The Board of Alternative Bank (Alt Bank), the non-interest financial banking subsidiary of Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc (Sterling HoldCo) has announced the appointment of a former professional English cricket player, Gul Khan as its new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer.
Khan’s appointment, which has received CBN approval, was announced in a statement issued by the bank on Wednesday. He succeeds Hassan Yusuf, the bank’s founding Managing Director.
The leadership change comes as Alt Bank consolidates its operations, expands its market reach and strengthens its capacity to provide non-interest financial solutions to consumers and businesses.
Chairman of The Alternative Bank, Muhtar Bakare said the board was confident that Khan’s experience in non-interest banking and financial services would help drive the bank’s next phase of growth.
He added that Khan would work with the board and management team to build on the bank’s existing foundations, expand its reach and maintain strong governance and commercial discipline.
“Gul’s expertise in non-interest banking and his leadership experience across African financial services position him well to lead Alternative Bank through its next phase of growth. The Board is confident in his ability to build on the Bank’s foundations and broaden its reach, while maintaining the strong governance and commercial discipline essential to long-term success,” Bakare said.
In his remarks, Khan said his priority would be to position Alt Bank as the preferred financial services provider for consumers and businesses in Nigeria.
“The opportunity is to make Alt Bank the preferred choice for consumers and businesses in Nigeria. That means understanding what customers need, whether acquiring productive assets or growing their businesses, and providing solutions that are relevant and they can use with ease. I look forward to working with colleagues to build on Alt Bank’s progress and earn our customers’ continued trust,” he said.
Khan brings over 25 years of international experience
Before entering the financial services sector, he played professional first-class cricket in England for teams including Essex Second XI, Oxford University, and British Universities.
Khan studied Sociology and Anthropology for his undergraduate degree from Swansea University and Special Postgraduate Diploma in Social Studies from Keble College, University of Oxford. He later enrolled for an Executive leadership training at London Business School in 2002.
Before stepping into the CEO role at Sterling Financial Holdings Company’s non-interest banking subsidiary, Khan built a 25-year international career across banking and fintech, including serving as CEO of I&M Bank Kenya, Group Head of Products at Airtel Money Africa, and Global Head of Retail Banking and Wealth Management for HSBC Amanah.
Before his appointment, he served as Chief Executive Officer and Board Director of I&M Bank Kenya. He also previously worked as Group Head of Products at Airtel Money, the fintech business operating across 14 African market as well as executive leadership positions at financial institutions in the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Qatar
Khan, a British citizen was born in Gujrat, Pujab, Pakistan in 1973. He is the son of a first generation migrants to the United Kingdom.
