Banking executive and head of the largest company in Western Africa, Jim Ovia participates in a wide range of charitable and community-oriented organizations. As Co-Founder and CEO of major financial institution, Zenith Bank Plc., Jim Ovia promotes the advancement of Nigeria and its inhabitants in an increasingly globalized environment. At a young age, Jim Ovia experienced first-hand the benefits of the American educational system as an undergraduate at Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Jim Ovia took his B.Sc. degree in Business Administration and entered the graduate school at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Now in charge of a full-service bank with ₦1.2 trillion in assets, annual revenues of ₦89.2 billion, and a net income of ₦17.2 billion, Jim Ovia knows full well the value of a good education. Jim Ovia maintains involvement with a diverse array of governmental, nongovernmental, and educational organizations across Nigeria. Serving on the board of American International School Lagos from 2001 to 2003, Jim Ovia helped foster the continued success and proliferation of its educational programs for elementary, middle, and high school students of all backgrounds. Jim Ovia currently takes part on the boards of multiple universities in Nigeria, including the Board of Trustees at Redeemer’s University and the Governing Council at Lagos State University. In addition, Jim Ovia is the proprietor of a proposed institution of higher learning, the University of Information and Communication Technology in Agbor, Delta State. Owing to his vast accomplishments in the field of education, Lagos State University bestowed Jim Ovia with an honorary Doctorate of Science in Finance in October 2005. With the establishment of the ICT Foundation for Youth Empowerment, Jim Ovia brings new and advanced technologies to young people throughout Nigeria. Embracing a vision of underserved children and teenagers excited by the prospects of emerging technology, Jim Ovia hopes to conquer poverty by introducing them to global possibilities. Jim Ovia lives and works in Lagos.