Idowu Thompson was appointed Group Executive, Private Banking and Wealth Management in February 2023. Prior to his appointment, he was the Group Head, Private Banking, a position he held since 2015 when he joined FirstBank.
He brings to the Executive Management of FirstBank over 20 years’ extensive international and local banking experience with cross-functional exposure spanning Private Banking, Wealth Management, Investment Advisory and Strategy, Treasury and Financial Institutions, Capital Markets and Consumer Banking.
In his former role as the Group Head, Private Banking, Idowu led the strategic conception and execution of the Private Wealth Client’s value proposition, growing the business exponentially across several indices including assets under management, deposits, and risk assets. The FirstBank Private Banking Group under his leadership was awarded the Global Finance and World Finance Best Private Bank in Nigeria awards for three consecutive years.
Prior to joining FirstBank, Idowu was the Africa Cluster Head, Investment Advisory and Strategy and a member of the Wealth Management Leadership Team at Standard Chartered Bank. In the role he had oversight for the Africa Investment Advisory team and successfully executed growth initiatives for the cluster business covering several African countries including Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, and Nigeria working closely with the country CEO’s and Retail Banking Heads. Prior to rejoining Standard Chartered Bank, he held several senior roles in Ecobank Nigeria Plc as the Head, Affluent Segment Business, Standard Chartered Bank as Cluster Head West Africa Priority Banking, and other roles with the Personal and Commercial Clients Group of BMO Bank of Montreal. In these roles he managed and grew multi-billion-naira client investment portfolios, implemented customized affluent and wealth management solutions for HNIs, built referral networks and collaborated with key stakeholders. Idowu was a four-time recipient of the BMO Bank of Montreal annual ‘Best of the Best’ awards which recognizes the bank’s highest performers who consistently demonstrate exemplary values.
Idowu holds a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Relations and Personnel Management from the University of Lagos and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Cardiff Business School, United Kingdom. He has attended several executive level management courses both locally and offshore including the Finance Programme for Senior Executives at the University of Oxford, the Financial Institutions for Private Enterprise Development at the Harvard Business School, as well as other courses in the United Kingdom, United States and Singapore. Idowu is a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investments, United Kingdom and recognized as one of the most experienced wealth management practitioners in the country.
Idowu’s passions include sports, writing and music.
