Olayemi Micheal Cardoso is a Nigerian banker, chartered stockbroker and public policy maker who serves as the Acting Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
He served as the former chairman of Citibank Nigeria and was the Commissioner for Lagos State Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget.
Bola Tinubu appointed Cardoso to lead the Central Bank of Nigeria on September 15, 2023, for a five-year term, pending approval by the Nigerian Senate.
Education
Cardoso Finished from Corona School Ikoyi and St. Gregory’s College in Lagos for his primary and secondary education, respectively.
At Aston University, Cardoso majored in managerial and administrative studies and graduated with a Bachelor of Science (B. Sc.) level.
He holds a master’s degree in public administration from the Harvard Kennedy School 2005 as a Mason Fellow
Parents
His parents came from aristocratic households in Popo Aguda and were descended from Brazilian returnees.
Felix Bankole Cardoso, the father of Michael Cardozo, was the first native Accountant-General of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 1963 and, shortly after joining the bank in 1972, the first native Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Barclays Bank of Nigeria.
Under his direction, Barclays evolved into the fully owned Nigerian company that is Union Bank of Nigeria today.
Family
He is married and has three grandchildren in addition to five children.
Career
Cardoso served as Citibank Nigeria’s board chairman. He joined the Cities Alliance’s Africa Think Tank Group, which was established to address issues related to urban development. He was the chairman of the board at EFinA and served on the board of MRS Oil.
Cardoso serves as the chairman of the board of the African Venture Philanthropy Alliance and is a member of the advisory board for Lagos Business School.
Cardoso oversaw the state of Lagos’ budget and economic planning. He is the founding co-chair and chairman of the Ehingbeti Summit, the state economic summit for Lagos.
Additionally, he has held the position of executive lead in the Harvard Kennedy School alumni association.
