Mr. Innocent Ike is a seasoned banker, strategist, and corporate leader with over three decades of transformative experience in Nigeria's financial services sector. His career spans commercial and investment banking, digital innovation, and strategic leadership, marked by a consistent record of institutional growth and operational excellence.
Mr. Ike graduated from the University of Lagos with a BSc (Hons) in Accounting in 1988, receiving recognition as the Best Graduating Student. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), and a Certified IFRS expert. Mr. Ike is an Access Bank's veteran where he spent 10 years and rose to General Manager, overseeing portfolios in corporate, commercial, and public sectors. He served as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Polaris Bank from 2020 to 2022, during which he launched VULTe, the bank's digital banking platform, earning several industry awards including the BusinessDay BAFI Digital Bank of the Year Award and the Nigerian Fintech Digital Bank of the Year Award in 2021 and 2022, respectively. As Executive Director in charge of Technology and Services, he led a comprehensive overhaul of Polaris technology infrastructure and enhanced service delivery across the bank.
Previously, he held the position of Executive Director at Skye Bank Plo and Keystone Bank Limited. His earlier career at Guaranty Trust Bank and Deloitte helped him build strong foundations in audit, treasury, technology, operations, and business development.
Mr. Ike holds an Executive Certificate in Strategy & Innovation from MIT Sloan School of Management and a Certificate in Private Equity from Oxford University's Said Business School. He has completed advanced leadership programmes at Harvard Business School, Wharton, and IMD Switzerland. He has served on the boards of Skye Bank Gambia Limited, MainOne Cable Company, Unified Payments Systems Limited, and Pay Attitude Global Limited.
Passionate about mentoring and community development, Mr. Ike continues to champion leadership excellence and sustainable growth across the financial services industry.
