Adebayo Ogunlesi is a prominent Nigerian lawyer and an investment banker. Currently, he serves as the chairman of a private firm (Global Infrastructure Partners). He initially worked as the chair of Global Investment Banking at Credit Suisse First Boston, being promoted to a higher ranking of the Executive Vice Chairman.
Early Life of Adebayo
Adebayo is the son of Theophilus O. Ogunlesi, born on December 29th, 1953, in Sagamu, Ogun state in Nigeria. His father is a renowned Nigerian professor of medicine at the University of Ibadan. Ogunlesi is originally from Makun and of Yoruba descent. Coming from a well-off family, Ogunlesi had a comfortable childhood and enrolled in elite schools. As a young scholar, Ogunlesi attended King’s College, Lagos secondary school in Nigeria, and proceeded to the United Kingdom. He eventually got admission to Oxford University, where he pursued further studies. There he graduated with first-class honors in bachelor’s degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics.
In 1979, Ogunlesi received a Juris Doctor (J.D) from Harvard School of law and a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) from Harvard School of business. Amid his time as a Harvard student, he was in the Harvard Law Review.
Adebayo’s Career
Ogunlesi spent most of his life in the west. He worked as a law clerk to Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall of the United States High Court from 1989 to 1981. While there, he gathered some skills. He also got to work as an attorney in the corporate practice group of the New York City Law firm Cravath, Swaine, and Moore. At some point, he was an associate at Cravath while studying for his M.B.A.
In 1983, Ogunlesi worked for the Investment bank First Boston as an Advisor of Nigeria’s gas project. Initially, he served Boston in the finance sector to advise clients on transactions and financial discipline. Ogunlesi has toured the far north and south America, the Caribbean, Europe, Middle East, Asia, and Africa, teaching people financial management.
In 2002, CSFB Investment appointed Mr. Ogunlesi as its chair. He also served as a Credit Suisse Executive Board and Management committee member for two years in the same year. I.e., from 2094 to 2006. While at CSFB, Ogunlesi was the Executive vice chairman and client officer.
In July 2006, Ogulensi founded a private equity firm, the Global Infrastructure Partners. GIP was a joint investment, which included allies from Credit Suisse and General Electric. To date, he serves as the managing partner of the firm. Later in the same year, GIP purchased London City Airport. Three years later, GIP acquired most of London’s Gatwick Airport through a deal worth 1.455 billion euros. Since then, Nigeria’s press dubbed him “the man who brought Gatwick Airport.”
Other than the above, GIP also owns Edinburgh Airport and Nuovo Transporto Viaggiatori. They bought Edinburgh in 2012 while Nuovo in February 2018. The progress is a sign of Ogunlesi’s outstanding leadership. It is not every day that you find great managers. Often, some managers contribute to a firm’s downfall, either because they are unskilled or because they have their best interests at heart.
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Ogunlesi’s Additional Work
Ogunlesi is a member of the Columbia Bar Association. While working at Suisse First Boston, he served as a lecturer at Harvard School of Law and Yale School of Management. At Yale, he taught a course on transitional investment projects. In October 2012, Ogunlesi was appointed to the Board of Directors at Goldman Sachs. Two years later, around July 24th, he earned the title of lead director.
In 2016, around December, it was announced that Ogunlesi and other business people would form part of Donald Trump’s Strategic and Policy Forum. However, the forum was disbanded a year later.
Ogunlesi’s Personal Life
Mr. Adebayo, who is currently 67 years, is married to a beautiful wife, Dr. Amelia Quist, a renowned optometrist born and bred in British. The two who have been married since 1985 are blessed with two adorable kids. Mrs. Amelia schooled in London, where she practiced optometry for some time before moving to New York. Later, when he relocated to the United States, he continued studying Optometry after the SUNNY College of Optometry granted her the necessary credentials to continue pursuing it.
Dr. Amelia is a trustee of New York City Parents in Action and the Studio Museum in Harlem. However, the names of Adebayo”s children and their biographies remain concealed and unknown to the public.
Adebayo’s Net worth
There is no doubt that amidst Bayo’s (as his friends call him) successful career, there is wealth. Mr. Bayo has made a lot of money working in diverse fields. Nonetheless, news concerning his riches has been conflicting. But one thing that stands out is that his net worth ranges somewhere in the millions.
In 2012, Mr. Adebayo gained fame after being listed among the top ten Africans making waves in the business sector. Not to mention his achievements since then have been recurrent. As such, it won’t be wrong to state that Adebayo is on his way to overtaking the African tycoons who are more popular than him.
Adebayo’s Greatest Achievements
Mr. Bayo, a Nigerian National, UK-based lawyer, and an investment banker have made history as one of the greatest African entrepreneurs. Being an owner of foreign airports, he has established himself as an unshakeable force in the Aviation Industry.
Purchasing Gatwick Airport is one of his most outstanding achievements, considering it is the second-largest globally. You can imagine how much he harvests from the plane field. Moreover, Bayo has been accorded awards on very many occasions. While at Harvard, he received an alumni achievement award, which was an accomplishment for him. Also, New York gifted him a recipient of the International Center in New Yorks Award of Excellence. In 2018, the Bew African Magazine listed him among the top hundred most influential Africans.
Adebayo is one hardworking man whose achievements have not arrived on a silver platter. Though from a wealthy background, the amount of hard work he has put in his career attests to the awards he has received.
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Adebayo Memberships
Most of the successfully rich men we see or read about, no doubt, are always members of big establishments. And Adebayo is one such example. His leadership skills were sure channeled to fair use. While at Harvard Business, Adebayo was a member of the Board of Dean’s Advisors. Harvard is no ordinary institution. Hence being part of such a committee meant great honor. While at Harvard Law School, he was a Member of the Leadership Council of New York.
Adebayo being a board member did not end in Harvard. Sometime later, while working with NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, he was a Nation Board of directors. Moreover, he was also a representative on the board of Trustees.
Ogunlesi and Philanthropy
Mr. Adebayo is among the few beings with vast riches and the heart to share. He has occasionally made donations to numerous charity organizations in his country and the world at large. More so, the populations living in the rural areas of his home country. In most cases, they rely on humanitarian aid for survival. Mr. Bayo has raised funds for several African institutions, hoping to help young generations finish their studies. Education is mandatory in today’s century, considering one has to be literate to acquire a job.
In other words, schooling young boys and girls prepare them for a brighter future. It reduces the levels of hooligans in society and even promotes economic, social, and political development.
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Adebayo Controversy
Last year, around 26th June, Mr. Adebayo became a controversial topic after a famous hitmaker, Burna Boy, mentioned his name in his single Wonderful. The latter is featured in his album Twice as Tall. Damini Ogulu, alias Burna Boy, is famous for his captivating music and the educative tidbits he embeds in his song lyrics. In the song, Burna Boy mentions the name Adebayo and credits him for his hard work.
“I no want to make a person tell me to say I too lazy. As I dey hustle like Adebayo Ogunlesi.”
During an interview with Pitchfork, Burna Boy declared that the song was about the wonders of seeing the effects of his music on people’s lives as they share their joy, sorrow, and pleasure with him as he tours the world.
And of course, when he mentioned Adebayo in his hit song, Nigerians did not fail to realize. Many were up and about social media googling facts about him. It was not long before they uncovered that Adebayo was a Nigerian lawyer, investment banker, and the chairman and managing partner of Global Infrastructure Partner.
The findings puzzled many Nigerians who commented on how Burna Boy initiates his time to educate his audience on African facts and history using his music. Some even started saying that Adebayo should run for President. Many bloggers commented that Nigerians needed a leader like Adebayo to help the nation progress. Come to think of it, Nigeria is a populous country, with resources yet under-developed. The story made headlines for some time before it finally fades off.
