Ken Ofori-Atta�s Partner Keli Gadzekpo Resigns As Databank CEO

Databank has announced that group Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Keli Gadzekpo, will leave his current role at the end of May, to take up the role of CEO at Enterprise Group. At a press conference to announce the decision on Thursday, March 20, 2014, Group Chairman Ken Ofori-Atta announced the bow out. 43-year-old Kojo Addae-Mensah, currently the Chief Operating Officer of Ghana Commercial Bank has been appointed as Databank�s new CEO in a process led by Databank Chairman, Ken Ofori-Atta. According to him, the new direction at the helm of affairs will ensure that the group competes favourably with its increasing number of competitors in the Financial Services Sector Market. �Kojo is home-grown Ghanaian leadership talent with an unmatched professional pedigree and more significantly he shares our leadership values. He can operate in a multi-national context but his feet are firmly planted in our culture. Although just 43, he already has invaluable experience of working as Chief Operating Officer at one of the country�s largest banks, with one of the widest retail networks. Kojo represents a belief in the capacity of the new generation of Ghanaians to surpass our legacy and a bold step to reinvigorate the future. We see great potential in terms of what he can do to create immense value for our clients and stakeholders,� Ken Ofori-Atta said in a press release. Kojo Addae-Mensah has a broad base of experience in the financial services sector. He started working at Databank where his first job was in the corporate finance team. This proved to be the foundation of his banking career before leaving to take up roles at Standard Chartered, Barclays and most recently at Ghana Commercial Bank. In the last four years, Kojo has also served on the Board of Databank�s Balanced Fund so although an external appointment, he is a member of the extended Databank leadership team. Commenting on the new appointment, Keli Gadzekpo said, �In Kojo Addae-Mensah we have found all of the characteristics that we identified in our CEO succession planning to ensure Databank has the right leadership as it moves into a new phase; he has the values, vision, energy and the intellect to maintain our number one position as the leading asset management firm in Ghana. His deep sector experience will help steer Databank through Ghana�s dynamic and increasing competitive financial services market�. Keli Gadzekpo will take up his new CEO role at a financial services company, Enterprise Group on June 1st 2014. He has been a serving Board member at Enterprise Group for 16 years and chairman of the Board of Enterprise Properties and Enterprise Insurance. To him this new role is an opportunity for him to shift emphasis from stewardship and overseeing governance as a Director to leading the company at an exciting time in its 90 year history. Databank manages over 60% of assets in the Ghanaian mutual fund and unit trust market. Keli Gadzekpo took over as CEO of the company in 2012 when Ken Ofori-Atta resigned due to health related issues. Both Keli Gadzekpo and Ken Ofori-Atta will remain on the Board of Databank, the company they co-founded in 1990. Ken Ofori-Atta in his current role as Chairman and Keli Gadzekpo as a Non-Executive Director.