Adedapo Adedayo Olagunju, an Oxford-trained banker who has led JPMorgan’s West African operations since 2018, is set to head the American financial institution’s proposed merchant bank in Nigeria, following the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) approval of his nomination as Managing Director.
The CBN disclosed its approval of Olagunju’s nomination in a statement issued on Friday, October 23, 2026, alongside its decision to grant JPMorgan approval-in-principle to establish JPMorgan Merchant Bank Nigeria Limited.
The proposed bank is yet to receive a final operating licence.
Alongside Olagunju, the CBN also approved Latter Kevin George, Nzelu Chinedum Izunwanne and Syed Gabriel Murtaza as Non-Executive Directors, while Alade Sarah Omotunde, Ajayi Olukonyinsola and Adetu Seni were appointed Independent Non-Executive Directors.
For Olagunju, the appointment marks another milestone in a career that began in Nigeria’s investment banking industry. But long before managing financial markets and institutional relationships, his ambition was to explore space.
From dreaming of becoming an astronaut to building a banking career
Growing up, Olagunju was fascinated by space travel and dreamed of becoming an astronaut, an ambition that initially shaped his decision to study science in secondary school.
However, that ambition took a different direction when he began exploring university admission opportunities in Nigeria.
In a May 2019 interview, Olagunju recalled discovering that the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) brochure did not offer a course related to aeronautical engineering, limiting his options for pursuing his childhood dream.
- His parents also placed considerable emphasis on academic achievement, prompting him to sit for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination’s predecessor, the JAMB entrance examination, before completing secondary school.
Having already passed the private Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE), he secured admission to university before sitting for his West African Examinations Council (WAEC) examinations.
Although his ambition to become an astronaut did not materialise, his academic journey eventually led him into finance, a field in which he would build his professional career.
- He graduated from Ogun State University, now Olabisi Onabanjo University, in 1998 with a bachelor’s degree in Banking and Finance.
- A year later, in 1999, he qualified as a chartered accountant, adding a professional accounting qualification to his university education.
However, his decision to pursue accounting was partly influenced by the instability that characterised Nigeria’s university system in the 1990s.
At the time, frequent industrial actions by university lecturers and student demonstrations often disrupted academic activities, leaving students out of school for extended periods.
Rather than allow one of those prolonged breaks to interrupt his academic progress, Olagunju began preparing for examinations organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN).
The decision proved significant, as he completed the professional qualification shortly after graduating and subsequently secured an opportunity in investment banking.
- His pursuit of further education continued beyond Nigeria. In 2005, he attended the University of Oxford for a Master of Business Administration (MBA), before completing Harvard Business School’s General Management Programme in 2014.
He is also a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and an Honorary Senior Member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria.
From IBTC to JPMorgan, a career spanning over two decades
Olagunju’s professional banking career began at Investment Banking & Trust Company (IBTC), an institution that later became part of Stanbic IBTC, where he served as Chief Dealer between January 2000 and March 2003.
- His entry into IBTC came at a period when Nigeria was undergoing significant economic and political changes following its return to democratic governance in 1999.
- After spending just over three years at IBTC, he moved to Access Bank in 2003 as Treasurer, a position he held until September 2005.
His responsibilities in treasury management gave him further exposure to banking liquidity, financial markets and the management of financial assets and liabilities.
Following his initial period at Access Bank, Olagunju briefly worked as a consultant with the United Nations between May and July 2006, contributing to the organisation’s peacekeeping financing operations in New York.
- He subsequently returned to Access Bank in September 2006, beginning an 11-year period as Group Treasurer that lasted until January 2018.
- During this period, he became responsible for key aspects of the bank’s treasury operations, including balance sheet management and activities involving fixed-income securities and foreign exchange markets.
His responsibilities expanded further in January 2017 when he became Head of Global Markets, overseeing a business group that combined Treasury, Financial Institutions, and Project and Structured Finance.
The position brought together several areas of corporate and institutional banking, from managing relationships with other financial institutions to providing structured financing and advisory services to clients.
After nearly 15 years of association with Access Bank, Olagunju made another career move in January 2018, joining JPMorgan as Managing Director responsible for its West African business.
- The appointment placed him at the helm of the American financial institution’s activities across the region, where he has spent the past eight years overseeing its engagement with financial institutions, corporate clients and other market participants.
His leadership has coincided with JPMorgan’s efforts to deepen its African presence, including its plans to establish a fully licensed merchant banking operation in Nigeria.
- On October 8, 2026, Olagunju disclosed those plans during the Nigeria–Asia Financial Connectivity Dialogue in Singapore, an event involving the CBN, JPMorgan, Nigerian Exchange Group and FMDQ Group.
The proposed merchant bank would expand JPMorgan’s existing Nigerian presence beyond its representative office in Lagos, allowing it to pursue a wider range of regulated banking activities once it secures a final licence.
With the CBN now approving his appointment as Managing Director of the proposed subsidiary, Olagunju is positioned to lead the next phase of JPMorgan’s expansion in Nigeria, more than 26 years after beginning his professional journey at IBTC.