Herbert Onyewumbu Wigwe was a Nigerian banker and entrepreneur who passed away on February 10, 2024, at the age of 57.
Herbert Wigwe, the Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings Plc, died in a fatal helicopter accident near the border of California and Nevada in the United States over the weekend, Five other passengers, including his wife and son, also lost their lives in the crash when helicopter was reportedly heading to Las Vegas
He was the CEO of Access Holdings Plc, traded as Access Corporation, and the former Group Managing Director/CEO of Access Bank Plc.
Herbert Wigwe was born on August 15, 1966, to parents of Ikwerre descent from Omueke Isiokpo in Rivers State. He had three sisters (Joyce, Peggy, and Stella) and one brother (Emeka).
He attended St. Gregory’s College in Lagos for his secondary education and then proceeded to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, where he obtained a degree in accountancy in 1987.
He furthered his education by obtaining a master’s degree in Banking and Finance from the University College of North Wales (now Bangor University) in 1989 and another master’s degree in Financial Economics from the University of London in 1990.
He also attended the Harvard Business School Executive Management Programme in 2006.
He was a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), a Fellow of the Institute of Credit Administration, an honorary member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, and a Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON).
Herbert Wigwe started his professional career with Coopers & Lybrand Associates, an international firm of chartered accountants, where he worked as a management consultant and later qualified as a chartered accountant. He then joined Capital Bank as a senior manager in charge of treasury and financial services.
In 1992, he moved to Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) where he spent over ten years working in various capacities such as corporate banking, institutional banking, and treasury. He rose to become the Executive Director in charge of institutional banking and was instrumental in developing GTBank’s public sector business.
In 2002, he left GTBank along with his business partner and friend, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, to acquire a stake in Access Bank Plc, which was then a small commercial bank ranked 65th out of 89 banks in Nigeria.
They embarked on an ambitious transformation agenda that saw Access Bank grow from a regional bank with less than 10 branches to a global bank with over 600 branches across Nigeria, Africa, and the UK.
Under their leadership, Access Bank became one of the most profitable banks in Nigeria and Africa, with a strong focus on innovation, customer service, corporate governance, and social responsibility. They also led several landmark transactions such as the acquisition of Intercontinental Bank in 2012, which made Access Bank the fourth-largest bank in Nigeria; the merger with Diamond Bank in 2019, which created the largest retail bank in Africa; and the listing on the London Stock Exchange in 2019, which enhanced Access Bank’s international profile and access to capital
Herbert Wigwe succeeded Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede as the Group Managing Director/CEO of Access Bank Plc in January 2014 and continued to steer the bank to greater heights until April 2022 when he stepped down to become the CEO of Access Holdings Plc, a new entity that was created to oversee the non-banking businesses of Access Bank such as insurance, asset management, payments, and digital banking.
He remained a non-executive director of Access Bank Plc until his death.
