Stanbic Bank Appoints Ugandan CEO

Stanbic Bank, Uganda’s largest bank has appointed its first Ugandan Chief Executive Officer Patrick Mweheire.

“This is to notify you that Patrick Mweheire has been appointed as Chief Executive and Managing Director Stanbic Bank Uganda” reads a letter to the shareholders

He replaces Philip Odera, whose tenure expired at the end of 2014.  44-year-old Mweheire has been the Head of Corporate and Investment Banking at the Stanbic Bank.

Mweheire joined Stanbic Bank in July 2012 from Renaissance Capital, an investment bank. He had spent close to five years at Renaissance Capital as Managing Director, Investment Banking.

For at least 8 years to 2008, he worked with Merrill Lynch & Co, New York, where he worked as a Director, Investment Banking. Here he was involved with various Mergers and Acquisitions mainly in the US and East Africa.

Mweheire was one of the dealmakers on some of the biggest deals by any listed companies in Uganda, when he joined Stanbic Bank.

In November 2012, Actis, a private equity firm which owned Umeme, shed 38 percent shareholding in the company with the aim of raising Ugx179bn on the stock exchange. He was the transaction advisor for Actis.

He was involved in the April 2013 stake sale of DFCU shares from Actis to Norfund of Norway and Rabobank of the Netherlands. The acquisition of 111. 9million shares by both companies in Uganda’s 6th largest bank – DFCU – cost Ugx 111.9bn.

In 2014, he was part of an additional 6.7% stake stale by Actis to investors like NSSF and Investec.   “He also has significant restructuring experience and worked with several distressed auto suppliers during the 2001-2003 downturn in the U.S,” reads his profile from CFC Stanbic Bank.

He also holds an MBA from the Havard University Graduate School of Business.   Odera, the previous CEO had been in that role since 2007.

Stanbic Bank is Uganda posted a net profit of Ugx101bn in 2013, a 22% drop from Ugx120bn posted in 2012. It is also listed on the USE with a share trading at Ugx24.