Standard Chartered has appointed Dalu Ajene as the Chief Executive Officer of the Bank’s operations in Africa with dual responsibilities as the Head of Coverage for Africa.

Prior to this, Dalu was the CEO of Standard Chartered Nigeria; a role he assumed in April 2024. 

Under his leadership, he is credited with leading the Bank to achieve strong year on year financial performance including meeting the Central Bank of Nigeria's (CBN) recapitalisation requirement of ₦200 billion for national commercial banks ahead of the March 2026 deadline. 

Before joining Standard Chartered, he was the CEO of Rand Merchant Bank Nigeria.

The appointment of Dalu, who has over 25 years’ experience in the global financial services sector, is testament to the Bank’s established culture of promoting excellence and assurance of its esteemed stakeholders in the Nigerian financial industry.

Speaking on his appointment, Dalu said: “Having had the privilege of leading Standard Chartered Nigeria over the past two years, I am deeply honoured to now take on broader responsibilities across Africa. This transition reflects the strength of our franchise, the resilience of our teams, and the impact we have delivered in a period of significant change and development. Across the region, Standard Chartered remains a key partner in trade finance, structured solutions, and development finance, leveraging technology to deliver client-centric services anchored on trust."

"I look forward to working closely with our experienced teams across Africa to accelerate growth across our Corporate & Investment Banking and Wealth & Retail businesses, mobilise catalytic capital, and create sustainable value for our clients, stakeholders, and the communities we serve.”

Dalu holds a Bachelors’ Degree in Economics from Dartmouth college and an MBA from Harvard Business School and is reputed as a leader passionate about driving a culture of high-performance centered around people empowerment to deliver best in class service to clients and robust financial outcomes for stakeholders.

Dalu takes over from Kariuki Ngari who served as CEO, Africa and Sarmad Lone’s Africa Coverage portfolio.