ANDREW SKIPPER

Andrew is Head of the Hogan Lovells Africa Practice, having been a member of the International Management Committee and co-head of the Corporate Practice Group for a number of years. Andrew is a regular commentator on African affairs and is co-chair of UK government’s Africa Investors Group, a member of the Council of the Royal Africa Society, the advisory board of South Africa Chamber of Commerce in the UK and the working group on legal services for UK-Nigeria Economic Development Forum (EDF). Andrew is passionate about African Art and is co-vice chair of the advisory board of Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, and on the advisory Board of the Art Fair 1-54.

FOLUKE-AKINMOLADUN

Foluke Akinmoladun is the Managing Solicitor of Trizon Law Chambers, Nigeria. She is a lawyer, a mediator, an arbitrator and an accountant. Her work experience covers both domestic and international commercial legal matters. She is a member of panel of neutrals of a number of arbitral institutions including the Lagos Multi-Door Court House and the Property Dispute Management Foundation.

She was once head of the secretariat of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce International Arbitration Centre. She has acted in various capacities in the arbitration process such as, acting legal representative to parties at arbitral proceedings, acting as arbitral registrar and as arbitrator.

Foluke has worked as the lead rapporteur and co-rapporteur in international conferences on arbitration, commerce and maritime. She has written articles on construction and arbitration matters and her articles have been published in both Nigerian and international publications.

Chris Fowler

Chris Fowler is General Counsel Technology at BT Group plc in London. Chris is accountable for the legal support to Technology which is the unit in BT responsible for the design, delivery and management of BT’s fixed and mobile network infrastructure, its research and development activities and its internal IT infrastructure. Chris is responsible for the intellectual property, security & investigatory powers, network deployment & network property legal teams.

Formerly Chris was responsible for transformation within BT Legal & Co Sec and was responsible for defining and implementing its strategy, managing its overall budget as well as the central operations team which comprises finance, vendor management, technology implementation, reporting and communications. Before that Chris was the General Counsel for UK Commercial with responsibility for setting and oversight of BT’s group wide contractual risk frameworks.

His work in transforming this function was acknowledged by the Association of Corporate Counsel as one of its Value Champions in 2013, cited as one of the reasons why BT was recognised by the FT Innovative Lawyers awards as the most innovative in-house team in 2015, the Legal 500 as its Telecoms Team of the year for 2018 and in November 2019 the Technology Legal Team was recognised as the Commerce and Industry Team of the Year and the TMT Team of the year at the British Legal Awards.

TAIWO OYEDELE

Taiwo is the Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader at PwC. He is the author of Insights on Taxation and Fiscal Policy; the Top 50 Tax Issues in Nigeria; and the Nigeria Transfer Pricing Chapter of the IBFD publication. He is a contributor to the annual doing business report of the World Bank and the Paying Taxes survey of PwC covering 190 economies worldwide.

He is the Thematic Lead for the Public Finance & Taxation Policy Commission of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group; Chairman of the Taxation & Fiscal Policy Faculty Board of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria; member of the Nigerian Taxation Standards Board; and a member of the Ministerial Committee on the implementation of Nigeria’s National Tax Policy.

He is a member of the Global Tax Forum and a former member of the Global Governing Council of ACCA.
Taiwo is an alumnus of the London School of Economics, Yale University and Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education. He is a guest lecturer at the Lagos Business School and the Founder and President of Impact Africa Foundation.

MATTHEW WOOD

Matthew specialises in the development and financing of energy and infrastructure assets including utilities (both conventional and renewable), petrochemicals, oil & gas, ports, mining, airports, education and transport.

He has gained broad experience advising sponsors, lenders (including Islamic banks and export credit/multi-lateral agencies) and government institutions across a diverse range of jurisdictions in the Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and South East Asia.

SCOTT COWAN

Co-founder and CEO of Africa Legal, part of the Africa Professional Services Group. Africa Legal was founded with the goal of helping African legal professionals access the latest jobs and legal news in one place. We have also invested heavily in providing a market leading legal education offering on our website that will allow law students and practicing legal professional to upskill through online courses that offer accreditation and partnerships with leading universities across Africa.

Yinka Fayomi

Dr. Segun Aina

Mpubani Gabriel

Andrew S. Nevin, PhD

Ola Belgore

Christopher Taylor

Christopher Taylor is the co-head of Addleshaw Goddard’s Africa Business Group with particular responsibility for East Africa and the SADC region. Experienced in advising on domestic and international mergers, acquisitions and disposals for public and private companies, UK and international clients on their investments and restructurings and cross-border joint ventures with regulatory issues.

Focus on the financial services and retail and consumer sectors following secondments with The Royal Bank of Scotland and Diageo.

He regularly visit East Africa and lecture on issues ranging from cross border transactions to international bribery and corruption legislation. He also oversee the Addleshaw Goddard’s relationships with local law firms across the SADC region focusing on developing stronger local ties so that the firm’s clients benefit from integrated, collaborative relationships and a “one firm” approach to providing legal services. I have a wealth of experience advising clients in Africa on matters including corporate activity, long term supply and route to market arrangements, anti-bribery and corruption protections and utilising international law in order to minimise political risk issues.

Kazeem Oladepo

Kazeem Oladepo is the Vice President, IHS Tower. He is an emerging market specialist with over 15 years C-Level experience in business strategy and operations in West Africa’s ICT sector across service verticals (Wholesale, Retail and Enterprise) in the key value segments (Mobile networks and services, Connectivity networks and services and Data Center infrastructure and Value Added Services).

Possess diverse hands-on transaction and operational skills and competence in General Management, Business Development; Commercial (Sales and Marketing); Corporate and Project Finance; Legal, Regulatory, and Compliance; Project Management and Corporate Strategy.

BABATUNDE OBRIMAH

Dr. Babatunde Oghenobruche Obrimah is the Chief Operating Officer, COO of FinTech Association of Nigeria (FinTechNGR) and has responsibility for the day to day management of the association. An accomplished and multi-talented executive with substantial experience developing and leading banking, financial, project/program and administrative management. He’s skilled in managing all aspects of business, leading finance, and implementing best development strategies for operational excellence. Ability to provide leadership and direction for all corporate activities and staff members ensuring alignment with organizational mission, vision, strategic objectives, and annual performance targets. Skilled in leading end to end business change, from readiness and impact assessment to implementation of sustainable transformation and benefits realization.

Highly Instrumental in developing new services and projects, including setting realistic and achievable goals and outcomes. A true leader able to influence revenue positive outcomes, establish/direct robust financial management capability, and formulate strategies to enable strong financial governance to mitigate risks and improve profitability. Successful in developing and motivating high performance teams to exceed challenging business objectives across a multitude of channels.

Educational achievements include a D.B.A, M.B.A, B.Sc./M.Sc. Agronomy and certifications in Project Management (PMP & PRINCE2) and Life Coaching. I have attended various international and local programs on leadership, strategy, marketing, skills, risk management, amongst others.

REMI AIYELA

Remi Aiyela is a partner at Gunnercooke llp. Her expertise is wills for clients with a high net worth. She specialises in creating premium wills for the UK for clients who want to pass their wealth on to future generations effectively and tax-efficiently. She has over 20 years’ experience making wills for business owners, company directors, executive management, celebrities and international clients. She works with advisers across other jurisdictions to provide comprehensive advice to UK clients with foreign assets and international clients with UK assets, ensuring a joined-up approach.

She is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), the leading global professional association for practitioners who specialise in family inheritance and succession planning. She writes and speaks regularly about wills.

CECILIA AKINTOMIDE, OON.

Cecilia Akintomide joined the Board of FBN Holdings Plc. on July 19, 2016. She is a seasoned professional with executive level management experience. She was, until recently, Vice President Secretary General of the African Development Bank, where she was responsible for managing the secretariat as well as shareholder relations involving 80 member states. She was also responsible for the work programs of the Boards, and the institution’s diplomatic relations. In addition, she was a member of the senior management coordination and operations committees and chaired the committee for the preparation of the Annual Meetings.

Prior to her role as VPSG, she headed the public and private sector financing legal services team, covering projects in the whole of Africa, and also served as Chief Counsel Institutional Affairs, as well as Finance Counsel. She brings to the Board of FBN Holdings Plc., her wealth of management experience, particularly from an international financial institution, and her legal experience spanning over 30 years’ post call to bar, with expertise in corporate governance, institutional affairs, business reorganisations and financing. She has practiced law in different jurisdictions, including as a Business Reorganisation Associate in the law firm of Weil Gotshal & Manges, in New York, and as a Junior Associate at O. Thomas & Co., Lagos.

She was a member of the United Nations election monitoring team for the 1994 presidential elections in South Africa, won by Nelson Mandela. She was awarded Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) by the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2014 for her meritorious contributions in the field of International Development. She is experienced in working and leading in a multicultural and bilingual environment. Cecilia is a frequent speaker at international events on Law, Development and Gender. She is a member of the Nigerian Bar and the New York Bar. She holds gold and bronze medals in swimming, and is a Deacon as well as a member of the church choir.

HAROLD BRAKO

Harold is a finance litigation and disputes partner. He specialises in banking and finance litigation, with particular expertise in asset based lending and receivables financing. He provides advice to a wide range of clients in the finance sector, including members of the Asset Based Finance Association and the Finance and Leasing Association as well as the major UK clearing banks.

Harold is an experienced litigator, advising clients in relation to all aspects of dispute resolution including claims for and against lenders, fraud claims and asset recovery involving urgent injunctive processes, contractual / commercial disputes, reviews and enforcement of security and insolvency proceedings.

Following 10 years at DLA Piper UK LLP, in 2009 he founded and headed up the Manchester office of Shoosmiths LLP. He joined Addleshaw Goddard LLP in 2017.

TONY WILLIAMS

Tony Williams has more than thirty five years’ experience in the legal profession, occupying senior management positions as well as direct client handling and fee earning. He is admitted as a solicitor in England & Wales, Hong Kong and Victoria, Australia. In Jomati Tony does not practise as a lawyer.

As principal of Jomati Consultants, Tony has worked for a range of international and domestic firms in the UK, US and Continental Europe, Asia and Australia. His advice covers such matters as management succession, partner appraisal and remuneration, peer reviews, firm strategy and its implementation including business planning and the positioning of law firms in their market. He is also actively involved in firms’ strategic expansion including mergers, new offices, alliances and team hires. He also assists firms on reorganisations, profitability analysis and client strategies.

Before founding Jomati Consultants Tony was worldwide managing partner of Andersen Legal and head of its UK practice. He developed the international strategy for Andersen Legal, which in 2001 was the ninth largest global law firm in fee income. Following the Enron crisis he managed the dissolution of Andersen Legal and of the English law firm Garretts. For his role in the orderly and controlled dissolution of Garretts he was named “Partner of the Year” by The Lawyer Magazine in 2002.

Prior to joining Andersen Legal, Tony was managing partner of the world’s largest law firm, Clifford Chance. He was with Clifford Chance almost 20 years and prior to his managing partner role he was a corporate partner in London, Hong Kong and the managing partner of the firm’s Moscow office.

Tony is also a Visiting Professor at the University of Law.

Tony is also a non executive board member of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

KAMAL SHAH

Kamal’s focus is on international arbitration, litigation, fraud and asset recovery in Africa and India, given his extensive experience there.

He acts for governments, government entities, banks, private corporations and high net worth individuals in a range of matters including those relating to projects and infrastructure, joint ventures, banking and finance, shareholder arrangements, energy and a range of schemes commonly used to defraud individuals and corporations.

Kamal is highly ranked in the legal directories including The Legal 500 UK, Chambers (UK, global and Asia Pacific) and IFLR1000 as well as being listed in the Lawyer’s Hot 100 list of leading lawyers in the UK for 2009 and 2014. “Kamal Shah is highly experienced in Africa and India-related arbitrations” (Chambers UK 2020, International arbitration) and “he understands the continent” (Chambers Global 2019, Dispute resolution Africa-wide). He was named as a leading international arbitration practitioner in “Who’s Who Legal: Future Leaders 2017 – 2020” and has been recognised in The Legal 500’s Powerlists for arbitration and Africa for 2019. In addition to being a LCIA Court Member, Kamal is currently the president of the LCIA African Users Council. He has also been listed in India Business Law Journal’s top 100 international lawyers for India-related matters. Kamal is also commended for being “charming, and wonderful at handling clients” and as having “an uncanny ability to determine what is going to be in the best interest of the client.”

Kamal co-published the text of the ‘African Promise’, which seeks to tackle the under-representation of Africans on international arbitration tribunals. He is also the co-author of the leading text “Arbitration in Africa: A Review of Key Jurisdictions”.

Sources describe him as “very impressive” and commend his “very good client-handling skills.”.

MORAY MCLAREN

Moray has been advising law firms for over 20 years. A lawyer by training, he completed an MBA in legal services before assisting one of the London law firms on their global expansion.

​Today he advises the top independent law firms as they review their practice focus, governance, remuneration and ownership models. Many are coming to terms with the changing needs of their people and also their clients during what are increasingly competitive times. He has spoken and published widely on law firm strategy and was the inaugural Chair of the Strategy Group of the IBA´s Law Firm Management Committee (LFMC).

​Moray also assists the global law firms as they enter new markets. Over recent years his work has focused on continental Europe, Latin America, Africa and India.

As a business school professor and executive coach, Moray works with leaders who want to improve their team performance. Many of his projects now involve the design and delivery of leadership programmes and the facilitation of workshops and retreats.

He is an Associate Professor at IE Business School, ranked by The Economist as the best in continental Europe, and a faculty member of the IE Financial Times Corporate Learning Alliance. He is also a Fellow of Harvard´s Institute of Coaching.

BABATUNDE AKINYANJU

Babatunde is a legal adviser at the East London Family Court. He advises lay justices in all aspects of Public and Private Law including Child Arrangements Orders, Adoption and Family Law Act matters (Non-Molestation and Occupation Orders) Babs read law at the University of Lagos and was called to the Nigerian Bar in March 1988. He requalified as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales in June 1995. Over the past 28 years Babs has specialised in criminal litigation, family proceedings, licensing and civil litigation. In the course of his career he has trained Met. Police Officers, Women’s Refuge Groups and members of the Nigerian Judiciary. In 2014 Babs took a career break and worked as an independent consultant in the law and education sectors in Nigeria. Babs was chair of BNLF from 2009-2015 and is currently its Treasurer. He is a member of the Justices Clerks’ Society; Law Society of England and Wales and Nigerian Bar Association

KEM IHENACHO

Kem Ihenacho is the Global Vice Chair of the Private Equity Practice. He is an M&A lawyer with more than 20 years of experience, focusing on UK and international private equity, infrastructure, and M&A transactions.

Mr. Ihenacho is recognized as a leader in his field by numerous publications. He is listed in the 2015 Lawyer Magazine’s Hot 100 list as a private equity star, and Chambers Global 2017 recognized him as an Africa Expert, stating: “He’s highly commercial, very experienced and knows the markets inside out.”

Mr. Ihenacho has sat on the legal advisory boards of various private equity industry bodies.

Funmilayo Iyayi

Funmi is a legal practitioner licensed to practise in Ghana and Nigeria. She worked in the law firm of Aluko & Oyebode as a member of the commercial dispute resolution team for several years, where she represented clients in contentious and non-contentious matters as well as functioned as the secretary to arbitral tribunals. Thereafter she served as in-house counsel in one of Nigeria’s leading real estate development companies, a role she held for two years before joining the Lagos Court of Arbitration as the general counsel. Funmi transitioned to the role of chief executive officer of LACIAC in January 2018 and was appointed a member of the Board in December 2018.

Ehsan Haque

Highly experienced ,commercially astute, pragmatic and versatile senior legal and regulatory risk professional with over 18 years PQE working as in house counsel in top tier financial institutions with over 10 years experience in leadership and senior leadership positions. Experienced in Equities (sales & trading) , fintech , data and data privacy , IP , employment , corporate governance , regulatory and reputational risk management , complex and cross-border transactional , derivatives , regulatory , regulatory projects, Compliance, strategic advisory , senior consultancy and portfolio GC work. Have worked for a range of financial services institutions including top tier global investment banks , broker dealers, global private equity firms and a portfolio of early stage fintech start ups. Have built and led highly effective in-house legal and compliance teams. Excellent communication skills across all levels of organisations , including CEO and senior management/C-suite. Advisor and mentor to Ashurst Fintech Legal Labs accelerator programme. Interested in work culture and won a CEO Culture award at Nomura for introducing a mentoring scheme in the EMEA Legal department. Current Trustee of two charitable organisations , Community Music and Wildcard Theatre. Featured in BBPI 100 List 2018 - lawyers. Also act as a mentor to junior Black and Asian ethnic minority finance and legal professionals. Regularly invited to appear on a number of panels and forums around topics of diversity , mentoring and inclusion in relation to the legal profession. Also a regular speaker at a number of Fintech events and panels.

Sherina Petit

Sherina Petit is a dispute resolution partner at Norton Rose Fulbright and heads the firm’s India practice.

She specialises in international arbitration, litigation and ADR across a broad range of industries representing clients across the globe in numerous ad hoc and institutional arbitrations. In addition, Sherina regularly sits as an arbitrator in international arbitrations, is a published writer and speaker on international arbitration and is an expert on India-related matters.

Sherina is on the LCIA Board of Directors, the LCIA Remuneration Committee, the Chair of the EFILA board, the ICC Indian Arbitration Group, the SIAC Users Council and the SIAC Users Council’s Regional/National Committee for the United Kingdom.

Ranked in several legal directories, including Chambers & Partners and Legal 500, Sherina recently won the Client Choice Awards 2017 for the UK in the Arbitration & ADR category (as voted for by corporate counsel) and is featured in the Who's Who Future Leaders in Arbitration (2017). She was featured in the Legal Business Disputes Yearbook as one of "the next generation of partners setting the disputes agenda", in Legal Week's 2016 feature, "Rising stars: the new generation of litigators making their mark" and in Corporate Vision’s “Ones to Watch”.

Sherina joined Norton Rose Fulbright in January 2009 from Shearman & Sterling where she spent over six years as an associate in the London office. In 2008, she was seconded to the legal department of the Tata Group and the Indian Hotels Group (Taj Hotels) in Mumbai, India. Sherina has a Master of Laws degree from King’s College, London and qualified as a solicitor of England and Wales in 2002 whilst working at Linklaters in London. Prior to that she qualified as an Advocate on the Rolls of the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa in 1999 whilst working at a leading law firm in Mumbai.
Specialties: International arbitration, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Litigation, Regulatory Investigations.

Gbenga Hassan

Gbenga has over 20 years of private equity and corporate finance experience in the West African and international markets. He has managed various electric power, natural gas and energy infrastructure transactions in excess of US$3b and also manages Àrgentil’s principal investment and private equity activities.

His previous experiences include private equity roles at Aureos Capital, corporate finance functions at Standard Bank London, Stanbic Nigeria, and consultancy functions at Syntegra, London.

Gbenga holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering and Business Management from the University of Greenwich, a Master’s degree in Economics and Management from the University College, London and is a Chartered Certified Accountant in the UK (FCCA) and Nigeria (ACA).