Mr. Felix Awuku
Ag. CEO/Executive Director, Operations.

Felix Awuku has direct responsibility over operations at the Bank, including e-operations, core banking operations, card operations, 3rd party/outsourced integrations and Service Level Agreements (SLAs).

Felix Awuku has direct responsibility over operations at the Bank, including e-operations, core banking operations, card operations, 3rd party/outsourced integrations and Service Level Agreements (SLAs).
He is focused on cost optimization and operational excellence, adapting digital and straight-through processes to achieve exponential impact. He also ensures that the Bank’s work environment is adequate and safe; ensuring that the physical infrastructure is fit -for -purpose. Felix has over 15 years of banking experience in progressively senior management and executive positions.
In this role Felix has led the process of automating key processes in the Bank, including account opening and SWIFT operations. Felix has overseen the process of developing EZUPDATE, an online solution allowing customer to link their Ghana cards to their accounts online.
Before joining UMB, Felix had over a decade of banking experience in senior management roles from Barclays Bank Ghana Limited where he was the Head of Commercial Operations. In this role he acquired extensive knowledge and experience in the design and implementation of Operations Processes & Controls, as well as driving operational excellence in supporting the business.
Prior to this, he served Barclays Bank in various capacities including Head of Scheme Loan Collections in the Zambian operation, amongst other roles.
Felix is currently an adjunct lecturer at the National Banking College in the area of Operational Risk Management.

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Belinda Boamah
Executive Director, Strategy & Growth

Belinda Boamah is an Economist, a Banker and a Management Expert, with proven trackrecord spanning 25 years. Over the years, she has been able to put in place institutional structures to drive corporate goals and helped secure ambitious growth targets by leveraging on technology and digital solutions.

Belinda Boamah is an Economist, a Banker and a Management Expert, with proven trackrecord spanning 25 years. Over the years, she has been able to put in place institutional structures to drive corporate goals and helped secure ambitious growth targets by leveraging on technology and digital solutions. Belinda currently has executive responsibility for driving the Bank’s medium-term Strategy & Growth agenda, dubbed the OGYA! Strategy. In addition, she steers UMB’s strategic and long-range goal- planning functions, leading towards a sustainable and profitable path to the future. Prior to her current role, she served as Director for Virtual & Transaction Banking at the Bank. Belinda has held various senior management positions in Banking Operations, Risk Management Control, Transactional, Electronic and Digital Banking.
Key initiatives that have been delivered under her supervision include the reinvigoration of the Bank’s digital channels and processes, achieving significant milestones towards the Banks paperless, remote-enabled, customer life -cycle experience. As the most senior female executive in the Bank, Belinda is the embodiment of UMB’s aggressive diversity and inclusive agenda. She has been instrumental, with other female leaders in rejuvenating the UMB Ladies Association, with a focus on grooming the next cohort of leaders in the Bank.
Belinda holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration (MIS) from the University of Ghana and the Vrije Universiteit Brussels, Belgium. She is also a graduate from the University of Ghana with a degree in Economics.

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Victor Kwaku Dikro
General Manager, Finance

Victor has overall responsibility for the Finance and Accounting function at the Bank . In this role Victor oversees inter alia financial control, preparation reports, cost optimization measures and general ledger management. He has led the process of financial structuring to align with the Bank’s medium-term strategy, including embedding an ROI regime for all revenue stimulation activity.

Victor has overall responsibility for the Finance and Accounting function at the Bank. In this role Victor oversees inter alia financial control, preparation reports, cost optimization measures and general ledger management. He has led the process of financial structuring to align with the Bank’s medium-term strategy, including embedding an ROI regime for all revenue stimulation activity.Victor is a noted accounting leader in the industry, reputed to have a keen eye for detail and leveraging the F&A function to provide insight required to deliver sound strategy. To this end Victor is a critical champion of the Bank’s medium-term strategy. He particularly focused on the strategic pillar 3 which states “Build a Strong Resilient Balance Sheet and Efficient Cost Profile”, and is known to be aggressive towards the kpi of growing the Bank to tier-2 status in the medium term. In line with this, Victor was a key EXCO sponsor for the promotional activity that helped propel growth of the Banks deposit line in excess of GHS3.5billion in 2022.
Victor joined UMB (then Merchant Bank Limited) in October 2007, as an Analyst responsible for startup companies and restructuring of viable but financially-distressed companies. He rotated in 2009 into the Finance Department, as a General Ledger Monitoring Officer. He progressed into other critical roles in the Finance team including Head, Management Accounts, Head Regulatory Reporting , Deputy Head, Strategy and Financial Controller.
Prior to joining UMB, Victor worked with the Amalgamated Bank Limited (Bank of Africa) as an Internal Control Officer responsible for Special Audits and Investigations and with Sammy Tsahey and Associates (Chartered Accountants and Tax Consultants) as an Audit Manager.
Victor holds an MPhil (Accounting) and a B.Sc. Admin (Accounting), from the University of Ghana, Legon and the Ghana Securities Industries Certificate from the Ghana Stock Exchange. He is also a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. (FCCA) and a member of the Institute of chartered Accountants, Ghana (ICAG)

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Mrs. Brenda Semevo Afari
Board Secretary

Mrs. Brenda Semevo Afari was appointed as Company Secretary of Universal Merchant Bank Ltd (UMB) in April 2015. In 2021 she was elevated to serve UMB as General Counsel, a position she currently holds.

Mrs. Brenda Semevo Afari was appointed as Company Secretary of Universal Merchant Bank Ltd (UMB) in April 2015. In 2021 she was elevated to serve UMB as General Counsel, a position she currently holds.
Mrs. Afari has about 15 years of knowledge and work experience in the Ghanaian financial services sector working with UMB and its subsidiaries / affiliates (7years), Standard Chartered Bank Ghana Limited (4 years) and Awoonor Law Consultancy (3 years) a reputable firm of Corporate and In the 7 years preceding Mrs. Afari’s appointment to UMB, she served as Chief Legal Affairs and Corporate Governance Officer at the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), a technical arm of the African Union Commission (AUC) responsible for implementing Pillar IV of the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Program (CAADP Pillar IV). At FARA she supported institutions in obtaining and administering multi-donor funded trust funds, loans and grants and from financial institutions and international development organizations including the World Bank and European Union Commission.
Mrs. Afari is a Legal Practitioner with 23 years’ post call experience and a Corporate Governance professional. Her focus areas of law include business/commercial, investment and corporate law, legal aspects of banking and finance and international non-profit organizations. She has facilitated the efficient running of Boards across various jurisdictions. Her work has taken her to the USA and over 15 other countries in Africa and Europe.
She holds an LLM in Banking and Finance from the London School of Economics and Political Science, an LLB from the University of Ghana and GCE ‘O’ and ‘A’ Levels from Achimota School.
She is a British Chevening Scholar.

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Solomon Dawson
Head, Compliance & AMLRO

Solomon Dawson is an accomplished professional with extensive experience in compliance and risk management within the banking industry. Currently serving as the Head of Compliance and Anti-Money Laundering Reporting Officer (AMLRO) at Universal Merchant Bank, Solomon has demonstrated expertise in regulatory compliance, corporate governance, financial crime prevention, and strategic compliance management.

Solomon Dawson is an accomplished professional with extensive experience in compliance and risk management within the banking industry. Currently serving as the Head of Compliance and Anti-Money Laundering Reporting Officer (AMLRO) at Universal Merchant Bank, Solomon has demonstrated expertise in regulatory compliance, corporate governance, financial crime prevention, and strategic compliance management. With over a decade of experience in leading compliance departments for various local and international banks in Ghana, Solomon has a proven track record of successfully establishing and developing compliance frameworks from scratch. He has also worked as a consultant with Price Waterhouse Coopers, overseeing the winding down of a bank’s compliance department.
Solomon’s achievements include implementing effective risk assessment matrices, integrating data privacy impact assessments into compliance operations, and developing frameworks for incorporating environmental, social, and governance risks into credit underwriting. He has also played a key role in enhancing fraud prevention systems, implementing sanction screening processes, and developing policies and guidelines for regulatory compliance.
As an active member of professional bodies such as the Association of Certified AntiMoney Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) and the Association of Certified Compliance Professionals in Africa (ACCPA), Solomon is dedicated to promoting best practices and providing training on anti-money laundering, terrorist financing, and risk management.
Solomon holds an MBA in Finance from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration and has completed various certifications related to compliance, risk management, fraud examination, and data protection. He is an effective communicator and has a passion for coaching and mentoring compliance professionals.

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Samuel Hymore Boahene
Chief Internal Auditor

Prior to his appointment as the Acting Chief Internal Auditor, Samuel Hymore Boahene was the manager in charge of Internal Control and Monitoring department of UMB. He played pivotal role in setting up Internal Control and Monitoring department in October 2014.

Prior to his appointment as the Acting Chief Internal Auditor, Samuel Hymore Boahene was the manager in charge of Internal Control and Monitoring department of UMB. He played pivotal role in setting up Internal Control and Monitoring department in October 2014. Previously, he worked with erstwhile Metropolitan & Allied Bank/BPI, International Commercial Bank (FBN), and also Access Bank Ghana.
He is a Chartered Accountant, a Chartered Banker and an alumni of the University of Cape Coast and Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) where he obtained his Bachelor of Commerce degree and Master of Business Administration degree in Finance, respectively
He is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana and Chartered Institute of Bankers, Ghana and also a registered member of the Institute of Internal Auditors.

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Ivy Therese Buagbe
General Manager, Credit

Ivy Therese Buagbe currently serves as is the General Manager for Credit at the Universal Merchant Bank (UMB), charged with strategically managing the entire credit process of the bank. In her role, she has successfully initiated and implemented many impactful processes and programmes purposely to reengineer the credit space in achieving positive results and enhanced productivity in line with the Bank’s overall strategic objectives.

Ivy Therese Buagbe currently serves as is the General Manager for Credit at the Universal Merchant Bank (UMB), charged with strategically managing the entire credit process of the bank. In her role, she has successfully initiated and implemented many impactful processes and programmes purposely to reengineer the credit space in achieving positive results and enhanced productivity in line with the Bank’s overall strategic objectives. Ivy has over 23 years of considerable expertise in Credit Management within the financial sector, where she has been instrumental in driving organizational goals and strategies to reflect the institutions cultural change and bottom line figures.
Ivy is an Associate in Risk Management (ARM) and before taking up the leadership role at UMB, she had held many leadership positions including Head of Credit Risk Prevention, at Bank of Africa, Ghana. Her passion for creating a legacy impacted positively in how she purposely nurtured and grew the function and mandate of this newly created role within the industry until it became a strong standing support for the institution’s profitability.
While working for various organisations in Ghana, Ivy has demonstrated resourceful and leadership qualities in different capacities within the financial sector such as Business Relationship Management, Asset Management, Credit and Enterprise Risk Management. Credit, Enterprise Risk, where she has a proven track record of helping these organisation consolidate their gains
Ivy is a proud alumnus of the University of Cape Coast, where she first graduated with a Diploma in Education and later a Bachelor Science (BSc.) Degree in Mathematics. She also holds a and Executive MBA in Finance from the University of Leicester, UK as well as a qualification in Enterprise Risk Management.

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Rexford A. Darko
Chief Information Officer

Rexford A. Darko is an Electrical Engineer and an IT Professional, with proven track-record in planning and delivery of Banking Technology spanning over 26years. He is responsible for providing strategic direction for IT services delivery in alignment with business strategy. He has been able to put in place the required structures to drive systems stability, efficient service delivery and service availability whiles reducing cost of IT Operations.

Rexford A. Darko is an Electrical Engineer and an IT Professional, with proven track-record in planning and delivery of Banking Technology spanning over 26years. He is responsible for providing strategic direction for IT services delivery in alignment with business strategy. He has been able to put in place the required structures to drive systems stability, efficient service delivery and service availability whiles reducing cost of IT Operations. Prior to joining the Bank in August 2021, Rexford worked as the Regional CIO for the Anglophone West Africa Region of Ecobank for almost 10years with responsibilities for Ghana, Liberia, Gambia, Sierra Leone and Guinea Conakry.
Key initiatives that have been delivered under his supervision include the replacement of critical Data Center equipment (servers, storage devices, Routers and Firewalls); the setting up of a 24/7 monitoring of IT equipment and services; the setting up of IT operational and governance structures such as IT Service Management unit; Information Technology Steering Committee (ITSC); Change Advisory Board (CAB) and certification of the Bank for ISO/IEC 27001:2022. This has culminated in a well-structured IT organization delivering a streamlined technology solutions and system changes in a secured manner as well as rapidly responding to service issues.
Rexford holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration (Finance) from the Manchester Business School, University of Manchester – UK. He is also a graduate of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) with a B.Sc. (Hons) in Electrical/ Electronic Engineering.

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