The leading pan-African banking group, Ecobank, announced the appointment of Alain Nkontchou as chairman of the board of directors of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated. Cameroonian Alain will replace former president of Ecobank, the Nigerien Emmanuel Ikazoboh, on June 30, after a six-year term as head of the Board of Directors.
Nkontchou has spent the last 12 years as managing director of Africa-focused asset management company Enko Capital Management, which he co-founded, which invests in Sub-Saharan African through instruments including its Enko Africa Debt Fund (EADF) and Enko Africa Private Equity Fund (EAPEF), and has offices in London and Johannesburg.
Alain Nkontchou said: “I am honoured to be appointed as Chairman of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated. Having served on its Board since 2015, I have seen Ecobank’s resilience and its proud history, built on strong foundation to secure the Bank’s future success. I look forward to working with the Board and Executive team as we continue our journey ahead and I know that we are well-placed to navigate through the current environment and set the standards in financial services for our customers across Africa. I would also like to express my thanks to my predecessor, Mr Emmanuel Ikazoboh, for his leadership of the Board and to wish him all the best for the future.”
He has an MSc in Electrical Engineering from Supélec and P.M. Curie University, Paris, and an MSc in Finance and Accounting from ESCP (Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Paris). He was an advisor at Laurent Perrier champagne, having been a Non-Executive Director from 1999 to 2009. He was Managing Director of Credit Suisse’s Global Macro Trading Group in London between 1995 and 2008 and also at JP Morgan Chase & Co. in the same capacity. Between 1989 and 1994, he was with Chemical Bank in Paris and New York, where he became Vice- President, Head of Trading and Sales. Mr Nkontchou has a track record of business success, having generated significant dollar revenues for each of these top tier institutions.
Ade Ayeyemi, Chief Executive Officer of Ecobank Group, said: “The entire Management of the Group and I warmly welcome Mr. Nkontchou as Group Chairman. We will give him and the Board our continued full support in ensuring the realisation of the strategic imperatives of the Ecobank group. Mr. Nkontchou has always utilised his wealth of experience on the Board and we look forward to his successful and strong leadership”.
