SEC Approves Appointment of CEOs of Demutualised Entities of The NSE

Thursday, April 01, 2021 / 05:43 PM / By NSE /Header Image Credit: NSE

Mr. Onyema, Mr. Popoolaand Ms. Awe to Lead Group Companies

The National Council of the Nigerian Stock Exchange ispleased to announce that the appointments of the following Chief Executives tohead its non-operating Holding Company and operating subsidiaries have beenapproved by the Securities Exchange Commission, Nigeria.

Name	Designation	Entity
Oscar N. Onyema, OON	Group Chief Executive Officer	Nigerian Exchange Group Plc
Temi Popoola, CFA	Chief Executive Officer	Nigerian Exchange Limited
Tinuade Awe	Chief Executive Officer	NGX Regulation Limited

Under the demutualisation plan, a new non-operatingholding company, the Nigerian Exchange Group plc (NGX Group) has been created.The Group will have three operating subsidiaries - Nigerian Exchange Limited(NGX), the operating exchange; NGX Regulation Limited (NGX REGCO), theindependent regulatory company; and NGX Real Estate Limited (NGX RELCO), thereal estate company - forming the Group. All the entities have been dulyregistered at the Corporate Affairs Commission.

Commenting on the appointments:

Otunba AbimbolaOgunbanjo, Chairman of Nigerian Exchange Group Plc(NGX Group) Board of Directors stated: "The confirmation of these appointments are an important step in the process ofbuilding a leading and resilient African Exchange Group following the completionof our demutualisation programme. I am delighted to continue working with OscarN. Onyema, OON who has played a significant role in the reshaping of theExchange. As a proven business leader and strategic thinker, I am confidentthat he will elevate the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX Group) and itssubsidiaries successfully into a new era of development."

Otunba Ogunbanjo alsorecorded his thanks to the retiring Ex-Officio Member of the Council:

"I would like to warmly thank Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imokhuede,CON who retires as Ex-Officio of the National Council following thedemutualisation of the Exchange. He not only provided wise and valuable counselto the NSE over the years in its quest towards its demutualisation, hecontributed significantly to the transformational achievements recorded by theExchange during his tenure as President. I speak on behalf of the Council andManagement of the NSE in commending him for his exceptional service and wishinghim well in his future endeavours. Equally, I thank all past leaders of theExchange many of whom started this journey and are alive to witness thisepochal transition."

A.B Mahmoud, Chairman of NigerianExchange Limited (NGX) said: "The confirmation of the appointment of Temi Popoola, CFA as the first ChiefExecutive Officer of Nigerian Exchange Limited comes at a pivotal moment forNigerian capital markets as the Exchange enters a new phase of its history as ademutualised company, bringing to the Exchange his track record of achievementlocal and global capital markets. He will focus on ensuring the Exchangedelivers an even higher level of service for all its participants andstakeholders, including investors, listed companies and brokers. I look forwardto working with him and his team in the new dispensation as we moveforward on implementing the Group's growth strategy."

Catherine Echeozo,Chairperson, NGX Regulation (NGX REGCO) commented: "The clear separation of the regulatory and businessfunctions is an essential part of the Group's operations followingdemutualisation and the Board was determined to ensure the selection of anexperienced regulator for this task. I believe all the Exchange's stakeholderswill welcome the announcement of Tinuade Awe as the first Chief ExecutiveOfficer of NGX Regulation, given her prodigious experience and track record incapital markets regulation. Our stakeholders can continue look forward to arobust and transparent regulatory regime under her leadership."

About The CEOs

GCEO, The Nigerian Exchange Group Plc

Mr. Oscar N. Onyema,OON is the Group Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX GROUP).Prior to this, he served as the CEO and member of the National Council of TheExchange from 2011 - 2021. In this role, he was responsible for supervising thegeneral working of The Exchange. He serves as the Chairman, Central SecuritiesClearing System Plc (CSCS), the clearing, settlement and depository for theNigerian capital markets; and Chairman, NG Clearing, which is in the process ofdeveloping a Central Counterparty Clearing House (CCP). In addition, Mr. Onyemais a Board member of the National Pension Commission of Nigeria (PENCOM) andsits on several advisory boards including London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG)Africa Advisory Group (LAAG).

Prior to relocatingto Nigeria, he served as Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officerat American Stock Exchange (Amex). He also ran the NYSE Amex equity businessfollowing the merger of NYSE Euronext and Amex in 2008.

His remarkableachievements have earned him awards such as the Special Recognition Award fortransformational leadership in the Nigerian Capital Markets at Business Day Top25 CEOs Award 2018. In 2015 Forbes Magazine named him among the Top 10 MostPowerful Men in Africa. In the preceding year, he received the national honourof Officer of the Order of the Niger ("OON") from the FederalGovernment of Nigeria.

Mr. Onyema is analumnus of Harvard Business School, The Wharton School, University ofPennsylvania and INSEAD International Directors Programme. He got his MBA fromBaruch College, New York; and BSc degree from Obafemi Awolowo University,Ile-Ife. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Directors ("IoD")Nigeria, Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), Associate ofthe Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) in the UK, andholds FINRA Series 7, 24, 63 qualifications in the United States.

CEO of Nigerian Exchange Limited

Mr. Temi Popoola, CFA is the Chief Executive Officer,Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Ltd. He is a successful C-suite leader whose uniqueblend of business acumen, financial expertise, global market growth andoperational insight has earned him a reputation built on verifiable careerachievements.

A Wall street trained investment banker, Mr. Popoolajoins NGX Ltd. from Renaissance Capital (Rencap) where he was Managing Directorand CEO for West Africa. He supported the continuous growth, profitability andsuccess of the organisation by providing strategic market insight andleadership. He led the transformation of Rencap in West Africa by diversifyingthe company's revenue streams into fixed income, derivatives, structuredproducts, debt financing and wealth management. In addition to influencingchange across the organisation, he was responsible for overseeing a globalworkforce, expanding foreign investor capital opportunities into West Africaand introducing enduring business processes and strategic initiatives.

Since his return to Nigeria in 2009, Mr. Popoola hasalso worked with United Bank of Africa (UBA) as Head of Structured Products forGlobal markets and with CSL Stockbrokers Ltd. as Head of Sales and Trading. Inboth of these positions, he guided growth and advancement for investors acrossglobal markets, including South Africa, the UK, the Middle east and the US.

Mr. Popoola began his career in London as a portfoliomanager focused on African energy markets and worked for several years as asenior equity derivatives trader with Bank of America Securities in New Yorkwhere he drove firm profitability by providing derivative solutions to UScorporations and family offices.

He graduated with a First-Class degree in ChemicalEngineering from the University of Lagos and holds a Masters degree from theMassachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He is a Chartered financialanalyst (CFA) and a Chartered stockbroker (CIS). He holds the Series 7 and 63licensures.

CEO of NGX Regulation Limited

Ms. Tinuade Awe isthe Chief Executive Officer, NGX Regulation (NGX REGCO) Ltd. Prior to attainingthis position, she was an Executive Director, Regulation at The Exchange. Shealso served as the General Counsel and Head of the Legal and RegulationDivision as well as Council Secretary before becoming an ExecutiveDirector. Prior to The Exchange, Ms. Awe worked with the United Nationsin The Hague and Geneva as well as the New York offices of global law firm,Simpson Thacher & Barlett and Banwo & Ighodalo in Lagos, Nigeria.

As ExecutiveDirector, Regulation, she had responsibility for the regulation of the twoprimary stakeholder groups of The Exchange, i.e., the Dealing Members thattrade on The Exchange and issuers that have securities listed on TheExchange. Her team was responsible for rule making and interpretation,monitoring, inspections, market surveillance, investigations, regulatorytechnology, and enforcement.

She is a non-executivedirector of the Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS). She isalso a member of the Board of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC).She Chairs the FRC's Board Corporate Governance Committee, which has Boardlevel responsibility to monitor implementation of the National Code ofCorporate Governance (NCCG). Among other professional pursuits, Ms. Awewas a member of the Nigerian Senate's Technical Advisory Committee to review theBill for an Act to Amend the Companies and Allied Matters Act and the Bill foran Act to review the Investment and Securities Act.

Ms. Awe has an LL.BDegree from the Obafemi Awolowo University, graduating as the Best FemaleStudent in the Faculty of Law. She finished at the Nigerian Law School withFirst Class Honours, graduating as Best Overall Student. She also holds LL.MDegrees from Harvard Law School, where she was a Landon H. Gammon Fellow, aswell as The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), where shegraduated with Merit. At the LSE, she was a British Council Scholar. She isadmitted to both the Nigerian and New York Bars.

Ms. Awe is a member of theNigerian Bar Association and the International Bar Association. She is anAssociate Member of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administratorsof Nigeria (ICSAN) and the Institute of Capital Market Registrars (ICMR). Sheis a Life Member of the Institute of Directors. She is the recipient of TheAfrican Legal Awards 2018, General Counsel of the Year; Law Digest AfricaAwards, General Counsel of the Year 2018, and Esq. Nigeria Legal Awards,General Counsel of the Year 2017.