Page 51 - Powerlist 2020

Wol Kolade

Managing Partner, Livingbridge

Wol Kolade joined Livingbridge in January 1993 and is
managing partner of the business which now has assets of
£2.1 billion under management.
As Chairman of the Guys and St Thomas charity, he Business, Corporates, Financiers & Entrepreneurs
was one of the people responsible for rejecting a £400,000
donation from the now infamous men-only Presidents Club.
The charismatic financier initially trained as an engineer,
having studied civil and structural engineering at Kings
College, London. After obtaining an MBA at the University
of Exeter, he spent three years with Barclays in various head
office roles before joining Livingbridge.
Wol was previously a Chairman of the British Private
Equity and Venture Capital Association in 2007/08, a
Council Member from 2002 to 2009 and Chairman of the
Responsible Investment Advisory Board in 2009/10.
In addition, he is a Governor and Former Council Member
of the London School of Economics and Political Science
and a former non-executive Director of Social Finance.
He was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University
of Exeter in 2014.
Wol plans, through his private equity company, to invest
£1 billion in small businesses over the next five years. In his Yvonne Ike
time at Livingbridge he has made over 120 investments in
fast-growing businesses ranging from £2m to £70m. Managing Director and Head of Sub-Saharan
In August 2018, he became a non-executive director of Africa Region, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
NHS Improvement, the organisation tasked with helping to
support delivery of the NHS Long Term Plan. Investment banker Yvonne has more than two decades’
Wol was one of the judging panel at the Evening Standard experience in financial services and is one of the world’s
Business Awards 2019. He also sits on the advisory council leaders in the field, specialising in sub-Saharan Africa.
of Level20, a not-for-profit organisation working to improve She has led senior teams in New York, Geneva, Hong
gender diversity in the private equity industry. Kong, Nigeria and South Africa and was instrumental in
Livingbridge won the Best UK LBO Fund award at the 2018 raising the profile of Nigeria as an investment destination.
Private Equity Exchange Awards held in Paris. Before joining Bank of America Merrill Lynch in 2014,
In December 2018, Wol was listed by Private Equity News Yvonne was a CEO at Renaissance Capital West Africa, and
among Europe’s 50 most influential people in the sector. from 1984 to 2009, a managing director at JP Morgan.
As a senior leader within BAML, Yvonne uses her
leadership and influence to make it a place where all feel
welcome and valued. She is the senior sponsor of the iGEN
intergenerational employee network which provides a
platform for young talent to network, improve their broader
understanding of the banking sector and navigate the career
opportunities within the bank.
Yvonne plays a central role in BAML’s Global
Ambassadors Programme with Vital Voices, providing
mentoring and training for women across the globe. She is
also a trustee of Bridge Leadership Academy, Christopher
Kolade Foundation and Dangote Foundation and is an
independent non-executive director of Guinness Nigeria
PLC. In 2016, Yvonne established the Adara Foundation to
support women’s empowerment in Nigeria. Its programmes
focus on developing Nigerian women entrepreneurs to
increase their socio-economic status.
In August 2018 The Africa Report listed Yvonne among the
50 most influential women in business.
She contributes to initiatives including African Gifted
Foundation and Women for Women International, and is a
regular keynote speaker at economic and business forums
such as The Annual Debate, run by Invest Africa.
Yvonne’s Foundation, entirely funded personally by her,
offers full scholarships to six female university students.

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