‘AAA’ rated specialised infrastructure credit guarantee institution, InfraCredit, on Wednesday announced the appointment of Gilles J. Vaes, and Claire Jarratt, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer respectively of InfraCo Africa Limited to its board as Non-Executive Directors.
They will represent InfraCo Africa’s equity investment in InfraCredit.
The board also appointed Vivien Shobo, the CEO of FVS Advisory Partners, Independent Non-Executive Director, effective 29 January 2021. She was CEO of Agusto & Co, Nigeria’s foremost Credit Rating Agency for over a decade, until December 2019.
Vaes, energy specialist, with a rare blend of business and investment strategy skill sets, according to the statement, has over two decades hands-on experience in the energy sector, working with some of the largest energy providers in Africa, Asia and Europe.
As the CEO of InfraCo Africa, Gilles has overall responsibility for fulfilling its vision of alleviating poverty by mobilizing private sector expertise and finance to develop high quality infrastructure projects in sub-Saharan Africa.
He was at different times in the past, senior strategy and risk analyst, project manager, project engineer, and head of business development in leading global manufacturing and energy companies, including Engie, Electrabel, Calidda and Etex Group.
A keen advocate of environmental sustainability, and alumnus of of the George Washington University and Catholic University of Louvain, where he obtained post-graduate degrees – MBA (Finance) and MSc. (Civil Engineering) respectively, he is passionate about socioeconomic development models that improve living standards and committed to innovations in infrastructure financing and development.
On her part, Ms. Jarratt is a finance and investment management specialist, with over two decades of impressive career, spanning audit and assurance, corporate and project finance, M&A, deal origination and investment management.
As the Chief Investment Officer of InfraCo Africa, she oversees investment origination, appraisal/due diligence, and management. Prior to joining InfraCo Africa in 2012, and was Assistant Director at International Power Plc (now Engie), leading corporate and project finance initiatives.
She has a stint as Merger and Acquisition Manager and Commercial Manager at TRI, the investment holding company of Pizza Hut and KFC. Claire was an Assistant Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers, United Kingdom, where she spent half a decade specializing in providing audit and assurance services to mid and large-cap firms in Greater London.
Ms. Jarratt, an alumnus of Jesus College, Oxford University and a qualified member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, is a sport enthusiast, skier, gym goer and, long-distance runner – she participated in the New York Marathon 1999 and London Marathon 2006.
The statement quoted said Uche Orji, Chairman of the board of InfraCredit as expressing excitement at the latest addition to the board membership, looking “forward to the additional benefits that will accrue to InfraCredit on account of their wealth of experience and stellar business acumen.”
According to him, “Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), the parent company of InfraCo Africa and the NSIA have a long-standing relationship stemming from when both institutions co-sponsored the development of InfraCredit and partnered on other projects of mutual interest.
“The relationship continues to deepen as Gilles and Clair join the Board of InfraCredit as shareholder representatives of InfraCo; bringing with them invaluable and complementary experiences which will further strengthen the capacity of our deep bench of Board members.
For Chinua Azubike, CEO of InfraCredit, both new board members “are great additions to our Board, as they bring invaluable global and regional experience in infrastructure finance, thus enhancing our Board’s oversight and enriching our governance.
“My colleagues and I, who run the day-to-day business of InfraCredit, excitingly look forward to working closely with both Executives of InfraCo Africa, particularly through the different board committees, as we continue to leverage best-in-class governance in growing our business and building sustainable value for all stakeholders.”
On his part, said Vaes acknowledged the fact that “providing capital to InfraCredit is only a part of our strategic objectives of working with this unique institution in Nigeria.
“Claire and I are therefore glad to be joining the Board of Directors, as it should afford us the opportunity to further support the Executive Management in delivering on the vision of unlocking private long-term capital for the much-needed infrastructure development in Africa’s most populous and biggest economy.”
InfraCredit, he continued, “has a strong governance capacity, given the diverse experience of its directors and we hope to efficiently complement these globally reputed professionals.”
Shobo has extensive experience and macro knowledge of the industry and Agusto & Co successfully rated a diverse range of transactions under her leadership, including most of Nigeria’s leading domestic and international banks, notable corporates, subnational governments, and significant debt capital issues.
As part of her contribution to the Nigerian financial market development, Shobo served on several Securities and Exchange Commission Nigeria committees, including the Financial Literacy Master Plan Committee (a blueprint for the development of the Nigerian Capital Market), the Fixed Income Sub-Committee, and the Investor Confidence Sub-Committee. Vivien was the Chairperson of the Association of Credit Rating Agencies of Nigeria from inception in 2010 to December 2019.
In September 2020, she was chosen by the African Banker Awards Committee, as the winner of the African Banker Icon Award, in recognition of her exemplary career and work at the helm of Agusto & Co, which was described as “truly pioneering and has helped transform capital markets in Nigeria and beyond”.
Shobo holds a B.sc (Hons) from the University of Benin, Nigeria, an MBA (Finance) from the Manchester Business School, UK, and is also a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and is a frequent speaker at domestic and global African capital market conferences.
Speaking on her appointment, Orji, said her selection followed a diligent search and rigorous process, describing her as “a renowned risk management and capital market professional, with over three decades hands-on experience in credit risk management, financial advisory and assurance. Her strong knowledge of the Nigerian markets and governance practices would be invaluable to InfraCredit as we grow the business and deepen our mission of unlocking long term capital for infrastructure development in Nigeria”.
Azubike said “Ms. Shobo comes with a rich experience in risk management and corporate governance, having worked successfully with large and mid-cap corporates across varying sectors.
“She brings on-board her independence and complementary skills, which should strengthen our Board’s oversight, as we diligently execute our strategies to create value for all stakeholders.”“Given its prominent role in Nigeria’s infrastructural development, I am extremely delighted to join the InfraCredit’s Board and contribute my own quota to nation-building”, said Ms. Vivien Shobo.
Photo caption: Clockwise: Vaes, Shobo and Jarratt
