OBAFEMI OTUDEKO, MANAGING DIRECTOR
Oafemi is a seasoned finance and investment professional who has led many of Honeywell Group's strategic investments and transactions, including the partnership with Bharti Airtel on Airtel Nigeria and subsequent multi-million-dollar divestment from the company; to chairing the IPO committee responsible for the successful capital market listing and capital raising for Honeywell Flour Mills; coordinating the completion, capital raising, and opening of the renowned five-star Radisson Blu Anchorage Hotel in Victoria Island, Lagos (the first Radisson Blu hotel in West Africa) and more recently, the biggest capital market transaction of 2022 - the sale of Honeywell Flour Mills to Flour Mills of Nigeria.
With a career spanning over twenty-five years, he has spearheaded significant initiatives within the Honeywell Group, leading the transformation of the Group into an investment holding company.
He is responsible for providing strategic direction and oversight to Honeywell Group’s portfolio companies and investments. A board operator he has served on the boards of influential companies such as Airtel Nigeria, First Bank of Nigeria Ltd, and Honeywell Flour Mills Plc and is currently a non-executive director of Anchorage Leisures Ltd.(owners of the Radisson Blu Anchorage Hotel)
Beginning his career with PricewaterhouseCoopers, Obafemi is a qualified chartered accountant and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (FCA).
He obtained his BA (Hons) in Accountancy Studies from the University of Huddersfield, UK. He has completed several executive education programmes on corporate leadership, general management, and corporate finance, and is an alumnus of the London Business School and INSEAD Business School. A member of the UK Energy Institute, Obafemi was the second Vice President of the Nigerian Gas Association between 2011 and 2015. He also serves as a member of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council.
FOLUKE OYELEYE, DIRECTOR
Foluke Oyeleye is a distinguished business leader with over 25 years of extensive experience in corporate finance, corporate governance, strategic business development, and operations management. Her career spans multiple sectors including finance, telecommunications, energy, FMCG, and services, showcasing her versatility and depth of expertise.
Foluke’s impressive career began at FCMB Capital Markets, where she was pivotal in identifying, structuring, and executing high-value mergers, acquisitions, and equity-raising transactions across diverse industries such as energy, manufacturing, and media. Her notable achievements include managing and coordinating some of the first successful privatisation transactions in Nigeria, with values ranging from $56M to $195M.
As one of the co-founders of Econet Wireless, Foluke played a crucial role in conceptualising and developing the business plan, and she was instrumental in securing a $285M national wireless service provider license. Her contributions in the telecommunication industry extended to Telecgsm Limited, where she spearheaded the establishment of the first Nokia service centre in West Africa and facilitated the expansion of franchise stores across the country.
Foluke previously served as Non-Executive Director at NGX Regulation Limited (NGX REGCO) and currently serves as Non-Executive Director on the Boards of First Registrars and Investor Services Limited and NGX Limited.
Foluke holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Social Sciences from the University of Durham and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She is recognised as an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers in Nigeria and is a member of both the Institute of Directors (IoD) Nigeria and the United Kingdom (IoD UK). She is also an honorary Fellow of the Institute of Capital Markets Registrars in Nigeria.
OTU HUGHES, CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER
Otu oversees Barbican Capital's investments and oversees Honeywell group’s portfolio by investing, monitoring and managing the Group’s funds and portfolio companies. He has a wealth of expertise spanning over 25 years experience with specialised knowledge in operations and strategy, principal investing, mergers and acquisitions, and capital raising.
His expertise covers both the United States and sub-Saharan Africa. He has previously served as a partner at Iroko Capital where he led the investment banking and financial advisory business of the company. Prior to Iroko, he was Chief Operating Officer of Oceanic Capital Company Limited and Head of the Investment Banking Group.
Before joining Oceanic Capital, Otu gained valuable experience working in the United States with a number of financial institutions including KeyBanc Capital Markets (Investment Banking Group), Deutsche Bank Alex Brown (BT Wolfensohn) (Mergers & Acquisitions Group) and started his banking career with Lehman Brothers’ Natural Resources and Emerging Markets groups. He has successfully advised on over USD12bn of mergers and acquisitions; and USD2bn of financings.
He holds a B.Sc. in Mathematics from Howard University (Honors Program) and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
ANDREW SMITH-MAXWELL, SENIOR ADVISOR
Andrew provides strategic advisory in corporate finance, leverages his extensive global investment banking experience to provide strategic direction to Barbican.
Andrew has over 25 years of global investment banking experience from some of the world’s leading Investment banks. He has been a partner in Fieldstone Private Capital Group, a boutique investment bank specializing in power and infrastructure projects across Africa.
Prior to that, he led and built up the Energy and Utilities Group at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, an erstwhile British-based investment bank which is now a member of the global banking group, Commerzbank, where he was responsible for overseeing its teams in the UK, Germany, Asia, Latin America and the United States. He has previously served on the Board of Wessex Water following its acquisition by YTL Power International.
Andrew graduated from Durham University, United Kingdom with a first-class degree in engineering. His working career has been in investment banking focused on energy and infrastructure.
OLUWAYEMISI BUSARI, SENIOR ADVISOR
Oluwayemisi provides legal and transactional advice for Barbican Capital and is a highly regarded commercial lawyer with extensive expertise across various business sectors. Her exceptional skills in deal advisory and structuring have made her a trusted legal expert in significant cross-border transactions. She has provided invaluable legal support, including capital raising for a multimillion-dollar investment in Nigeria's first GSM operator, project finance legal advisory for a USD100 million national power electrification and transmission project, and successful negotiations of joint ventures and partnerships with international counterparts, One of such was negotiating an international management agreement with a global hotel operator entering the West African market, as well as establishing an energy services joint venture with a prominent global player coming into Nigeria.
Oluwayemisi has held esteemed positions on boards across Africa, including Airtel Nigeria and FBNBank Sierra Leone. With nearly three decades of experience in company secretarial, corporate governance, litigation, and commercial law practices, she is an accomplished legal practitioner. In her current role, she demonstrates exceptional leadership as she manages engagements with government and regulatory bodies, ensuring effective stakeholder management. Previously, she held the position of Head, Group Legal and Regulatory Affairs, overseeing legal activities for the Group and its member companies. She began her career at Irving and Bonnar/Bentley Edu & Co Law Firm in Lagos, where she excelled and progressed to the role of senior associate before joining the Honeywell Group.
She holds a Bachelor's degree in Law from the University of Lagos and a Bachelor's degree in English from the University of Ilorin. Following her call to the bar, she furthered her education with a Master of Laws degree from the University of Lagos. Additionally, she pursued a Master's degree in Business Administration (MBA) from the Lagos Business School in partnership with the IESE Business School. She is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association, the Federation of International Women Lawyers, the Institute of Directors (IOD), and the Institute of Corporate Governance.