Access Bank has announced the death of Herbert Wigwe, the company’s founding Group CEO alongside his wife, son, and three other passengers, including the chairman of Nigerian Exchange Abimbola Ogunbanjo, in a plane crash.

The company also said that the board will soon announce the appointment of an acting Group CEO who is expected to build on the “legacy of growth and operational excellence.” 

“The Access family has suffered a major loss with the passing of Dr. Wigwe who was a great friend and fine gentleman. He had a prodigious intellect, admirable personal qualities, and vast business experience which he brought to bear on the Access Family and for which we owe him a debt of gratitude,” said Abubakar Jimoh, chairman of Access Holdings in a statement.

The helicopter carrying Wigwe and the other passengers was identified as a Eurocopter EC130 by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.

The aircraft was headed to Las Vegas when it crashed near a border city between Nevada and California on Friday night, as per reports.

The 57-year-old CEO was a key figure in the transformation of Access Bank to a holding company and the largest bank in Nigeria by total assets. The bank is also one of the largest retail banks in sub-Saharan Africa with over 60 million customers in 20 countries. 

Apart from the banking sector, Herbert Wigwe was also invested in education with his latest project being a university named after him and located in Rivers State.