Herbert Wigwe, the Group Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings Plc, has tragically passed away following a helicopter crashnear the California-Nevada border.
The CEO of one of Nigeria’s largest banks, along with his wife and son, was among six people killed Friday night when a helicopter they were riding in crashed near Baker in San Bernardino County. Herbert Wigwe, CEO of Access Bank, and five others were on board when the helicopter crashed shortly after 10 p.m.
The Federal Aviation Administration has confirmed that the Eurocopter EC130 helicopter went down around 10 p.m. local time near Nipton, Calif., an unincorporated community approximately 60 miles south of Las Vegas in eastern San Bernardino County.
As reported by the New York Times, authorities have not found any survivors as of Saturday morning, with the US government confirming all onboard fatalities.
Profile of Herbert Wigwe
Wigwe began his professional journey at Coopers & Lybrand Associates, an international firm of Chartered Accountants. He dedicated over a decade at Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, managing various portfolios, including financial institutions, large corporates, and multinationals.
In March 2002, he departed Guaranty Trust Bank as an Executive Director to spearhead the transformation of Access Bank Plc as Deputy Managing Director. He assumed the role of Group Managing Director/CEO on January 1, 2014, serving until May 2022, after which he became a Non-Executive Director of the Bank.
Wigwe, an alumnus of the Harvard Business School Executive Management Programme, 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) and held positions such as Chairman of The Access Bank (UK) Ltd, 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. Additionally, he served on the Governing Council of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria.
