Sterling Bank

Abubakar Suleiman is an economist and banker currently serving as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Bank since April 2018. Suleiman has built a career spanning almost three decades in financial services, consulting, treasury, strategy, and leadership roles.

Suleiman earned his bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Abuja and a Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Major Programmes Management from the Said Business School, University of Oxford. He has also participated in diverse executive education programmes at globally recognized institutions such as INSEAD, Harvard, Wharton, and Saïd Business School.

His early professional work included tax advisory at Arthur Andersen (now part of KPMG), followed by a role at MBC International Bank (now part of First Bank), where he served as a management associate. He then moved to Citibank Nigeria, where he handled treasury, asset & liability management between 2000 and 2003.

In November 2003, Suleiman joined Sterling Bank (then known partly through its legacy entity, Trust Bank of Africa) with responsibilities for treasury and finance. After the merger that formed Sterling Bank in 2006, he was appointed Group Treasurer. Subsequently, in 2011, he became the Integration Director, overseeing the acquisition and integration of Equitorial Trust Bank (ETB) into Sterling Bank. Before he was appointed CEO, he was Executive Director, Finance & Strategy, a position he had held since about 2012, overseeing finance, performance management, strategy, and innovation among other functions.

Under his leadership, the bank has been repositioned with greater emphasis on strategy, risk management, innovation, and performance, seeking not just growth in traditional banking metrics but also impact.