Photos L- R: Tinuade Awe, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), NGX Regulation Limited; Oscar N. Onyema, OON, Group CEO, Nigerian Exchange Group Plc; and Temi Popoola, CFA, Nigerian Exchange Limited during a handover ceremony on Thursday, 01 April 2021.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the appointments of chief executives to head non-operating holding company and operating subsidiaries of the newly demutualised Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
A statement by NSE stated that under the demutualisation plan, a new non-operating holding company, the Nigerian Exchange Group plc (NGXGroup) has been created and will be headed by Oscar N. Onyema as Group CEO.
The Group will have three operating subsidiaries –Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), the operating exchange; NGX Regulation Limited (NGXREGCO), the independent regulatory company; and NGX Real Estate Limited (NGXRELCO), the real estate company –forming the Group.
Temi Popoola has been approved as the CEO of the Nigerian Exchange Limited while Tinuade Awe will serve as the CEO of NGX Regulation Limited. All the entities have been duly registered at the Corporate Affairs Commission.
, Chairman of Nigerian Exchange Group Plc (NGXGroup) board of directors, Otunba Abimbola Ogunbanjo stated that the confirmation of these appointments are an important step in the process of building a leading and resilient African Exchange Group following the completion of our demutualisation programme.
“I am delighted to continue working with Oscar N. Onyema, who has played a significant role in the reshaping of the Exchange. As a proven business leader and strategic thinker, I am confident that he will elevate the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGXGroup) and its subsidiaries successfully into a new era of development.”
The SEC also approved the appointments of A.B Mahmoud as chairman of Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) as well as Catherine Echeozo as chairperson, NGX Regulation (NGXREGCO).
Ogunbanjo also commended the retiring ex-officio member of the Council, Mr. AigbojeAig-Imokhuede following the demutualisation of the Exchange. Mahmoud said the appointment of Popoola, the first CEO of Nigerian Exchange Limited comes at a pivotal moment for Nigerian capital markets as the Exchange enters a new phase of its history as a demutualised company.
Echeozo, said speaking on the appointment pf Tuniade Awe said, “The clear separation of the regulatory and business functions is an essential part of the Group’s operations following demutualisation and the Board was determined to ensure the selection of an experienced regulator for this task.
“I believe all the Exchange’s stakeholders will welcome the announcement of Tinuade Awe as the first CEO of NGX Regulation, given her prodigious experience and track record in capital markets regulation. Our stakeholders can continue look forward to a robust 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 The Exchange from 2011-2021. In this role, he was responsible for supervising the general working of The Exchange. He serves as the Chairman, Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS), the clearing, settlement and depository for the Nigerian capital markets; and Chairman, NG Clearing, which is in the process of developing a Central Counterparty Clearing House (CCP).
In addition, Mr. Onyema is a Board member of the National Pension Commission of Nigeria (PENCOM) and sits on several advisory boards including London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) Africa Advisory Group (LAAG). Prior to relocating to Nigeria, he served as Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer at American Stock Exchange (Amex). He also ran the NYSE Amex equity business following the merger of NYSE Euronext and Amex in 2008.
His remarkable achievements have earned him awards such as the Special Recognition Award for transformational leadership in the Nigerian Capital Markets at Business Day Top 25 CEOs Award 2018. In 2015 Forbes Magazine named him among the Top 10 Most Powerful Men in Africa. In the preceding year, he received the national honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger (“OON”) from the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Mr. Onyema is an alumnus of Harvard Business School, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and INSEAD International Directors Programme. He got his MBA from Baruch 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 of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) in the UK, and holds 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 unique blend of business acumen, financial expertise, global market growth and operational insight has earned him a reputation built on verifiable career achievements. A Wall street trained investment banker, Mr. Popoola joins NGX Ltd. from Renaissance Capital (Rencap) where he was Managing Director and CEO for West Africa.
He supported the continuous growth, profitability and success of the organisation by providing strategic market insight and leadership. He led the transformation of Rencap in West Africa by diversifying the company’s revenue streams into fixed income, derivatives, structured products, debt financing and wealth management. In addition to influencing change across the organisation, he was responsible for overseeing a global workforce, expanding foreign investor capital opportunities into West Africa and introducing enduring business processes and strategic initiatives.
Since his return to Nigeria in 2009, Mr. Popoola has also worked with United Bank of Africa (UBA) as Head of Structured Products for Global markets and with CSL Stockbrokers Ltd. as Head of Sales and Trading. In both of these positions, he guided growth and advancement for investors across global markets, including South Africa, the UK, the Middle East and the US.
Mr. Popoola began his career in London as a portfolio manager focused on African energy markets and worked for several years as a senior equity derivatives trader with Bank of America Securities in New York where he drove firm profitability by providing derivative solutions to US corporations and family offices. He graduated with a First-Class degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Lagos and holds a Masters degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He is a Chartered financial analyst (CFA) and a Chartered stockbroker (CIS). He holds the Series 7 and 63 licensures.
CEO of NGX Regulation Limited
Ms. Tinuade Awe is the Chief Executive Officer, NGX Regulation (NGX REGCO) Ltd. Prior to attaining this position, she was an Executive Director, Regulation at The Exchange. She also served as the General Counsel and Head of the Legal and Regulation Division as well as Council Secretary before becoming an Executive Director. Prior to The Exchange, Ms. Awe worked with the United Nations in The Hague and Geneva as well as the New York offices of global law firm, Simpson Thacher & Barlettand Banwo & Ighodalo in Lagos, Nigeria.
As Executive Director, Regulation, she had responsibility for the regulation of the two primary stakeholder groups of The Exchange, i.e., the Dealing Members that trade on The Exchange and issuers that have securities listed on The Exchange. Her team was responsible for rule making and interpretation, monitoring, inspections, market surveillance, investigations, regulatory technology, and enforcement.
She is a non-executive director of the Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS). She is also a member of the Board of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC). She Chairs the FRC’s Board Corporate Governance Committee, which has Board level responsibility to monitor implementation of the National Code of Corporate Governance (NCCG). Among other professional pursuits, Ms. Awe was a member of the Nigerian Senate’s Technical Advisory Committee to review the Bill for an Act to Amend the Companies and Allied Matters Act and the Bill for an Act to review the Investment and Securities Act.
Ms. Awe has an LL.B Degree from the Obafemi Awolowo University, graduating as the Best Female Student in the Faculty of Law. She finished at the Nigerian Law School with First Class Honours, graduating as Best Overall Student. She also holds LL.M Degrees from Harvard Law School, where she was a Landon H. Gammon Fellow, as well as The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), where she graduated with Merit.
At the LSE, she was a British Council Scholar. She is admitted to both the Nigerian and New York Bars.Ms. Awe is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association and the International Bar Association. She is an Associate Member of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN) and the Institute of Capital Market Registrars (ICMR). She is a Life Member of the Institute of Directors. She is the recipient of The African Legal Awards 2018, General Counsel ofthe Year; Law Digest Africa Awards, General Counsel of the Year 2018, and Esq. Nigeria Legal Awards, General Counsel of the Year 2017.
