Born on August 22, 1966, Herbert Onyewumbu Wigwe hailed from Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State.
He was married to Chizoba Wigwe (nee Nwuba) and had four children: Chizi, Tochi, Hannah and David.
He was a graduate of Accounting from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) in Enugu State.
As a banker in Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB), he worked with Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede to buy Access Bank, which used to hold the 65th position amongst the list of 89 banks in the country.
Working with Aig-Imoukhuede, who became the MD of the bank, they grew the bank to a top tier bank.
He succeeded Aig-Imoukhuede as the MD of Access Bank and worked on a vision of transforming the bank into a global bank, a feat he achieved in his lifetime. He not only took the bank beyond the African continent, he expanded it to become a financial conglomerate.
He served as the Chairman of the Committee of Bank CEOs.
In recognition of “his exemplary role in the society and contributions to youth development”, the Boys’ Brigade (BB), inaugurated Herbert Wigwe as State Patron for Lagos State Council in 2016.
In October 2022, President Muhammadu Buhari conferred on him a national honour of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON).
Wigwe died on Friday, February 9, 2024 in helicopter crash in the United States of America. He died along with his wife, Chizoba and their son, Chizi.
