Cyril Akporuere Odu

Cyril Akporuere Odu joined the Board of Directors of Union Bank in 2012 and was appointed Chairman of the Board of the bank in November 2015.
Prior to his appointment as Chairman, Mr. Odu was the Chairman of the Bank’s Risk Management Committee and served as a member of the Finance and General Purpose and Credit Committees.
Cyril Akporuere Odu has nearly 45 years of professional, managerial and director level experience. His 40-year distinguished career at ExxonMobil saw him rise from Trainee to Vice Chairman of the Board of Mobil Producing Nigeria and Chief Financial Officer of ExxonMobil Upstream Companies in Nigeria, making him the highest ranking Nigerian in the organisation until his retirement in 2012.
During the span of his career at ExxonMobil he served in many technical and managerial functions including Associate Geologist, Treasurer, Controller, Project Finance Director (Europe, Middle East and Africa), Country HR Manager and General Manager, Planning and New Business Development.
He was actively involved in developing and executing ExxonMobil business strategies in Nigeria, as well as in the implementation of several innovative funding and financing solutions, including the first upstream financing deal (the 1991 Oso Condensate field development) in Nigerian history.
In 2008, he served on a presidential committee tasked with accelerating the expansion of Nigeria’s power infrastructure. After his retirement from Exxon Mobil in 2012, Mr. Odu joined African Capital Alliance and is currently Chief Executive of the firm.
Mr. Odu holds a Bachelor’s degree in Geology from the University of Ibadan, where he graduated with honours. He also has an MBA from Texas Southern University in Houston, Texas.