After five years of dedicated and growth-oriented service to Universal Merchant Bank (UMB), Mr. Benjamin Amenumey has completed his tenure as UMB’s CEO making way for the appointment of Nana Dwemoh Benneh as the bank’s new Chief Executive Officer, following the approval of the Central Bank.

In a statement issued by UMB, Mr. Benjamin Amenumey said “working with a team of dedicated and passionate individuals over the past three years as Chief Operating Officer and then ultimately as the CEO for the past 2 years, has been an absolute honour and pleasure. Together, we have chalked many successes that have propelled our bank into the hallmark of the Ghanaian financial sector, thereby reaffirming our commitment to delivering unrivalled banking excellence to all our wonderful clients through our innovative products and services. For this and the many indelible memories of my time spent with you, I am truly thankful for your unflinching support and I do look forward to celebrating your future wins with you as a family.”

Since joining the bank in 2016, Benjamin Amenumey has initiated and implemented many successful growth strategies with the Bank’s SME banking portfolio and in the Bank’s digital infrastructure including the introduction of its mobile banking application, the UMB SpeedApp.

Under his leadership, the bank attained its ISO 27001 and PCI DSS certifications, a testament to UMB’s continuous commitment to enhancing the experience of the customer with new and efficient banking technologies. He also led the bank in sweeping many coveted industry awards including the GITTA Award as the Best Bank for Cyber Security Risk Management, the Most Improved Bank in Best Use of Technology, and ICT-Driven CEO of the Year Award among others.

In his farewell message to Benjamin Amenumey, Board Chairman of UMB, Mr. Ras Boateng stated, “your ability to lead and boost staff morale to give off their very best as well as the strong legacy you have built over the years will impact positively on our future success as we will continue to execute the laudable initiatives you started. We wish you the very best in your future endeavours.’’

Mr. Boateng further stated, “The choice of Nana Dwemoh Benneh as the next CEO of UMB is a step in the right direction in propelling UMB to the next level of success. Nana Dwemoh throughout his career has demonstrated strong leadership and a commitment to excellence and we truly believe that his wealth of experience will serve in the best interest of the bank in achieving its vision as a leader in providing strong financial solutions to its customers.

Nana Dwemoh Benneh in his remarks stated that he was truly honoured and humbled to have been chosen by the Board to lead a strong legacy brand like UMB as its next CEO and he will continue to build on the successes of his predecessors to forge a new frontier for posterity.

Nana Dwemoh Benneh joins UMB with considerable local and international expertise in banking spanning over 15 years. Having worked briefly with Merchant Bank Limited after his graduate studies, he joined Barclays Bank on Barclays Plc’s International Business Leadership Program designed to develop Business Leaders with global and significant Pan African experience. Whilst with Barclays he had the opportunity to work in various management roles across several countries in Africa and the UK. Having lead many dynamic teams across as Head of Retail for Barclay Uganda, he moved to Kenya as the East Africa Regional Sales Manager with oversight over Consumer sales machinery in the Banks East African businesses. Subsequently, in 2003, Nana Dwemoh was appointed as Director of the SME Local Business Segment for Barclays Africa based in Johannesburg, South Africa with responsibility for the Banks SME strategy for Africa. In 2005, Nana Dwemoh worked in Corporate Banking in Barclays Plc as Sales Director for International Trade and Cash Solutions Barclays PLC, London. He returned in 2007 to Barclays Bank Ghana as the Consumer Banking Director and is credited with consolidating the gains in the Bank’s consumer banking business post the Bank’s rapid expansion of the franchise that was undertaken between 2006 and 2007.

Nana Dwemoh joined Stanbic Ghana Limited as Executive Director for Personal and Business Banking in October 2013. There he led the team in significantly growing market share and profitability for the Bank’s Personal and Business Banking franchise over the last seven years.

Nana holds an Executive MBA from London Business School and is a member of the International Academy of Retail Banking.