The Board of Directors of UT Bank has appointed Mr Stephen Antwi-Asimeng, as Chief Operations Officer and Ms Gillian Slater as Chief Finance Officer of the bank.

The appointment of the two took effect from April 1.

Both top notch appointments are key to contributing to the long term profitability drive of UT Bank and come at a time when the bank reaffirms its commitment to provide customers with high standards of product and service offerings and full support to the growth of the SME sector.

Prior to his appointment as Chief Operating Officer at UT Bank, Mr Antwi-Asimeng was the Chief Operating Officer at Universal Merchant Bank and is expected to drive the new strategic direction of being the preferred bank in the country.

Mr Antwi-Asimeng, who brings on board more than 25 years of solid professional experience in Banking & Finance, Investment, Management and Leadership, would be directly responsible for Banking Operations, Banking Technology, Compliance, Service Quality and General Services.

He has held several Senior and Executive Management positions including Board level appointments in the banking and financial services industry in Ghana.

He started his banking career in 1991 with the National Investment Bank Limited, and then Ecobank Ghana Limited (from 1995 – 1998) where he initially worked as a Credit Officer, later joining the Bank’s Capital Markets team as Senior Corporate Finance Officer. In 1998, Stephen joined the Fidelity Group (now Fidelity Bank).

He held several positions in the group including starting the group’s lending business and building its investment banking portfolio. During the years 2004 to 2013, he held the role of Managing Director of Fidelity Capital Partners Limited, a member of the Fidelity Group.

During the period, Stephen led and built the Private Equity & Venture Capital Fund Management Team and portfolio of the Company from two professionals into a leading SME Private Equity business in West Africa and oversaw a ten-fold increase in assets under his management.

The last position he held before joining UT Bank was as the Operating Officer at Universal Merchant Bank Limited where he played several key roles in the rebranding, turnaround and business growth of the bank.

He has significant experience in Corporate Finance Advisory Services, Project Management, Loan Syndications, Credit Management, Corporate Restructuring and Operations.

He has participated and led several multidisciplinary international teams to undertake due diligence reviews, privatisation assignments and mergers & acquisition transactions in Ghana and other African countries.

He has extensive domain experience across several sectors including health care, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing and financial services.

He has served as a non-executive director on several company boards in Ghana and the West African sub-region as well as being a three-term director of the reputable African Venture Capital Association. In 2013, Stephen was appointed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa to its Ad-hoc Committee of Experts in SME finance in Africa.

Stephen holds a Master of Arts degree in Banking & Finance from the University of Wales, UK and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Ghana, and received executive education from reputable institutions including the Amsterdam Institute of Finance and Harvard Business School.

Ms Slater is a seasoned financial professional, with more than 20 years of experience gained in several multinational organisations.

She joins UT Bank tasked to drive financial performance with direct supervision over the Finance, Treasury, and Investor Relations functions.

Until her appointment, Ms Slater was the Chief Financial Officer of UT Holdings, parent company of UT Bank, and has been involved in a number of successful rationalisation, growth and turnaround strategies for some of the subsidiaries in the UT Group.

Ms Slater has unparalleled experience in conducting due diligence and overseeing the valuation of the entire franchise business of a leading Asian hotel chain which led to a $1 billion acquisition of the chain by Marriott International.

She has also led the development of a capital long range planning process for the second largest US Logistics organisation, US Foodservice, thereby assisting them to formulate a new strategic direction for a $1.6 billion planned capital expenditure.

Ms Slater is credited as being the brain behind the valuation of the largest telecom subcontract deal worth more than $ 80M for Vodafone Ghana and was closely involved in the selection and negotiation processes of the deal.

She has held several positions across the business and corporate landscape internationally and nationally including Controller and Head of Finance and Accounting positions in several organizations globally, including Director, Financial Planning and Analysis for Marriott International; Director, Capital Planning and Analysis for US Foodservice; Technology Controller, Financial Controller and Head of Finance Decision Support all for Vodafone Ghana.

Her international work experience spans Europe, US and Africa.

She holds a combined degree in French and Linguistics from the University of Ghana, Legon. She did her MBA studies at the University of Westminster and is a Chartered Accountant.