An alumnus of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Mr. Emmanuel Sackey, has been appointed Group Head of Treasury at Universal Merchant Bank (UMB), as the bank strengthens its leadership and sharpens its financial markets operations.

The appointment forms part of UMB’s ongoing strategic transformation, following a series of senior leadership changes aimed at deepening expertise across key business areas and positioning the bank for sustained growth.

Mr Sackey, a seasoned treasury and financial markets expert, brings more than two decades of experience across Ghana and the wider African region.

He has built a career spanning treasury management, liquidity optimisation, foreign exchange markets, trading and banking operations, with a track record in driving growth, improving profitability and maintaining regulatory compliance.

Prior to joining UMB, he served on the executive management team of United Bank for Africa as Country Treasurer for Ghana and Regional Treasurer for Anglophone West Africa.

In those roles, he helped execute group treasury strategies, supported regional performance and strengthened governance and compliance frameworks.

His regional experience also includes serving as Regional Treasurer for Eastern and Southern Africa, and as Country Head of Treasury in Tanzania, where he led a turnaround of the treasury function from a loss-making operation into a consistently profitable business, delivering annual growth of more than 100%.

Earlier in his career, he held roles at Bank of Africa Ghana and Amalgamated Bank Ghana, building expertise in financial markets and banking operations.

Commenting on the appointment, Managing Director of UMB, Philip Oti-Mensah, said: “Emmanuel Sackey's appointment is a deliberate move to sharpen our competitive edge in financial markets.

“He brings a rare combination of deep market intelligence, execution discipline, and a proven ability to deliver superior performance in complex environments.

“As we scale our ambitions, his leadership will be instrumental in strengthening our treasury capabilities, optimising liquidity, positioning UMB as a dominant force in the market, and delivering sustainable value to our clients and wider stakeholders.”

Mr Sackey is a Chartered Banker with the Chartered Institute of Bankers, Ghana, and holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of South Wales.

He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from KNUST in 2003 and completed his secondary education at Presbyterian Boys’ Secondary School (PRESEC), Legon.

He also holds a Financial Markets Certificate from Yale University and an ACI Dealing Certificate.