Nigerian media have reported that Mr. Oscar Onyeama has been approved by the Council of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (www.nigerianstockexchange.com) to be Chief Executive Officer. Accenture Nigeria had guided the process to find a replacement for former Director General Dr Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke, who was dismissed on 4 Aug, 2010.
His name has been given to the Securities and Exchange Commission (www.sec.gov.ng), which is still conducting its own search.
Onyeama is the Nigerian-born chief administrative officer of the former American Stock Exchange (AMEX), which was bought in October 2008 by NYSE Euronext and became NYSE Amex Equities.
The Daily Champion paper (www.champion.com.ng) quotes “a source” that he was among 131 applicants, and that other top contenders included Yvonne Ike, a former JP Morgan staffer and Bola Onadele, head of Datanet Limited. The selection panel included a representative of South Africa’s JSE Ltd, Accenture, a council member of the NSE and Emmanuel Ikhazoboh, current Interim administrator of the Exchange.
Nominations are still to be passed on to the SEC for 3 other Executive Director posts at the NSE.
Leadership news (www.leadershipeditors.com) reported a statement from the NSE administrator, Emmanuel Ikazoboh: “The Council is currently awaiting approval of its choice in the SEC. Further, the Council has reached an advanced stage in the selection process for each of the 3 Executive Director positions. It is expected that this process will be completed in January 2011. The Exchange expects that the persons engaged for all four positions will assume duties no later than 1 April 2011.
“The position of The Exchange to get the approval of SEC is in accordance with previously agreed procedures, that the apex capital market regulator should give its approval to any candidates the Exchange intends to hire prior to their engagement by The NSE.
“The Exchange has adopted an entirely auditable, thorough, and transparent multi-stage process to ensure that the best talents are recruited for the four available top management positions. The positions are: Chief Executive Officer; Executive Directors for Listings; Strategy and Business Development, as well as Market Operations and Information Technology”.
Okereke-Onyiuke is still suing over her dismissal, according to the Daily Champion report, and a Senate Committee on Capital Market at the National Assembly recently called for her reinstatement.
The SEC reportedly says the NSE should be demutualised in future and is examining the best model for reform towards a more focused, transparent and efficient capital market.
According to the staff listings of the AMEX,: “Oscar Onyema (sic) is Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer of the American Stock Exchange. Mr. Onyema serves as a primary liaison among various Amex operating divisions, the trading floor community, and external constituents. In addition, he is responsible for strategy and competitive analysis, Membership and Registration Department and Market Data Services Department. Mr. Onyema has been instrumental in Amex’s preparation for Regulation NMS, and serves on several industry committees including CTA Operating Committee, NASDAQ UTP Plan Operating Committee, and SIFMA / FIF Regulation NMS working group.
Mr. Onyema joined the Amex in January 2001, and has served in various positions, most recently as Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer. Before joining the Amex, Mr. Onyema worked at the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) as Senior Analyst, Business Planning and Development. He also worked at DPMS (IBM Business Partner) as a Marketing Executive marketing IBM mid-range systems.
Mr. Onyema received an MBA in Finance and Investments from Baruch College in New York City. He served as an adjunct lecturer at the Economics Department of Pace University for five years, and is a frequent public speaker on market structure and market data issues.”
Interestingly his predecessor, Ms Okereke-Onyiuke, came to the Nigerian Bourse from the New York Stock Exchange and is also an alumnus of Baruch College of the City University of New York.