Adebola Adesola


Bola Adesola is an accountant in Nigeria. She is the Senior Vice-Chairman at Standard Chartered Bank Group where she was previously the CEO of Standard Chartered Bank for Nigeria and West Africa. Adesola has over 25 years of experience in the banking sector.

Education and career

Adesola graduated with a degree in law from Buckingham University in the United Kingdom in 1984, and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1985. She started her professional life in corporate legal practice until 1990. During the period of her life as legal practitioner, she furthers her education towards accounting at Harvard Business School. She studied Advanced Management Program. In the 1990, she started her practice as a banker with the Citibank, Nigeria. There she served for nine years until 1999 when she moved to First Bank of Nigeria due to the position of Managing Director of a group of eight banks led by the First Bank of Nigeria. First Bank of Nigeria happened to lead a group of eight banks called the Kakawa Discount House Limited in the year 1995. In 2005 she was made the Managing Director, First Bank of Nigeria Plc in charge of corporate banking after five year Bola Adesola resigns
In 2010 Adesola started working with the Standard Chartered Bank Group. After six month of appointment with the Standard Chartered Bank group Adesola was appointed the Managing Director then in the year 2013, Chief Executive Office of the bank group. She had engaged in many activities around commerce and banking market while been the CEO of the bank group. In 2019 she was made senior vice chairman of the Standard Chartered Bank group.

Honours and activities

Financial Markets Dealers Association - Trustee and Executive Board Member
Central Bank of Nigeria Bankers’ Committee on Economic Development, Sustainability and Gender - Chairperson
United Nations Global Compact – Member, 2018
United Nations - Director, 2015
Nigeria National Competitiveness Council - Executive Member, 2013
Lagos Business School Alumni Association - Vice President,
Fate Foundation - Board Member
Women in Business and Management - Co-founder and Former Chairperson, 2001
Advisory Board of Genevieve Magazine - Member
Editorial Board of Rubies Honorary Fellow – Member
Chartered Institute of Bankers Nigeria Recipient
Africa Business Award, 2013
Chartered Institute of Bankers Nigeria – Board Member
Financial Markets Dealers Quotations Plc –Board Member
Nigeria Inter-bank Settlement Systems Plc.- Board Member

EFCC crises

Economic and Financial Crimes Commission invaded the bank on the account of the Central Bank of Nigeria imposed a ₦2.4 billion fine on the bank for the role it allegedly played in the MTN Nigeria illegal funds repatriation to South Africa though the visitation was not legal. Standard Chartered got the highest fine of N2,470,604,767.13 and the CBN has since debited the bank. Wilson Uwajaren, spokesman of the EFCC, said there was no attempt to arrest Adesola.