#17

Geoffrey Odundo

CEO NAIROBI SECURITIES EXCHANGE (NSE)

Geoffrey Otieno Odundo is the Chief Executive of the Nairobi Securities Exchange PLC (NSE) the largest stock Exchange in East and Central Africa.  Appointed CEO of NSE on March 3, 2015, Geoffrey is an accomplished Investment Banker and has been in the financial services sector for the last 27 years, 21 of which have been in the Capital Markets.

In his current role, Geoffrey has spearheaded the development of innovative financial solutions for both investors and issuers, making the NSE the second most product diverse market in Africa.

Through his leadership, the NSE is now a member of the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), a leading member of the Morgan Stanley Composite Index (MSCI) – Frontier Markets, the second exchange in Africa with a Derivatives Market and a champion of Sustainability in the region.  Thus, supporting Kenya’s aspiration to become Africa’s premium financial services hub by the year 2030 and well in line with our national development plan, Vision 2030.

His time has focused on widening the breath, depth and diversity of products at the exchange. The NSE now takes pride in offering seven asset classes among them listed equities, listed sovereign, corporate and green bonds; exchange traded funds, real estate investment trusts, the derivatives market and the world’s first retail mobile government bonds.

Geoffrey has also spearheaded the establishment of the exchange incubation, an acceleration platform “Ibuka” which targets to prepare companies for accessing capital market opportunities within a regulatory environment designed specifically to meet their needs.

The NSE has during Odundo’s tenure developed the Unquoted Securities Platform (USP) for trading of non-listed securities.

Since taking over as CEO, Geoffrey has seen the transformation of the NSE from a service to a commercial infrastructure. This has seen NSE formulate strategic interventions aimed at repositioning the organization as a venue of capital access and wealth creation, a champion of corporate governance even while enhancing diversity among its listed companies and improving on its operational efficiency.

On a Pan African standpoint, Geoffrey has been instrumental in strengthening the secretariat of the Africa Stock Exchanges Association; is among the pioneer CEOs of the African Exchange Linkage Project (AELP), which is a market integration platform linking eight Security Exchanges in Africa with the objective of facilitating cross—border trading, further cementing trade and integration of Africa’s economies.

With the NSE’s renewed focus on sustaining business growth, strengthening partnerships and co-creation relationships, driving innovation, improving operational excellence and strengthening the people talent, Geoffrey has galvanized his team to deliver on this key strategic direction. He aspires to improve the uptake of the NSE products, grow the domestic pools of capital especially the retail market segment, increase the investment access channels and enhance financial literacy to all in Kenya.

With the growing interest from international and regional investors seeking market beating returns in Africa, Geoffrey has compounded this interest through improving corporate access to listed companies, improved investor relations, enhanced bilateral and multilateral initiatives, and improving the listing environment to potential issuers to access the market.

Over the course of his career, Geoffrey has contributed immensely towards the growth of the Capital Markets in Kenya through current and former roles as a Director/Board Secretary, Kenya Association of Stock Brokers and Investment Banks, Chairman of the Financial Standards Committee – Kenya Bureau of Standards as well as being a Board Director of Nairobi Securities Exchange PLC.

Geoffrey has advised on a number of corporate finance mandates in both the public and private sectors; he has also managed key mandates in the asset management industry through leading in various senior roles in asset management, corporate finance and securities trading.

He is currently a Director of the Central Depository and Settlement Corporation, a Director of the NSE Clear, and a trustee of the NSE Fidelity Funds. Geoffrey is a member of the Central Bank Consolidative Forum for Domestic Debt Market (CFDDM), a member of the working group of the World Federation of Exchanges and a Council Member of the Institute of Certified Investment Financial Analysts (ICIFA). He is also a Director of the Association of the Stock Exchanges of Africa (ASEA) and is a Member of the Thomson Reuters Africa Customer Advisory Network.

Geoffrey Odundo holds a Master’s degree in Strategic Management from the United States International University (USIU)-Africa and an undergraduate degree in Mathematics and Economics from the Egerton University (EU). A practicing Roman Catholic, Geoffrey is also an Advanced Management Program (AMP) graduate from Strathmore and IESE Business Schools.