THE BOARD
Patrick is a seasoned investment banker with sound origination, deal structuring, execution, analytical, commercial, negotiation and managerial skills. He has been involved both as financial adviser, equity and debt arranger in a cross-section of infrastructure, shipping, aircraft, hydrocarbon, oil rig and work-over financings in the United Kingdom, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, other GCC countries and most recently in Nigeria. His experience covers project development, bankability assessments, deal structuring, risk assessment, financial modelling, PPP bid submission support, risk assessment, PPP negotiation and structuring, financing documentation, credit appraisal, syndication, account and project managing multi-disciplinary assignments & deal teams across Greenfield, Brown-field and Black-field transactions.
He has worked on project financings in excess of approximately US$77 billion since 1996 and was Group Executive, Head – Investment Banking and Operations Divisions at FBNQuest Merchant Bank Limited until February 2023, following which he founded and set up PM Infrastructure Advisory & Consulting Limited. Patrick has 33 years banking experience of which 25 years has been dedicated primarily towards financial advisory, debt structuring, debt arranging / lending and closing of big-ticket project finance, M&A and Capital Markets transactions in Nigeria and various offshore jurisdictions.
His infrastructure / project financing career commenced as a financial modeller at London Underground Limited’s (“LUL”) Project Finance Advisory Group where he advised and negotiated on various transport projects being implemented by the UK Government. His career further developed at the London branch of German bank, Bayerische Landesbank’s (“BLB”) structured finance group where he undertook various project finance (PFI / BOT / PPP) duties. He advanced his career as Assistant Manager, Project & Trade Finance Department, GCC Group, at Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (“APICORP”) Saudi Arabia. Patrick was subsequently appointed Senior Corporate Banker and acting Head of project finance at National Commercial Bank (“NCB”), Saudi Arabia.
Prior to returning to Nigeria in 2008 he was Managing Director and Head, Project and Corporate Finance at Bahrain based Gulf One Investment Bank where he led and structured the first Islamic finance transaction for an airport on a BOT basis. Upon returning to Nigeria, he joined Standard Bank’s Stanbic IBTC Bank as head, Debt Solutions and later moved to FBN Capital Ltd (now FBNQuest Merchant Bank Ltd) in December 2011 where he rose to the position of Group Executive. Patrick was responsible for overseeing two important divisions of the bank (i.e., Investment Banking and Bank Operations), where he led deal teams involved in advising, structuring, executing and closing of the firm’s debt arranging, advisory and Investment Banking activities. Although he took early retirement in 2023, FBNQuest retains him as Senior Adviser, where he undertakes various ad-hoc advisory duties on behalf of the bank.
Since returning to Nigeria he has been involved as adviser to Central Bank Of Nigeria on the power sector intervention funding, Lafarge, SEPLAT Energy, MTN, Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation on their green-field refinery projects, refinery rehabilitation projects, Nigeria LNG, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (“NSIA”), Lagos State Government’s Blue Line Railway and the Lekki Airport projects. Patrick Mgbenwelu is a regular industry speaker / panel member and writes case studies / articles in various PPP / project finance publications, he is a founding council member and chairman of the International Project Finance Association (“IPFA”) (Nigeria branch) and is on the Advisory Board of Lagos Business School’s Centre for Infrastructure Policy Regulation & Advancement.
Mrs. Adaora Ayoade is a seasoned and highly accomplished professional in the field of Human Resources. She is the CEO of EZ37 Solutions Limited (“EZ37”), a leading Human Resources and Management Consulting Firm - accredited by the International Coaching Federation (“ICF”) that provides certifications in professional coaching.
Adaora has over 20 years of senior-level corporate experience. She holds the Professional Certified Coach (“PCC”) credential from the ICF and is a certified Master Trainer and Assessor with the International Finance Corporation’s (“IFC”) Learning Performance Institute, a private arm of the World Bank, showcasing the breadth and depth of her expertise.
Mrs. Ayoade is the past President and Board Member of the Nigeria chapter of the International Coaching Federation, the leading and largest organization of professional coaches globally, with a presence in over 150 countries. She served as one of three Global Co-Leaders and represented Europe, the Middle East and Africa (“EMEA”) region. In this role, she contributed to a rich arena of continuous knowledge sharing on leading-edge practices, developing trends, tools and tips for coach training providers to advance their professional development and deepen their subject matter and expertise.
Adaora has extensive experience in helping organizations and leaders at various levels to enhance their performance, fine-tune their developmental / growth plans to enable them achieve their professional and personal goals. She employs a wide range of methods, including embedding coaching cultures through executive and leadership coaching, team coaching, group coaching, coaching skills for leaders and managers, and tailored learning and development initiatives. She has worked globally across diverse sectors, including FMCG, financial services, fintech, energy, insurance, technology and media, health, non-profit, telecoms, and the public sector.
Mr. Bekouchi “Bex” Nwawudu has extensive in-country and international experience in financial advisory, structuring, and fundraising, gained at notable institutions such as Daiwa Capital Markets (UK), ING Barings (UK), BGC (UK), FCMB (Nigeria), and CBO Investment Management (Nigeria).
Bex has raised over $300 million for African companies and has worked on transactions exceeding $1 billion over the past 30 years. Key transactions include road infrastructure in Lagos and the financing of various Nigeria Oil and Gas assets (notably Afren Plc and First Hydrocarbon Nigeria). His recent advisory work has focused on Fintechs (including a rapidly growing asset insurance business, seed finance, and key corporate partnerships for a UK-based, Africa-focused fintech business), Renewable and Clean Energy (debt funding for a solar mini-grid business), and EV Mobility projects (advisory and financing for EV bus projects and other mobility clients).
Bex believes that Africa can leverage income from its traditional fuels to finance its energy transition — enabling the continent to acquire electric mobility and clean, sustainable energy.
Ola Alokolaro is a seasoned legal practitioner with over 25 years’ experience in corporate and commercial legal practice focused on the extractive industries and the infrastructure sector.
He is well versed in oil and gas, electricity, and solid minerals laws of Nigeria and has advised several exploration and production companies, oil service contractors, independent power producers, multinationals, finance institutions and high net worth clients on a wide range of assignments. He also provides advice and assistance on policy Issues on electricity, mining, oil, and gas, as well as legislative drafting of statutory Instruments.