Innocent Ike is the Acting Managing Director/CEO of Polaris Bank Limited This follows from his appointment by the Board of Directors of Polaris Bank Ltd with the approval of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), the Bank’s shareholder, effective 1 September 2020.
He was until this appointment the Executive Director, Technology and Services, and equally overseeing the South-South/South East Directorate of the Bank.
He was appointed Executive Director (Technology & Services) in the defunct SkyeBank Plc in July 2016, following the Central Bank of Nigeria’s intervention in the bank. He was subsequently re-appointed in the same capacity in Polaris Bank Limited in September 2018, upon acquiring the assets and some liabilities of the defunct SkyeBank Plc by Polaris Bank. He currently leads the Bank’s on-going Digital Transformation Project while also overseeing the South-South/South-East Directorate.
Before his appointment on the Board of SkyeBank, Innocent was an Executive Director in Keystone Bank Limited, where he recorded outstanding contributions and achievements resulting in the successful turnaround, repositioning and eventual divestment of the bank by the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON).
Before joining the Board of Keystone Bank in August 2014, Innocent had played critical roles in the growth and transformation of Access Bank Plc., where, within ten years, he rose to become a General Manager with responsibilities in the Corporate & Commercial Banking Divisions. He was at various times responsible for the Federal Capital Territory and the South-South Regions of the Bank.
Innocent has also been Chairman of SkyeBank Gambia Limited. He currently serves a Director of MainOne Cable Company Limited, Unified Payments Systems Limited, and Pay Attitude Global Limited.
Mr Ike worked in the erstwhile Fortune international Bank Plc., as well as GT Bank Plc. where he spent most of the early years of his career and occupied several key and sensitive positions in Treasury, Currency Trading, Commercial Banking as well as Banking Operations Units. He equally trained and qualified as a Chartered Accountant in the international accounting firm of Deloitte, where he handled key audit and consulting assignments.
Mr is a graduate of Accounting from the University of Lagos, where he emerged as the Best Graduating Student in 1988. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), a Certified IFRS expert, and an Honorary Senior Member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN). He holds an Executive Certificate in Strategy & Innovation from MIT Sloan School of Management, Boston, and has at various times attended global management and leadership programs in world-class institutions, including Harvard Business School, Wharton Business School, and International Management Development Institute (IMD) Switzerland. He is also a Member of the Institute of Directors (IOD).