Standard Chartered just announced that Dalu Ajene is stepping up as CEO for their Africa operations.
This came out around January 15-16, 2026, and it feels like a natural progression he was already running things in Nigeria since April 2024.To be honest, it’s pretty impressive.
The guy has over 25 years in global finance, with solid creds: bachelor’s in Economics from Dartmouth, MBA from Harvard Business School.
Before StanChart, he was CEO at Rand Merchant Bank Nigeria. Under his watch in Nigeria, the bank posted strong year-on-year growth and nailed the Central Bank of Nigeria’s N200 billion recapitalisation requirement way ahead of the March 2026 deadline.
That’s not small stuff in this environment.Now he’s got the bigger role: CEO of Africa ops, plus dual duty as Head of Coverage for Africa. He’s taking over from Kariuki Ngari (previous Africa CEO) and Sarmad Lone (who handled the coverage side).
The focus seems to be on ramping up corporate & investment banking, wealth and retail, plus mobilising catalytic capital, trade finance, structured solutions all while leaning on tech for client services.
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He shared a statement that comes across as thoughtful:“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 and investment banking and wealth and retail businesses, mobilise catalytic capital, and create sustainable value for our clients, stakeholders and the communities we serve.”
The bank framed it as proof of their commitment to excellence and building trust in markets like Nigeria.
Dalu Ajene Appointed CEO of Standard Chartered AfricaStandard Chartered has named Dalu Ajene as Chief Executive Officer for its Africa operations, with dual responsibilities as Head of Coverage for Africa.
The announcement came this week (January 2026).Ajene, who brings over 25 years of global financial services experience, steps up from his role as CEO of Standard Chartered Nigeria (since April 2024).
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There, he drove strong financial performance and led the bank to meet the CBN’s N200bn recapitalisation requirement ahead of schedule.
A Dartmouth Economics grad with an MBA from Harvard, Ajene succeeds Kariuki Ngari and takes on Sarmad Lone’s coverage portfolio. His vision: accelerate growth in corporate/investment banking, wealth & retail, while mobilising capital and delivering tech-enabled, client-focused services across the continent.
In his words: “I am deeply honoured to take on broader responsibilities across Africa… I look forward to working closely with our teams to accelerate growth and create sustainable value for clients, stakeholders, and communities.”Congrats to him this feels like a big win for internal talent and Africa’s banking scene.
Image Credit: The Guardian
Source: The Guardian
