UBA appoints former capital markets boss to its board

What you need to know:

Ms Kilonzo joins the investment bank’s board as a non-executive member and is the only Kenyan and the second woman member of the board.
She has recently also been appointed to the boards of ARM and the yet-to-be launched regional commodities market, East Africa Exchange.

Former Capital Markets Authority (CMA) chief executive Stella Kilonzo has joined the board of Nigerian investment bank UBA Capital, adding to the list of directorship she has taken since she quit the markets regulator last year.

Ms Kilonzo joins the investment bank’s board as a non-executive member and is the only Kenyan and the second woman member of the board.

Angela Aneke, a Nigerian, is the chairperson and the only other woman member of the board. A statement dated January 11 announced Ms Kilonzo’s appointment by UBA Capital on its listing debut at the Nigerian stock market.

“Stella has diverse experience in the capital markets industry and financial services sector having played a key role in the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Chicago. She has headed the market supervisory function of CMA, Kenya,” said the statement by Uba Capital chief executive Rasheed Olaoluwa.

Ms Kilonzo has recently also been appointed to the boards of cement maker Athi River Mining and the yet-to-be launched regional commodities market, East Africa Exchange.

(Read: Kilonzo appointed ARM’s first woman director)

The former CMA chief executive also chaired East African Securities Regulatory Authorities.

Ms Kilonzo also serves on the National Economic and Social Council of Kenya and as a council member of the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Global Financial System.

“Stella Kilonzo’s profile in Kenya and on the continent speaks for itself,” said UBA Capital head of mergers and acquisitions Mayowa Amoo in a statement.

Market players said the appointment by the Nigerian investment bank could indicate an intention to leverage on her experience as a market regulator.

An investment banker who did not want to be named said that Ms Kilonzo’s experience as the head of the CMA gives her a good grasp of how various regulators work, which can help UBA Capital easily navigate red tape.

Ms Kilonzo was CMA chief executive between 2008 and last year. She holds an MBA in corporate finance from Loyola University in Chicago, Illinois and a Bachelors of Commerce, first class honours, from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa.