Global conglomerate bank, Citibank has appointed Lowani Chibesakunda as CEO and Managing Director for their Zambian operations. Lowani Chibesakunda is the first Zambian female CEO for Citibank Zambia and takes over the reins of the country’s fourth most profitable bank in 2019 from Ferdinand Zauma.
Lowani, a Zambian national and a devoted catholic, is a Herriot Watt alumni where she graduated with an MBA. Prior to that, she studied Financial Services at Bristol University in the UK. She is also a member of the chartered institute of Bankers.
She started her career at Citibank Zambia two decades ago and has had nothing short of an amazing journey that has taken her to Citi offices in South Africa, United Kingdom, and the world’s second-biggest economy, China.
The male-dominated banking industry is very selective of who rises to the very top and requires a tick in one major category; money-making prowess. Lowani has held various important portfolios in treasury, private banking and investment banking. Prior to her appointment as CEO, she was heading the corporate and investment banking division in the process making a tick of the ‘money spinner’ category. Simply put, Lowani is a natural rainmaker who knows the Citi model like the palm of her hands.
Her leadership abilities are echoed by her charges. “Extremely proud and confident in her ability to stir the ship“, said Musa Imakando who writes for this website and was once supervised and mentored by Lowani at the bank in the earlier part of her banking career. “Lolo is a disciplined, hardworking and empathetic leader and I am so glad she has broken a glass ceiling for the Zambian women in the Citi franchise“.
She inherits the second most efficient machine in the Zambian banking sector with cost to income ratio of 34% in 2019 and an average of 40% the past 5 years. The bank is also a consistent member of the coveted ‘big five’ a decade running. However, she takes over when the COVID-19 is having a massive hit on the economy world over and the Zambian banking industry has not been spared from the fallout. All eyes will therefore be on her with market players keen to know how she will navigate the tricky conundrum currently at play in the macro economy.
All in all, the Citi board will be confident with this shrewd appointment. In their view, the show will definitely go on; we couldn’t agree more with them.