Mr. Innocent C. Ike is currently the Managing Director/CEO of Polaris Bank Limited, where he leads the Bank through a corporate transformation journey of becoming the leading digitally-enabled retail Bank in Nigeria.
Until his appointment as the MD/CEO, he was the Executive Director, Technology and Services, charged with transforming the technology and service delivery processes of the Bank. He was also responsible for overseeing the South-South/South East Directorate of the Bank.
Innocent is a seasoned banker with decades of outstanding career achievements in leading commercial banks in Nigeria. He has leveraged in-depth industry knowledge to lead teams in developing and executing cutting-edge strategies and innovations, leading to major corporate transformation and turnaround projects in the nation’s financial services industry.
Through investment in people, technology, and processes, he has as the MD/CEO, ensured that Polaris Bank sustains a profit growth trajectory since taking over leadership in the 2020 Financial Year. This is in the face of the global economic challenges of the COVID- 19 pandemic era.
He has also led one of the most ambitious enterprise transformation initiatives, which has accelerated growth across the bank’s Retail, Small and Medium Enterprise (SME), Commercial and Corporate banking segments.
Innocent’s digital leadership acumen has helped to position Polaris Bank as a digitally-enabled Bank leading to the launch of the Bank’s flagship Digital Banking platform, VULTe, which won the prestigious BusinessDay Banks & Other Financial Institutions (BAFI); Digital Bank of the Year Award 2021. This feat has been widely acknowledged as a testimony to visionary leadership, diligent planning and strategy execution.
In his effort to build a sustainable enterprise, he has continued to raise the brand visibility of Polaris Bank and drive loyalty and patronage from all key sectors of the economy, as well as making Polaris, a Bank of choice for the young generation of banking employees and customers.
Innocent’s career history underscores his persona as a thoroughbred professional who rose through the hierarchy and fully prepared him for his current role as MD/CEO. Before his appointment on the Board of Skye Bank in 2016 following the regulatory intervention, he 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).
Click HERE TO ACCESS THE PROFILE HERE on pages 22 – 23 of the March 2022 edition of the African Leadership Magazine.
