Equity Investment Bank

Clifford holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree, a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) Degree and a Higher Diploma (Hdip) in Company Law, all from the University of the Witwatersrand. He is an advisor to boards, to help them navigate the world of Global Capital Markets and Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) and advising on executing and monitoring investment strategy. During his 35 years of experience in public markets & advising Global Institutional clients across Equity, Debt and Structured products, he has worked in New York City, London and Johannesburg.

Clifford’s experience lies mostly in Global Investment Banks (14 years as Co-country head Bank of America Merrill Lynch) and the past 8 years with EY, where he has led the M&A and Capital Markets practice, where he was the Global Leader Lead Advisory - M&A, Capital Debt Advisory and Infrastructure Advisory responsible for 3000 people across EY’s global Capital Markets platform before his retirement from the Partnership in 2023; He is a member of the Board of Governors and Chair of the Finance Committee of One Degree Academy, a Board member of Nexus Bioquest Limited and a Board member of Xitus Insurance Limited UK and Xitus Insurance Limited Ireland.

James holds five honorary doctorate degrees in recognition of his positive impact on the Kenyan society. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree and is a Certified Public Accountant. He has been honored thrice with National Presidential Awards: The First Class Chief of the Order of the Burning Spear (CBS), the Moran of the Burning Spear (MBS) and Head of State Commendation (HSC).

On the global front, he has won several awards including the G8 Global Vision Award, 2007. He was named among the Top 50 Emerging Market Business Leaders and the 20 most influential people in Africa in 2011; the World Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young in 2012; the Forbes Africa Person of the Year in 2012 and was recently named in the Bloomberg 50 list of people who defined 2019 globally. He is an honoree of the 2020 Oslo Business for Peace Award, also described as the ‘Nobel Prize for Business’.

On the regional front, James was also recognized as the Africa Investor Awards, CEO of the Year in 2009 and 2015; Innovation Leader of the Year in 2012; African Business Leader of the Year in 2013 and African Banker of the Year in 2010, 2011 and 2017 at the African Banker Awards. He was also named the Banker of the Year during the Banker Africa (East Africa) Awards in 2017 and 2018, and named African CEO of the year by the African Business Leadership 2020 Awards. Locally, he has received the Think Business CEO of the Year award for the last 4 years.

James has served on board and advisory roles at the Global Advisory Council for VISA Inc., the Clinton Global Initiative, The G8 New Alliance For Food Security And Nutrition, US President Barack Obama’s Initiative for Global Development, the G20 Advisory Board of Agriculture and Initiative for Global Development and The Global Agenda Council on New Economic Thinking of the World Economic Forum from 2003-2007. He also served as the Founding Chair of Kenya’s Vision 2030 from inception in 2007 to 2019.

He currently serves on several international bodies as an advisor and was appointed to the Nairobi Advisory Board of Columbia Global Centres. He is a member of the continent-wide PACT initiative, a Board member of the Economic Advisory Board of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), The Mastercard MEA Advisory Board, the Africa Leadership Academy in South Africa, the Global Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition. He is also a guest lecturer at Stanford, Columbia, MIT, Harvard, IESE and Lagos Business School where Equity Bank Business Model is a case study. Locally, he is the Chancellor of Meru University College of Science and Technology and the Chairman of the Health Committee of Kenya COVID-19 Fund Board.

Daniel holds Master of Business Administration from Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, Certification in Strategic Management from Cornell University School of Hotel Management and

a Bachelor of Arts in Economics (Magna Cum Laude) from Tufts University. He has extensive experience in business management, strategy, finance, business restructuring, customer support and sales & marketing. He is currently an investor and was previously the Head of Global operations at Branch International where he was responsible for Kenya, Nigeria, India, Mexico and a member of the San Francisco-based senior leadership team. He has previously served as CEO, Fairview Hotel, Country Lodge & City Lodge East Africa, Nairobi, Product Manager of RIVIO in Santa Clara, CA and Financial Analyst at J.P. Morgan Securities Inc in New York.

Itumeleng Monale holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry and Genetics from the University of the Witwatersrand. She further advanced her global business leadership capabilities by completing the TRIUM Global Executive MBA, a joint program offered by the London School of Economics, HEC Paris, and NYU Stern School of Business. In addition, she has earned an ESG Designation from Competent Boards, underscoring her commitment to sustainability and responsible governance, and holds a Global Management Certificate from the Thunderbird School of Management.

Itumeleng is an accomplished executive with over 27 years of leadership experience across management consulting, banking, and financial services. Most recently, she served as Chief Operating Officer at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), where she led group strategy, sustainability, client experience, retail, human resources, and key operational functions, including trading operations, client service, and business continuity.

Prior to joining the JSE, Itumeleng spent 17 years at Standard Bank, where she held several senior leadership roles, including Head of Mass Market Banking Strategy, Executive Head of Direct Channels, Executive Head of Digital Banking and Channel Innovation, and lead for Business Architecture and Transformation. Earlier in her career, she worked as a management consultant, delivering strategy and technology engagements across the logistics and retail sectors.