| Union Bank project
GEAR gains momentum
•Appoints new directors
By Sun News Publishing
Saturday, March
29, 2008
Union Bank’s project GEAR appears to have gathered
momentum with the appointment of a set of new directors, completion
of its IT infrastructure upgrade and release of the bank’s
branch models in strategic locations across the nation.
Project GEAR is the bank’s transformation programme.
The programme is made of several projects, the GEAR: Grow
the bank, Eclipse competition, Align Bank’s strategy,
Redefine Bank’s position as leaders in the banking industry.
The project expected to last between 24 and 36 months is expected
to propel the bank currently viewed to be docile into the
league of re-engineered old generation banks that are performing
excellently along with the newer ones in the industry.
In response to rationalization fears among its staff, sources
in the bank revealed to Saturday Sun, that the outcome of
the GEAR project would impact on the productivity of the staff,
but encouraged that they must be ready to adopt and adapt
to new ways of doing things, since it would improve the overall
performance of the bank.
The sources revealed that the bank has completed its Information
Communication Technology upgrade from the older version to
current and better version. “As part of strategic plans
to achieve the Bank’s forecast for the financial year
ending in March 31, the Bank has concluded the upgrade of
its banking software (flexcube) and is currently undertaking
a transformation programme to offer efficient and value added
service to its customers.”
The newly appointed non-executive directors whose appointments
have already been approved by the Central Bank of Nigeria
(CBN), are Cosmas Paul Udofot, Mansur Ahmed and Ahmadu Abubakar.
Udofot is an accomplished public servant who rose to the zenith
of his career in the public service before his retirement
in 2000 as Permanent Secretary, General Services Bureau, Governor’s
Office, Akwa Ibom State.
Udofot who is currently in private business, holds a Bachelor
of Science degree in Sociology from the University of Ibadan;
Master of Arts degree in Industrial Relations, University
of Minnesota, USA; Master of Philosophy degree in Sociology,
University of Kansas, USA; and Doctor of Philosophy degree
in Sociology, University of Kansas.
Ahmed is currently the Director-General/Chief Executive, Nigerian
Economic Summit Group (NESG), a position he assumed in 2004
following his retirement from the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation (NNPC).
He has a first degree in Mechanical Engineering from Nottingham
University and a Masters degree in Industrial Engineering
and Administration from Cranfield Institute of Technology
(now Cranfield University), both in the UK. He also has a
post-graduate certificate in Investment Appraisal and Management
of the Harvard Institute of International Development. He
is a fellow of the Nigeria Society of Engineers and the Nigerian
Institute of Management.
Alhaji Abubakar had a distinguished career in the public service,
rising to the post of Director-General (Permanent Secretary)
in the Federal Ministry of Finance. He was once a Minister
of Finance (1992 - 1993) and also, Special Adviser to the
President, Federal Republic of Nigeria on Finance and Economic
Matters (1993).
|
