Herbert Wigwe, the Group Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings Plc, is currently in the news following his tragic passing in a helicopter crash near the California-Nevada border.
Reports from The Will state that Wigwe, along with his wife, son, and three others, were aboard the helicopter at the time of the accident on Friday night.
The Federal Aviation Administration has verified that the Eurocopter EC130 helicopter crashed around 10 p.m. local time near Nipton, Calif., an unincorporated community approximately 60 miles south of Las Vegas in eastern San Bernardino County.
According to updates from the New York Times, as of Saturday morning, authorities have not located any survivors. Sources have indicated that the US government has confirmed all individuals on board to be deceased.
Prior to his unfortunate demise, Mr Herbert, aged 57, contributed meaningfully to the world’s financial sector.
Profile of Herbert Wigwe
Mr. Wigwe started his professional career with Coopers & Lybrand Associates, an international firm of Chartered Accountants. He spent over 10 years at Guaranty Trust Bank Plc where he managed several portfolios, including financial institutions, large corporates and multinationals.
He left Guaranty Trust Bank as an Executive Director to co-lead the transformation of Access Bank Plc in March 2002 as Deputy Managing Director. He was appointed Group Managing Director/CEO effective January 1, 2014 and served in that capacity till May 2022. He was subsequently appointed a Non-Executive Director of the Bank effective May 2022.
Mr Wigwe was an alumnus of the Harvard Business School Executive Management Programme. He held a master’s degree in Banking and International Finance from the University College of North Wales, a master’s degree in Financial Economics from the University of London and a B.Sc. degree in Accounting from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
He was also a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN). Mr Wigwe is the Chairman of The Access Bank (UK) Ltd and a Non-Executive Director of Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company Plc; FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange; Shared Agents Network Expansion Facilities Ltd and Agri-Business/ SME Enterprises Investment Scheme.
He was also a member of the Governing Council of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria.