GAT takes shape, appoints management team

The Board of the Ghana Amalgamated Trust (GAT) has announced the appointment of Mr Albert Essien and Mr Eric Nana Otoo as Board Chairman and Managing Director (MD) of the Trust respectively.

The other Board members are Ms Susan Ohene, Mr Sampson Akligoh and Ms Abenaa Kessewaa Brown.

Mr Essien who is a seasoned banker with about 30 years of experience in banking served as the Group Chief Executive Officer of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) from March 12, 2014 to June 30, 2015 during which he led major business transformation programmes.

He served as Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated from January 1, 2012 to March 12, 2014. He started his career in 1986 at the National Investment Bank (NIB) before joining Ecobank Ghana in 1990. At Ecobank, Mr Essien served in various roles including Corporate Banking and Risk Management before becoming Deputy Managing Director in 2001 and Managing Director from 2002.

Mr Essien is an honorary fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, Ghana, and holds a B.A. (Honors) in Economics from the University of Ghana. He is an alumnus of the Executive Development Programme of the prestigious INSEAD (France/Singapore) and a World Fellow of the Duke of Edinburgh Award. Mr. Essien serves as an Independent Non-Executive Director at Old Mutual Ltd., South Africa.

Mr Otoo, on his part, has about 15 years of experience investment banking, consulting and private equity, having worked with Goldman Sachs, Mckinsey and Duet, among others. His experience in Finance was honed at Goldman Sachs & Co.’s New York City office from 2007, where his responsibilities included coordinating and managing origination, valuation, acquisition and due diligence for investment transactions.

In 2006 and later between 2010 and 2013, he worked as a strategy consultant at McKinsey’s New York City office, where he worked with senior executives and boards across different industries on various strategic, finance and operational issues. His work involved transformation programs at some of the major US banks and the broader financial services sector. He was recently a Director at Duet Private Equity where he managed companies in the firm’s investment portfolio with additional duties including finding new investment opportunities. He worked closely with senior management of the portfolio companies to develop and implement strategies and improve business performance.

Mr. Otoo received his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Harvard Business School with second year honors as a Jack Kent Cooke Scholar. He also has certifications as a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), a Certified Management Accountant (CMA), and a Certified Financial Manager (CFM). Mr. Otoo attended Grinnell College in the US, for his undergraduate studies where he received majors in Economics and Computer Science with Phi Beta Kappa honors.

Building on the track record of the five indigenous banks, Messrs. Essien and Otoo will work with the Board and build a team to lead the transformation process at the selected banks