Urum Kalu Eke biography

Urum Kalu Eke, MFR, famously known as “UK”, is the former Group Managing Director of First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Holdings, having served until December 2021.

He recently declined an appointment by President Bola Tinubu as one of  the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Board of Directors.

He is a recipient of the Nigerian National Order of Merit (NNOM), Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR) and also a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria.

He is currently the Executive Chairman of Fairchild Group. He previously served as a executive director with First Bank of Nigeria Limited.

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Name: Urum Kalu Eke, MFR

Born: 20th November, 1964

Place of birth: Lagos State, Nigeria

Tribe: Igbo

Education: University of Lagos

Marital status: Married

Background

Urum Kalu Eke was born in Lagos State on 20th November, 1964 but hails from the Igbo tribe in Nigeria. He is the third of his parents’ children and first male child.

He attended Comprehensive Secondary School, Aba and Government College, Umuahia for his West African School Certificate (WASC) and Higher School Certificate (HSC) respectively.

He later obtained a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Lagos in 1985, before completing an MBA in projects management technology from Federal University of Technology, Owerri in 2008.

His father was a Scotland-trained nurse, who escaped to Lagos with his family before the Nigeria civil war.

Career

Urom Eke began working in 1986 with Deloitte Haskins & Sells International, a firm of chartered accountants.

He later moved on to Diamond Bank and handled some top managerial positions such as branch manager, regional manager, divisional head and executive director.

He left Diamond Bank in April 2011 and joined FirstBank as executive director, Public Sector (South), in May 2011, he was responsible for all state and federal government relationships and also the tertiary and health institutions in the south of Nigeria. He was subsequently appointed FirstBank’s Chief Knowledge Officer in 2013.

On December 31, 2021, he retired as group managing director, FBN Holdings Plc. He is currently the Executive Chairman of Fairchild Group, a non-operating holding company.

In February 2024, Kalu Urum was listed alongside four others to be appointed as members of Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance, and Other Financial Institutions’ vetting process but Kalu Urum declined from this appointment due to personal reasons.

Personal life

Urum Kalu is a Christian and is married to Dr. Uganze Eke, a pharmacist, their union is blessed with four lovely daughters.

He is a Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary International. He established the Elder (Chief) K.U. Eke Memorial Foundation, through which he sponsors students, empowers women and organizes skill acquisition programmes for young people.

Net Worth

He has an estimated net worth of over $3 million.