J. Kofi BucknorManaging Partner, Kingdom Zephyr Africa Management
Kofi began his professional career at Chemical Bank in New York in 1979 after obtaining an MBA (Finance) degree from Columbia University in 1979 and a BSc (Administration) degree from the University of Ghana, Legon in 1977. In his student days he worked for the Northern Ireland Electricity Service, Belfast; Merchant Bank of Ghana; and the First Boston Corporation in New York.
At Chemical Bank he became a Vice President in 1981 based in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. He joined the African Development Bank in Abidjan as Deputy Treasurer in 1986, becoming Treasurer from 1990 to 1994.
He joined Lehman Brothers International, London in 1994 as an Executive Director, Corporate Finance. In 1997, Kofi returned to Ghana as Managing Director of CAL Merchant Bank until 2000 when he formed his own advisory firm, J. Kofi Bucknor & Associates.
He subsequently became the Managing Partner of Kingdom Zephyr Africa Management in 2003 which launched the $122 million PAIP-PCAP African private equity fund, followed by the $492 million PAIP II fund which closed in January 2010.
Kofi has been a Director of Ashanti Goldfields Corporation, Pep Stores Ghana, Normandy Mining Corporation of Australia and Ecobank Transnational Corporation and was a member of the Commonwealth Secretary General’s Special Advisory Panel on the
1996 Asian Financial Crisis. Kofi has been Chairman of the Ghana Stock Exchange, a Director of T.A. Holdings Limited in Zimbabwe, Chairman of the Council of the University College of Education, Winneba, a Director of Micro-Provident Botswana Limited, and CNIA Assurances, Morocco.
He currently serves on the boards of Newmont Mining Corporation, Chirano Gold Mines, Kingdom Hotels Limited, NIB, Ghana and Mixta Africa, Spain.
Kofi has been an adviser since 1997 to HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud, chairman of Kingdom Holding Company, Saudi Arabia.
He is fluent in French.