FORTUNE+ VIDEO SPONSORED CONTENTS ADVERTORIALS FORTUNE AUDIO Fortune Careers TRADE AFRICA Election 2026 New TIME REMAINING UNTIL ETHIOPIA’S NATIONAL ELECTION 0Days 0Hours 0Minutes 0Seconds

Fortune Logo

DBE Ousts Top Leadership after Boardroom Dispute Spills Over

Dec 14 , 2025

The Development Bank of Ethiopia (DBE) has reshuffled its top leadership following a festering dispute at the apex of a policy bank over senior appointments and management practices.

Essayas Kassa (PhD) has been appointed president of DBE, while Brook Taye (PhD), chief executive of Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH), was named chair of the Board.

In a statement and an internal letter seen by Fortune, Brook attributed the leadership overhaul to “a broader reform agenda aimed at restoring institutional effectiveness and ensuring DBE’s alignment with national development priorities.”

Teklewold Atnafu, former chair of DBE’s board, and Emebet Melese (PhD), president, were replaced on Friday, December 13, 2025, after disagreements between the Board and the executive management hardened over the appointment of vice presidents and the administration of competence examinations for senior staff.

The rupture, according to people familiar with the matter, had increasingly paralysed decision-making inside what would be a strategically important policy bank.

According to sources close to DBE, a last-ditch effort to defuse the standoff was made a week earlier, when Alemtsehay Paulos, a minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, and Central Bank Governor Eyob Tekalegn (PhD) convened a meeting between Teklewold and Emebet. The talks, the sources said, failed to bridge the divide.

Esayas was of the founding executive's of the Ethiopian Capital Market Authority (ECMA) when it was led by Brook. He has done his doctoral studies in Waldon University, United States. He had served as minister of Cabinet Affairs in the Prime Minister Office between 2018 and 2019. He also served in the Intelligence Network Security Agency (INSA) as director of strategic and cyber research and legal adviser.

Put your comments here

N.B: A submit button will appear once you fill out all the required fields.



Related Posts

Share This Post
Linkedin
Google+


Most read

Latest News

Editor's pick

Commentaries

The Central Bank Bets on Signals Over Ceilings

The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) has set aside the tools that governed its money f...

The Floral Industry Steers On Uncharted Waters

The federal government has at last cleared a blockage that held back the domestic flo...

Fineline

Leaders of the National . . .

Leaders of the National Election Board are in a charm offensive mood, of a sort. Last week, they organised a rare tour for members of the me...

When the country’s most. . .

When the country's most senior diplomats and envoys return back to their posts after two-week debriefings, they leave behind a point or two...

Editorial

Cost Recovery by Public Institutions Becomes a Hidden Tax

Jul 25 , 2026

Ideally, citizens who have paid income tax all year should not have to reach for thei...

Millions Looking for Work. Companies Cannot Find Many to Hire. A Paradox?

Jul 18 , 2026

Pressed in Parliament on jobs and household incomes, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD)...

Ethiopia Needs a Peace Premium the IMF Cannot Supply

Jul 11 , 2026

At a market stall, reform arrives without a communique. It comes as a higher transpor...

The New Gold Standard Comes with a Warning Label

Jul 4 , 2026

In the goldfields of the Benishangul-Gumuz Regional State, Ethiopia's balance-of-paym...

Gallery

Parliament Approves New Cabinet Members

Oct 6 , 2021

Parliament Approves New Cabinet, Incorporates Opposition Leaders Lawmakers have approved today the nominations of 22 ministers, including three opposition leaders. Two MPs have voted against, while 12 abstained...

2020 in Posterity

Jan 5 , 2021

TIGRAY VOTES DESPITE "NULL & VOID" THREAT

Sep 9 , 2020

IN-PICTURE: LAUREATE'S RECEPTION  

Dec 14 , 2019

PM Abiy Ahmed (PhD) at a Gala Dinner Called for the Awarding of the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize

May 6 , 2019

Faces, Voices of Addis Abeba

Apr 26 , 2019

Sunday With Eden

A Celebration of Love Where Tradition Met Presence

In an age when weddings are often planned as much for the camera as for the couple, I...

A Consultation Worth Less Than Bread

Imagine spending seven years studying medicine, completing demanding clinical rotatio...

Life Matters

Parents Dreams Meet the Reality of the Classroom

I suppose I should not be surprised by the immense value our society places on educat...

The Doors That Speak

It feels like a lifetime ago since I wore a high school uniform. Memory can be a fickle thing, and perhaps time has softened the edges of th...