Year. This award is coming two weeks after he won the West African Business Leader of the year at the regional level as well as the 2017 SERAS ‘Sustainability Champion of the Year.
’The announcement was made at the AABLA award finale dinner, held last Thursday night at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa and attended by CEOs, government officials and top business executives from all over the continent.Other nominees for the prestigious award include Khalid Abdulla from Southern Africa and Joshua Nyamweya Oigara representing Eastern Africa.
The award recognises business quality and leaders who have made substantial impact on the industry in which they play as well as the community in which they operate.According to the organisers, this award aims to promote and encourage business excellence across the continent. It also honours individuals who exemplify the best in African leadership as well as outstanding business leaders who epitomise the core values of a successful leader, strength, innovation, ingenuity, knowledge and foresight – values that are imperative to carving out a powerful business in a pan- African and global economy.
Receiving the award, Wigwe said: “I am deeply humbled by the decision of the All Africa Business Leaders Award (AABLA), in partnership with CNBC Africa, to be recognised as the African Business Leader of the Year. I do not view it as a recognition of my own accomplishments, but rather as an affirmation of the will, resilience, innovation and drive of our team at Access Bank to excel, and a recognition of the bank to become the gateway for African businesses to the world.
“It is also an honor to share this moment with other business leaders, entrepreneurs, institutions, men and women who have excelled in their own space, and have contributed to the growth and quality of life in Africa through their respective ventures. This is a very humbling experience for me, being put side by side with such strong personalities like Khalid Abdulla and Joshua Oigara.
This esteemed award means a lot to me and is dedicated to every employee of Access Bank Plc,” he added.
Wigwe stressed that Access Bank remains committed to delivering banking excellence and ensuring its services are in line with sustainable banking principles.
The seventh Annual AABLA hosted three regional awards in Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya where Wigwe, Abdulla and Oigara emerged winners respectively.
