Herbert Wigwe, CEO of Nigeria's largest bank, killed in California ...
Updated with company confirmation
Herbert Wigwe, the chief executive of Nigeria’s Access Holdings, parent of Access Bank, one of Africa’s largest banking groups, died in a helicopter crash in California on Friday night, the company confirmed on Sunday morning Nigeria time.
His wife, son, and a former group chairman of the Nigerian Exchange, which operates the country’s main stock market, were also killed in the crash alongside two others, two people close to Wigwe’s team told Semafor Africa. There were no survivors.
The helicopter, identified by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as a Eurocopter EC130, crashed near the border between California and Nevada, the New York Times reported today. The FAA and the U.S. transportation safety agency are investigating the crash, the Times reported.
The crash occurred about 60 miles from Las Vegas. One person close to the Wigwe team said that he was expected to attend this weekend’s Super Bowl American football event which is taking place in Las Vegas on Sunday.
In a tweet on Sunday morning Access Bank’s main account posted: “Today, we bid farewell to a visionary leader, @HerbertOWigwe, whose passion and unwavering commitment to excellence transformed Access into a global powerhouse.”
