Transcorp PLC has announced that Mrs. Saratu Umar and Dr. Bakari Wadinga have both joined the board of the company.
In a statement by the company, Dr. Bakari Wadinga joins as a Non-executive Director of the Company while Mrs. Saratu Umar joins as an Independent Non-executive Director of the Company.
The company also announced the resignation of Mr. Omoniyi Fagbemi, mni with effect from October 7, 2016.
Saratu A. Umar became the Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) on May 19, 2014. She is the first female to be appointed to the exalted and prestigious position since the establishment of the Commission in 1995. A 1989 graduate of B.Sc. Economics from Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, she also holds an MBA degree with specialization in Finance and Banking.
A well-rounded Banker, Strategist, Economist, notable Change Agent and Change Manager, who constantly aims for the ultimate goal of improving the Nigerian Economy, Saratu has over 24 years working experience, with 22 of them spent in development banking at the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), where she started as a pioneer staff in 1992. She traversed and headed all strategic and key departments of the Bank, including; Trade, Finance, Project Finance, Business Development and Advisory Services, Strategy, Credit Insurance and Guarantees, Human Resources Development, Administrative Services, and also worked in the Board Secretariat/Legal Affairs Department. During this period, she was equipped with an indispensable knowledge of Credit Analysis and Administration encompassing Project Finance, Trade Finance and Guarantees; Business/Export Development and Diversification; Financial and Business Advisory; Building/Optimizing Organizational Processes; Change Management; Sustainable Development Strategies; Strategic Planning; Negotiation; Strategic Human Resource Management; Measurement Systems and Policy design aligned with corporate objectives and stakeholder engagements as well as Risk Management, amongst others. She started engaging in investment promotion assignments at least 11 years before being appointed to lead NIPC, and also served as speaker in several Trade Missions in Europe, America and Asia aimed at seeking investors for the country.
Vastly trained, locally and internationally in all core aspects of her banking career, as well as in Leadership, Strategy and Management, she has also worked on various projects with a number of world class Management Consultants aimed at corporate transformation or re-engineering. She served in membership/chairmanship capacity of various committees within and outside NEXIM Bank and now serves on many technical committees outside NIPC, amongst them, as Member/Secretary of the President’s Honorary International Investor Council (HIIC).
Saratu is a Fellow of the American Academy of Financial Management (FAAFM); a Certified Chartered Wealth Manager [CWM], a Certified Risk and Compliance Management Professional (CRCMP, a Fellow, Institute of Chartered Economists (FCE), an Associate Fellow of the Association of Certified Commercial Diplomats, United Kingdom; a senior Associate of the Risk Management Association of Nigeria and a senior member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria amongst others. She is also a recipient of local and international awards amongst them, the 2012 Distinguished Leadership Award.
