By Arinze Anapugars Being the managing director of Zenith Bank is not, as the cliché goes, a tea party or a walk in the park. The shoes left behind by its founder and pioneer chief executive, Jim Ovia, generally referred to as the czar of Nigeria’s banking industry, are simply too big to fill. In Adaora Umeoji, the current Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Zenith Bank Plc, however, Nigeria bears witness to an underestimated leader whose short tenure at the premier financial institution has not just exceeded expectations, but has transcended them with luminous distinction. When she assumed office as the first female CEO in the illustrious history of Zenith Bank in June 2024, even though the moment was heralded as historic, a few held their breadth, unsure of what to ...