Leading emerging markets investment bank Renaissance Capital (www.rencap.com) has appointed Yvonne Ike as its Chief Executive Officer, West Africa. She will be based in Lagos.
Clifford Sacks, CEO of Renaissance Capital Africa, says in a press release: “Yvonne is an internationally regarded investment banker credited with pioneering a number of groundbreaking transactions in the West Africa region. The entire team is looking forward to working with Yvonne and benefiting from her local and global expertise.”
She has more than 18 years’ experience in financial services, including capital markets operations and fixed-income, derivatives and equities products. Over the course of her career, she has led senior teams in New York, Geneva, Hong Kong, Nigeria and South Africa.
Her degree is a Bachelor of Science in Economics. She started her career as an auditor with Ernst and Young International and has been an registered representative with the UK’s Financial Services Authority since 1994. Prior to her appointment at Renaissance Capital, Ms Ike was a managing director at JP Morgan, where she spent 15 years until 2009. More recently, she has worked as a partner at Africapital Management Limited, an advisory firm based in Lagos.
She succeeds Rotimi Oyekanmi, who has been appointed Chairman Emeritus, Renaissance Group, West Africa. Oyekanmi joined Renaissance in 2007 and will now be responsible for the build-out of Renaissance’s consumer finance business and help with Renaissance Partners’ land developments in West Africa.
Ms Ike commented: “Renaissance Capital is best placed to provide a broad range of financial solutions to help unlock the massive potential in Africa. I am excited about the firm´s unparalleled vision for Africa, the calibre of the people I will be working with and Renaissance’s execution capabilities. In addition to offering unrivalled financial, investment and management expertise in the West Africa region, we are uniquely positioned for cross-border business between Africa and other regions, particularly in emerging markets.”
Renaissance Capital, part of Renaissance Group, offers access to the emerging markets of Russia, the CIS, Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa through centres such as London, New York and Hong Kong. Its core businesses are: Mergers & Acquisitions; equity and debt capital markets; securities sales and trading; research; and derivatives. It is building practices across emerging markets in metals & mining, oil & gas and agriculture.