Gbenga Francis Shobo aged 59, is the first Deputy Managing Director (DMD) of First Bank of Nigeria Limited. Popularly called Shobo or Pope Francis, he assumed office as the DMD in April 2016 after joining the Board of the Bank in 2012. Prior to his appointment as Deputy Managing Director, he was the Executive Director, Retail Banking/Public Sector businesses in the Lagos & West Directorate and was hitherto the Executive Director overseeing the Retail Business in the South Directorate.
Early Life – Gbenga Francis Shobo was born in Lagos to a chemical engineer father and a nurse mother. He is the last of the parent’s three children, his two older siblings are Tosin and Funmi. He is married to Vivien Shobo, the former CEO of Nigeria’s leading rating agency, Agusto & Co. They have two sons together.
Education – Francis Shobo attended St Gregory’s College, Lagos for his secondary school certificate. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Political Science from the University of Ife. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and an alumnus of Kellogg School of Management and Harvard Business School. He has also taken various courses and attended various programmes in top-rated business schools including The Wharton School (University of Pennsylvania) and Stanford University.
Career – Francis Shobo has over 30 years’ work experience from reputable organisations out of which he has garnered more than 26 years in Credit & Relationship Management; Products Development & Improvement; Treasury; Product Sales and Banking Operations, amongst others in the Banking Industry.
He began his professional career with Coopers & Lybrand Chartered Accountants as an External Auditor and Tax Consultant. Over the course of his outstanding career, he became the Divisional Head, Corporate Banking Division of MBC International Bank Limited and subsequently, the General Manager, Corporate/Commercial Banking of FBN (Merchant Bankers) Limited before joining FirstBank.
Gbenga joined FirstBank from FBN Merchant Bank Limited as group head, national corporates in 2006. He held different offices in the bank including senior management roles at various times as the General Manager Products & Channels Group; Business Development Manager in charge of Rivers & Bayelsa States; and also held the position of Group Head, National Corporates before becoming executive vice president, retail south in 2010.
Impassioned by the prospects for domestic small and medium sized businesses, in his role as executive director, Lagos & West, Gbenga was responsible for the public sector and retail banking businesses of FirstBank in the Lagos and West area.
On Monday 4 January 2016, Gbenga assumed office as Deputy Managing Director, First Bank of Nigeria Limited
Gbenga is the first person to be appointed to the position of Deputy Managing Director of FirstBank in the Bank’s over 120 years history, a testament to his total commitment and professionalism. He loves reading, playing golf and lawn tennis.
Ref: FirstBank, Wikipedia
