By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Leading capital management firm in Nigeria, Zedcrest Capital Group, has announced the appointments of Mr Babatunde Sanda and Ms Stella Duru to its Board of Directors, with immediate effect as part of its corporate governance strategy and business expansion drive.
According to the company’s Group Managing Director, Mr Adedayo Amzat, the organisation is charting a new growth strategy targeted primarily at the retail opportunities in the market with the aim of creating more wealth for its clients.
“After operating in the market for over five years, the time has come to deepen our market penetration. Our Fixed Income and Currencies (FICC) operations have been primarily driven by a focus on wholesale dealing and brokerage to foreign portfolio investors, local pension fund administrators, asset managers and banks.
“We have identified High Net-worth Individuals (HNIs) and the retail space as new areas of focus and expansion for our business.
“To this end, we will be unveiling bespoke fixed income and wealth management solutions for the HNIs and retail markets through our newly licensed Asset Management subsidiary (Zedcrest Investment Managers) while we continue to serve our wholesale customers through ZedCap Partners, our SEC licensed inter-dealer brokerage business,” said Mr Amzat.
“With the newly crafted growth strategy, we are strengthening our board with successful professionals with diverse competencies who will guide the company through the next chapter of its growth trajectory,” added Mr Amzat.
Since its establishment in 2013, Zedcrest Capital has steadily grown to become one of the most sought-after securities dealing and proprietary investment firms in Nigeria.
Also commenting on the appointments, the pioneer and out-going Chairman of the company, Mr Abiola Aderounmu, commended the management of Zedcrest Capital Group for its well acclaimed achievements in the financial markets.
Mr Babatunde Sanda has over 36 years cognate experience with over 18 years experience in Auditing and Consulting, spanning three of the biggest international professional firms namely Coopers & Lybrand, Ernst & Whinney and PriceWaterHouse where he rose to the position of Senior Consultant in 1990. He retired as a Senior Partner of EY in December 2016. He is now into Economic, business and financial consulting.
His banking career started in 1991 and he rose to the position of Executive Director, Finance in 1998 at Wema Bank Plc and was Managing Director in 2000 of Banque International du Benin, Cotonou -a universal bank in Cotonou, Benin Republic. He was appointed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 2006 to serve as Director of Societe General Bank of Nigeria Ltd (while in holding action).
Mr Sanda holds an honours degree in Business Administration from the University of Benin and is an alumnus of the Advanced Management Program of Stanford University, California, USA. He has attended various management and development courses in major international institutes across the globe. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and an Associate of the Chartered Taxation Institute of Nigeria.
On her part, Ms Stella Duru is the only female Partner in Banwo & Ighodalo’s Energy and Natural Resources Practice Group. Her core areas of practice are Energy & Natural Resources, Project Finance and Corporate Finance. She is renowned for her extensive experience in the power sector and authors articles in leading law publications. Ms Duru has deep experience in oil, gas and power projects in Nigeria and has been involved in World Bank sponsored work streams advising on the power sector reforms in Nigeria.
She was involved in the privatization and sale of government assets in the hitherto vertically integrated government owned power utility as well as in the new business units that were spun off this utility.
She is currently leading the initiative on renewable energy transactions in her firm and in this regard, is advising several investors who are developing renewable projects in Nigeria. Ms Duru to advise on transactions along the entire value chain of generation, transmission and distribution; as well as on deals pertaining to IPPs, off-grid and on-grid solutions to the power deficit in Nigeria. She is very passionate about monetizing and utilizing Nigeria’s natural gas resources in order to get Nigeria powered up.
She obtained a law degree from the University of Lagos, Nigeria; and was admitted into the Nigerian Bar in January 2001. Ms Duru is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association, International Bar Association (Section on Energy and Natural Resources Law) and Association of International Petroleum Negotiators. She is also an Associate of the Nigeria Leadership Initiative (a leadership development not-for-profit, affiliated with the Aspen Institute) as well as an Associate WimBiz (an association of Women in Management, Business & Public Service).
