Patrick Akinwuntan
Brief info
Patrick Akinwuntan is an adjunct faculty member at Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University (LBS), and the Academic Director of the Global CEO Africa Programme. He is a Chartered Accountant, pan-African banker, fintech leader, and boardroom executive whose distinguished career spans banking, financial services, technology, innovation, and corporate governance across Africa. Through his teaching and executive engagement, he brings decades of leadership experience to the development of senior executives and business leaders navigating growth, innovation, and transformation in African and global markets.
He holds an MBA from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN). He is also an alumnus of the Harvard Business School Senior Executive Program, an Honorary Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), a member of the Chartered Institute of Directors (CIoD), and an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN).
Patrick is the immediate past Managing Director and Regional Executive of Ecobank Nigeria, having retired in 2022 after a distinguished 26-year pan-African banking career within the Ecobank Group. During that period, he held a succession of senior leadership roles across the continent, including Group Chief Financial Officer; Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of eProcess International, the technology subsidiary of the Ecobank Group; Group Executive Director, Operations, Technology, Transaction and Retail Bank; Group Executive Director, Domestic Bank; and Group Executive, Consumer Bank. Prior to joining Ecobank, he began his professional career with EY International and subsequently worked as an investment banker at Manufacturers Merchant Bank, now Fidelity Bank.
Widely recognised for his passion for innovation, entrepreneurship, financial inclusion, and the transformation of financial services, Patrick has been at the forefront of some of Africa's most significant banking and payments innovations. He led the launch of the first international credit card in West Africa, a pan-African electronic payments switch, a unified pan-African banking application, and instant funds transfer capabilities across 33 African countries in 18 currencies. His contributions have helped shape the evolution of digital banking and cross-border financial services across the continent.
Patrick brings extensive boardroom and governance experience across banking, financial markets, telecommunications, technology, and development finance. He has served as a Non-Executive Director of the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), FMDQ Securities Exchange, and First Securities Discount House (FSDH), and was the inaugural Chairman of Accion Microfinance Bank Limited. He is also a member of the Governing Council of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria and currently serves as an Independent Non-Executive Director on the boards of Airtel Nigeria, MudoZangl Nigeria Limited, and Opolo Global Innovation Limited.
His contributions to the banking industry have earned significant recognition, including being named Best Retail Banker in Africa by The Asian Banker in 2016. He is Co-Chair of the Advisory Board of Retail Banking Councils for Africa and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Fintech Association of Nigeria, reflecting his continued commitment to advancing banking innovation, financial inclusion, and digital transformation across Africa.
In addition to his role at Lagos Business School, Patrick is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of PAA Crown Limited, where he focuses on leadership development, business transformation, innovation, and strategic advisory. Across his teaching, board service, executive leadership, and industry advocacy, he remains committed to developing the next generation of African leaders and institutions capable of driving sustainable growth, innovation, and economic transformation across the continent.
