There is unease whispering within the industry that the influential and daring chief executive officer of Guaranty Trust Bank plc fondly called GTBank has retired. The central Bank of Nigeria guideline made it compulsory for every bank CEO to retire after 10 year tenure.

Agbaje, who assumed the leadership position of the bank in April 2011 after a prolonged sick leave granted to former late CEO, Tayo Aderinokun, had successfully settled in the running of the bank.

Agbaje alleged departure may not be unconnected to the apex bank guideline that requires every MD of a bank to serve a mandatory 10 years.

He exit may be a year of mandatory 10 years hence huff puff within the bank and the industry at large.  Agbaje, who used his 9 years at the helms to develop the bank digital ecosystem, has made GTBank one of the sought after in technology and digitalisation.

It is during Agbaje’s era that the bank experienced some revolutionary strides particularly, the USSSD code campaign 737.

GTBank that has commended in the industry for adopting a crisis free succession plan and management, seems to have plunged into the succession trap as the bank’s stakeholders are at the loss on you will replace Agbaje and match his stellar performances.

However, some frontrunners have emerged as 789marketing takes a look at 3 very serious contenders for the top job. Demola Odeyemi, Executive Director of the bank, who joined the board on October 19, 2011, is a chartered accountant.

Odeyemi joined the bank joined Guaranty Trust Bank Plc in 1997 and later worked with First City Monument Bank as Head of Financial Control and Strategy, and Chief Operating Officer for four (4) companies in the FCMB Capital Markets Group in 2002.

The attraction of having an accountant chief executive officer is fast fading. Most organisations basically, financial institutions are keen to having a marketing focus CEO due to the realities of time, therefore, Odeyemi may be a remote contender as result of his career background.

Recently, Fidelity Bank plc broke the ice by appointing a female CEO and many experts have said that, that may be the beginning of female dominance in the financial sector.

It appears Miriam Chidiebele Olusanya; another executive director in the bank has thrown her hat into the ring for the top job at GTBank. Olusanya has over 20 years banking experience that cuts across Transaction Services, Asset and Liability Management, Financial Markets, Corporate Finance and Investor Relations.

Mrs. Olusanya is the Group Treasurer and Head, Wholesale Banking Division of the Bank had served as a Non-Executive Director on the Board of Guaranty Trust Bank (Gambia). Her chances however, looks brighter as many board members are keened to having a female MD.

Haruna Musa, Executive Director, who over twenty-three years experience, which spans through Retail & Commercial Banking and Public Sector looked a good fit for the position said, an insider in the bank.

He joined the Bank in 2001 and rose through the ranks to become an Assistant General Manager and Group Head Public Sector, North East Division in 2006. He left the Bank briefly in 2008 to pursue his Masters Degree in Finance and Management at Cranfield University, United Kingdom, after which he returned in 2009.

He holds a Bachelors’ Degree in Agriculture from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (1991), a Masters Degree in Business Administration from Bayero University Kano (1998) and a Masters Degree in Finance and Management from Cranfield University, United Kingdom (2009).