The CEO of Access Bank, one of Africa’s largest financial institutions, Herbert Wigwe, his wife, son, and three others have died in a helicopter crash near the Nevada border in California on Friday night, according to multiple reports.
Wigwe, 57, was the co-founder and group CEO of Access Holdings, the parent company of Access Bank, which operates in 12 African countries and has over 40 million customers. He was also a board member of the Nigerian Exchange Group, the operator of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
According to The Whistler, Wigwe was on a private helicopter with his wife, Nneka, his son, Herbert Jr., and Abimbola Ogunbanjo, the chairman of the Nigerian Exchange Group, as well as two pilots.
They were reportedly heading to Las Vegas for a business meeting when the helicopter crashed near Needles, a city in San Bernardino County, California.
The cause of the crash is still unknown, but the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are investigating the incident. No survivors were found at the scene of the crash, which occurred around 10:30 p.m. local time.
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The news of Wigwe’s death has shocked the Nigerian and African business community, as he was widely regarded as one of the most influential and successful bankers in the continent.
He had led Access Bank since 2002, transforming it from a small commercial bank to a leading financial services provider with a market capitalization of over $2 billion.
Wigwe was also known for his philanthropic and social impact initiatives, such as supporting education, health, and entrepreneurship in Nigeria and Africa. He was awarded the African Banker of the Year in 2016 and 2020, and the Forbes Africa Person of the Year in 2020.
Access Holdings and Access Bank have not issued any official statement on the tragedy as of the time of this report.
