Asia Trade & Export Finance Conference
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Speaker Biographies London 2015 In order of appearance Dr Benedict Okey Oramah President African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) Dr. Oramah assumed the position of President of the African Export – Import Bank (Afreximbank) in September 2015. Prior to his current role, he was the Executive Vice President in charge of for Business Development and Corporate Banking (BDCB), a position he occupied from October 2008 to September 2015. As Executive Vice President, Dr. Oramah supervised the Business Development functions, namely: Trade Finance, Project and Export development finance, Syndications and Specialized Finance (SSF), and Corporate Finance and Advisory Services (CFAS). He also supervised the Research and Knowledge Management Functions of the Bank. Further, he assisted the then President of the Bank in overseeing the Bank’s Strategic Planning and International Cooperation functions. Dr. Oramah joined Afreximbank as Chief Analyst in 1994 and was promoted to the position of Senior Director, Planning and Business Development in 2007. Prior to joining Afreximbank, he held the position of Assistant Research Manager at the Nigerian Export Import Bank (NEXIM) from 1992 to 1994. Dr. Oramah holds M.Sc. and Ph.D. Degrees in Agricultural Economics obtained in 1987 and 1991 respectively from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. He obtained a B.Sc. degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria in 1983. He has published a book on “Foundations of Structured Trade Finance” and has written over 35 articles on a wide range of African economic, trade and trade finance issues. He is a regular speaker at several trade and trade finance conferences around the world. Dr. Oramah is Chairperson of the Africa Chapter of the International Factors Group (IFG). He serves on the Board of IFG, the Editorial Boards of Trade and Forfaiting Review (TFR) and the Journal of African Trade (JAT), and is a member of the Consultative Board on the World Cocoa Economy of the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO). He is married and has three children. Razia Khan Managing Director Chief Economist, Africa Standard Chartered Bank Razia Khan is Standard Chartered Bank’s London-based Managing Director, Head, Africa Macro Research, responsible for providing in-depth analysis on African economies to the Bank’s clients. Standard Chartered Bank provides regular quarterly and ad-hoc theme-based publications on African economies and markets, and has received recognition for providing the best research on Africa. During her time with Standard Chartered Bank, Razia has been acknowledged as the leading analyst on African economies. As well as advising key multinational corporations and funds with African interests in Europe, the US, Asia, and the Middle East, she is a frequent visitor to Africa, sharing her insights on African economies with clients and policy makers. A frequent media commentator, Razia is often called on to provide analysis of African markets in key local and international media. Razia is a graduate of the London School of Economics with a BSc Hons degree in Economics and an MSc (Econ) in Development, including Monetary Economics and International Trade Law. John O'Mulloy Global Head Trade & Structured Commodity Finance Standard Bank John joined Chase Manhattan in 1978 where he ran the Trade Finance business. In 1998 he joined Standard Bank. He was educated at New College Oxford and the School of Oriental and African Studies, London. Toks Abimbola Director Business Development Shoreline Group Over 18 years' experience in Private Equity Investment, Consulting, Strategy and Operations in Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, India and Latin America. Group Director of Business development at Shoreline - a Pan African Infrastructure and Energy group based in Nigeria. Toks has a successful track record of leading investment origination, advisory, execution and operations across the infrastructure, agribusiness, engineering and energy sectors in Sub-Saharan Africa. Adept at managing the complex interfaces between the private sector to African governments and regulators Additionally Toks founded GADCO the premier sustainable agriculture business based in Ghana. Previously led Global Consulting Services at Hewlett Packard and was a member of the turnaround team at Energis - Exited to Cable and wireless. Mr Abimbola also headed European M&A and distribution at Finoble Investment Banking. Sanjoe Mathew Regional Associate Director Trade, Export & Structured Finance Huawei Tech Sanjoe Mathew is heading the Middle East Region as Director of Huawei Technologies, a leading global ICT solutions provider. He is responsible for all the Trade & Export Financing related activities in 10 countries across the Middle East. Sanjoe is a result driven professional with 21 years of experience in Finance & Financing with renowned multinational organizations in various regional roles. He joined Huawei in 2003 and is responsible for maintaining the relationship with clients, International banks, financial institutions & multilateral agencies. He also is taking care of Factoring, Forfeiting, Syndicated / Bilateral loans and Seller’s & Buyers’ Credit with/without ECA Coverage requirements in the region. Sanjoe has helped various clients in the region in structuring trade and export financing solutions which optimize the working capital requirements, easing the cash flow pressures and also the risk mitigation. He has demonstrated proficiency in raising structured debt and project financing in domestic and international markets with exposure in the use of trade and trade financing products and asset based financing including Islamic products. He holds a Bachelor of Finance from the Mahatma Gandhi University in Kerala, India & MBA from University of Wales, UK, specializing in Corporate Finance. Christian Karam Partner Africa Trade Finance Christian Karam joined Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Europe in London in 2004, in the International Finance Department and later moved to the Trade Finance Department where he set up the Africa Desk and turned it into one of the most profitable businesses of the bank, with multi-million dollars in profits annually. Africa Desk provided bespoke trade finance solutions for clients across several African Markets. Christian's lateral thinking and ability to anticipate industry dynamics led to the developments of several initiatives, one of which is combining both the origination and distribution activities within the Africa Desk. Some of the transactions Christian worked on were awarded best deal prizes. He has been a key speaker at several trade conferences in Africa and elsewhere. Nisrin Hala Head Africa Desk SMBCE Nisrin heads the Africa Desk within the Global Trade Finance Department at SMBCE London. She manages a multi billion dollar portfolio of assets across various markets in North, East, West and SouthAfrica. Her portfolio comprises Central Banks, Commercial Banks, Corporates, multilaterals and DFIs. The Africa Desk primarily provides short term debt solutions to FIs who are active in trade import and export. Nisrin has been with SMBCE for 8 years; she has previously worked for Wachovia Bank, and also had a career in the media industry. Nisrin holds a BA in Business Management & Economics, an MSc in int'l finance and an MBA from London Business. School. Bob Kottler Managing Director Dawnus International A Professional Civil Engineer with over forty years’ experience, mainly in International Markets working with leading contractors with an extensive involvement in Africa. In addition to my Operational Management experience, I have worked extensively in Strategic Development and Business Procurement. This has covered Project winning through to Company acquisitions. I have expert knowledge of the methods required to bring together Projects, Clients, Partners and Finance and understand the imperative of winning business and of bottom line deliverables. I have held executive positions on a number of Boards for over 20 years with full P&L responsibility Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers. International Experience: Lived and worked in Peru, UAE, Spain, Sweden, Ghana, and Germany. Further extensive international exposure in Greece, Nigeria, Sudan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, India, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Viet Nam, Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, Libya, France, Spain, Sweden, Panama, South Africa, Uganda, the Gambia, Sierra Leone, Lebanon, Bahrain, and the Ivory Coast. Oliver Everett Chief Executive Commonwealth Enterprise & Investment Council (CWEIC) Oliver Everett is Chief Executive of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council, the body charged with facilitating trade and investment across the 53 nations of the Commonwealth. Prior to this, he was a Partner with NewMarket Partners, a situational management firm specialising in transforming businesses facing challenging situations. With operational, Board and strategy experience, Oliver has led turnarounds and given pragmatic and outcome focused advice to many Companies. A Sloan Fellow at London Business School and a graduate of Liverpool University his experience includes distribution, engineering, contracting, leisure, restaurant, fashion and automotive as well as new venture start-ups across a number of fields. Oliver is an Entrepreneur Mentor in Residence at London Business School. Starting his career in the Royal Navy, he worked for Renault then Lotus Cars and the Marshall of Cambridge Group. Before joining NewMarket, he was an advisor and Non-Executive