ACIRFA CAPITAL - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Group CEO at Apollo Investments and past Chairman of Association of Kenya Insurers
Ashok is a seasoned executive with nearly 50 years of experience within the Insurance Industry both in East Africa and England and is a past Chairman of the Association of Kenya Insurers. Currently he is the Group Chief Executive of Apollo Investments Limited, which owns APA Insurance, APA Life, APA Uganda, Apollo Asset Management amongst others. During his career Ashok has held numerous directorships including at the Kenyan Central Depository & Settlement Corporation, Island Life Assurance Mauritius, Reliance Insurance Company Tanzania, Barclays and ABSA Bank. In 2010 he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement award for services to the Insurance industry. In 2019 APA Insurance received the European Microfinance Award for Strengthening Resilience to climate change from Ashok's push for covering small holder farmers and pastoralists and building sand dams in the semi-arid parts of Kenya. He is a Chartered Insurer with ACII and a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (MCIArb) as well as an Associate of the Insurance Institute of Kenya (AIIK).
Christopher brings 10+ years of experience in corporate M&A and private equity in Europe and Africa. Prior to co-founding Acirfa Capital, he was a Vice President at Swiss Re's Principal Investments & Acquisitions team in London, where he was primarily focused on group-wide strategic M&A and direct investments in Sub-Saharan Africa. During this time he also served as Swiss Re's appointed Board Observer and value creation lead for Leadway, the #1 insurance company in Nigeria.
Previously he held numerous roles at Commerzbank in Frankfurt and London, including as a member of the Group Development & Strategy team, where he was responsible for in-house M&A and banking transformation projects. Other companies Christopher has worked at include Allianz Capital Partners, HSBC Alternative Investments, Deutsche Beteiligungs AG and Procter & Gamble. Christopher holds a M.A. in Banking & Finance from University of St. Gallen, Switzerland and a CEMS M.Sc. in International Management from FGV Sao Paulo, Brazil.
John brings 18 years experience in financial services across principal investments, strategic partnerships, investor relations, finance and operations. Before co-founding Acirfa, John spent almost 17 years with Swiss Re (including 10 in the private equity and M&A team) and executed a wide range of deals ranging from c.$1m venture capital, cross-industry joint ventures, $100m+ private equity, and multi-$bn strategic transactions. John was instrumental in building Swiss Re's portfolio in Sub-Saharan Africa and served as the appointed Board Observer to APA (a top-3 non-life insurer in Kenya).
Directly prior to Acirfa he was part of a new team developing strategic partnerships in the technology sector, including Microsoft and others. Other companies he has worked for include Barclays and Morgan Stanley. John holds a B.Sc. in Economics from the University of Nottingham and qualified as a CFA charterholder in 2009.
Job Titles:
- CEO of SICM, Former Global Head of Deutsche Bank Asset Management
Kevin has over 35 years of investment experience. He is the founder and CEO of Sustainable Insight Capital Management. Prior to SICM, Kevin was a Member of the Management Board of Deutsche Bank for 10 years and the former Global Head of Deutsche Asset Management from 2004 - 2012. Kevin is an outspoken advocate for a global shift towards sustainability, identifying climate change as a megatrend in 2004. He is also the owner of Chateau Maris, named one of the five most environmentally friendly wineries in the world by Wine Spectator Magazine. Kevin holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from New York University. He is also a Board Member for Next Jump and The Kingsbridge National Ice Center.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of ASSOS, Former CFO of Morgan Stanley
Phil has over 40 years of investment experience. He currently is the Chairman of Assos of Switzerland, a sport equipment manufacturer and a Director of numerous other companies. Prior to this, Phil led the global expansion of Black Diamond Equipment, an outdoor sport equipment manufacturer. He was also the founder of FrontPoint Partners, a $6 billion AuM investment management firm sold to Morgan Stanley. Earlier in his career Phil was the Chief Operating Officer at Tiger Management, and Chief Financial Officer at Morgan Stanley, where he also held the position of Global Head of its Financial Institutions Group. Phil holds a Bachelor of Mathematics from Harvard University and a Master of Science from the MIT Sloan School of Management.
Scot has spent his career driving growth and innovation across the financial services industry globally. Scot has held senior leadership roles in large financial institutions, such as Co-Head of Equity Sales & Trading at Deutsche Bank, Head of Sales & Marketing at Deutsche Bank Asset Management, as well as Head of Strategy and M&A at Morgan Stanley. He founded early-stage renewable energy and investment companies giving him experience as both an investor and operator in growth companies. He began his career at Accenture where he used technology to transform organizations, specializing in large project management.
Most recently Scot had responsibility for the principal capital investment and M&A functions for the EMEA region at Swiss Re where he led the deployment of $350M into Sub-Saharan Africa. Scot oversaw the investments and had responsibility for developing and maintaining senior relationships across the region. Additionally, he led strategic efforts to develop the data and analytics strategy for Swiss Re as well as a broker alignment strategy. He also sat on the management board of Swiss Re Life Capital, the business unit created to deliver a technology led retail insurance offering to intermediaries and retail customers. The combination of these activities gave Scot a deep conviction of the potential in Africa and the role technology and insurance brokers have in driving the development of the insurance industry there, and more broadly, ensuring the financial wellbeing of the people in these very dynamic markets. Scot holds a B.S. in Operations Research & Industrial Engineering from Cornell University.
Tim brings over 20 years of experience in global financial services as an operating leader and investor. Prior to co-founding Acirfa Capital, he was a Senior Managing Director at Guggenheim Partners and Head of Corporate Strategy for Guggenheim Investments, a $260 billion global asset management firm serving insurance companies, institutional investors and individuals. Previously he served as Global Head of Strategy and Business Development for Deutsche Bank's asset and wealth management businesses, where he was a member of the Global Executive Committee and Global Operating Committee.
He was previously a Principal at Capital Z Asset Management, where he led investments in alternative asset managers, and an Associate of Longworth Venture Partners, investing in early stage enterprise technology businesses. He holds a BA, magna cum laude, from Dartmouth College.
Job Titles:
- CEO at Leadway Assurance and Chairman of First Bank Nigeria
Tunde currently heads Leadway Assurance as CEO, after joining the company in 1992. His executive management experience spanning over 30 years includes asset management, finance, IT and life insurance operations. He currently is the Chairman of First Bank of Nigeria and has held numerous other directorships throughout his career, including at FBN Holdings, Union Assurance Limited, Stanbic Bank Nigeria Limited, Digital Jewels Limited, Alitheia Capital, Thomas Wyatt Nigeria, Total Health Trust Limited, among others. Tunde is a graduate of the University of London and City University, London and holds a Bachelor's Degree in Pure Mathematics and a Postgraduate Diploma in Actuarial Science.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founding Managing Partner at Joliba Capital
Yann is the Co-Founding Managing Partner of Joliba Capital, a multi-industry Private Equity fund raised in 2021 to invest in Francophone West and Central Africa. Prior to that he was Head of Africa at Swiss Re's Principal Investments & Acquisitions team, where he was a leading force behind the creation of a Pan-African insurance portfolio. Before joining Swiss Re he was a Principal at Actis in Nigeria responsible for transactions across West Africa and a consultant for KPMG in New York. Over his career Yann has held numerous Board positions in leading financial services providers in Africa, incl. in Nigeria, Benin, Kenya, Gabon and Cote d'Ivoire. Yann holds an MBA from Wharton Business School and and Engineering Degree from Ecole Central de Paris.