Mike Ogbalu III is the new CEO of Verve International, one of the subsidiaries of Interswitch Group. He replaced the former CEO, Charles Ifedi, one of the pioneer staff of the company. Mr Ifedi, a first class graduate of Computer Science from the University of Ilorin, Nigeria and an MBA holder from Cranfield University, was appointed as C.E.O. of Verve International in 2013, when the Interswitch Group made the subsidiary autonomous.
Mr Ifedi was responsible for introducing and growing the Verve card to be one of the leading payment card brand in Africa. He was instrumental in creating a strategic partnership Discover Financial Services (DFS), a partnership which has expanded the acceptance of Verve card into 185 countries of the world including USA, UK and Dubai.
Interswitch recently held a send-forth event at Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos in honour of the outgoing CEO.
Speaking at the event, Founder and Group CEO of Interswitch Mitchell Elegbe said, “We have come a long way since establishing Interswitch in 2002 and many of our successes can be attributed to Charles and his team and we cannot thank them enough for that.
Before the new appointment, Mike Ogbalu III, was the Divisional CEO of Interswitch Financial Inclusion Service (IFIS) where he was in charge of bridging the access gaps, using innovative technology and specially tailored financial services targeted at the bottom of the pyramid. Before going Interswitch in 2015, he was the head, Mobile Financial Services and CEO Pridar Systems Limited, a FBN subsidiary. He has an Electrical/Electronic Engineering first degree from Federal University of Technology Owerri and an MBA from Lagos Business School, Pan Atlantic University in Nigeria.
About the new CEO, Mike Ogbalu III, Mitchell Elegbe said:
“…we are very confident in the future of Verve and Interswitch as a group with Mike Ogbalu III stepping in. His drive and passion for innovation and operational excellence is an asset that will help strategically steer Verve along the right paths for future”
