When Herbert Wigwe, the founder and CEO of Access Holdings, died in a helicopter crash in California in February 2024, the institution he built faced its most dangerous moment. The person asked to hold it together was Bolaji Agbede.
Agbede had joined Access Bank in 2003, climbed steadily through the ranks, led human resources from 2010 to 2022, and became the founding Executive Director for Business Support.
As Acting Group CEO, she steered one of Africa’s largest banking groups through grief, market anxiety, and institutional uncertainty. The board later commended her for stabilising the organisation during that volatile stretch. She held the role until Innocent Ike was confirmed as substantive GMD and CEO in August 2025.
On June 30, 2026, after 21 years with the group, she retired from the board.
The question her exit has quietly provoked is worth sitting with.
