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AACS

Profile

Dr. Falil Ayo Abina

Founder, AACS

Ayo has over 25 years’ experience rising through the ranks of key Nigerian banks from a Trainee Officer to the level of an Executive Director. He has worked across Public Sector, Commercial Banking, Treasury, Strategy and Reengineering. Ayo is an acclaimed leader of many groundbreaking teams in the finance and banking sector. He has worked in banks including, First African Trust Bank, Standard Trust Bank (UBA), Oceanic Bank, Skye Bank and Heritage Bank.

Ayo has served on the boards of trustees of Lagos State Security Trust Fund, Oyo State Security trust fund, and was Chairman of Cocoa Products Limited (CPIL – Ile Oluji), one of Nigeria’s largest Cocoa processing and exporting companies. He is presently an adviser to the Ekiti State Economic Management Team (EEMT)

Ayo is an Alumnus of Ondo State Univ., Ado-Ekiti (now Ekiti State Univ.), Univ. of Ibadan and Ambrose Alli Univ., Ekpoma where he earned an MBA in Management and Finance. He was awarded Doctor of Banking and Finance (D.Sc. Honouris Causa) by the Lead City University, and Doctor of Economics (D.Sc. Honouris Causa) by the University of Ado Ekiti.

Ayo has participated in numerous leadership and management courses including the Senior Management Programme (SMP), Sandton South Africa, Advanced Management Programme (AMP), INSEAD France, and others at Ivy League schools including Harvard, London Business School, and M.I.T.

He is a senior member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers (Hcib), a Certified Management Consultant (CMC) and a Fellow, Institute of Management Consultants (FIMC).

Dr. Hatem Samman

Middle East Expert / Economist

Hatem is a leading economist and expert on issues that impact the economic performance of countries and businesses. He is frequently quoted and asked to appear on prominent media outlets including The Financial Times, The BBC, MSNBC, and Emirates 247.

Hatem brings deep relationships and extensive experience gained as Chief Economist at the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority, Chief Strategy Officer at the General Entertainment Authority, Founding Director of the Booz and Company Ideation Center.

Hatem is a citizen of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and has lived, worked and studied in KSA, Egypt, Lebanon, the UAE, and the USA. Hatem holds a PhD (Economics/Political Economy & Public Policy) from The University of Southern California and a BA (Social Studies and Mathematics) from the University.

Alberto Pagliarini

Investment Banking and Capital Markets Expert

Alberto has been instrumental in helping corporations raise over $3b and execute M&A and restructuring deals in the US, Europe, and Asia. He has held investment banking roles with Morgan Stanley, Barclays, and Daiwa.

Most recently, Alberto was a key member of the team managing the listing process for Saudi Aramco’s $2 trillion IPO and managing Saudi Telecom’s $7bn Investment portfolio. In his early career Alberto was a management consultant with Bain & Co and McKinsey & Co where he supported banking and private equity clients.

Alberto holds a MSc in Management Engineering from Milan Polytechnic and an MBA from New York University. He is a citizen of Italy and has lived and worked in New York, London, Hong Kong, and Riyadh.

Olajumoke Caxton-Martins

Adviser, AACS

Olajumoke Caxton-Martins is a lawyer with 16 years post-call experience in secretarial administration, courtroom litigation and commercial practice.

With a Master’s degree in International Trade and Investment Law in Africa from the University of Western Cape, South Africa and certificates in Philanthropy (University of Stanford) and Business Skills Competency (London School of Business and Finance), she is well equipped to consult for small to medium enterprises at starting up and scaling up stage.

She’s an associate trainer in the Nigerian institute of Training and Development and an associate professional mentor and coach with the Chartered Institute of Corporate Mentoring and Coaching Nigeria. She’s a motivational speaker and she runs a productivity coaching program tagged “Dream Catchers”. She also coaches intending
writers from conception to publication.

She is a Senior Associate in the law firm of Makanjuola Esan & Co. (SAN).

Lanre Lassise-Phillips

Tax and Litigation Expert

Lanre is an accomplished lawyer with specialization in tax law. He has successfully litigated cases in the High Court, Federal High Court and Court of Appeal.

He currently serves as Chairman of the Tax Appeal Tribunal Lagos Zone. In this role he is responsible for writing the judgments of the Tribunal with input from the Tax Commissioners, and adjudicating on all matters arising from the operations of federal taxes between taxpayers and tax authorities.

Lanre has previously served in senior roles with Polaris Bank Limited, Skye Bank, AbiolaSanni& Co (ASCO), Intercontinental Bank Plc, Legal Research and Development Consultancy, International Law Group, Chartered, Afe Babalola SAN & Co.

Lanre is an alumnus of the University of Lagos where he earned Master of Laws (LL.M.), Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) and is pursuing a PHD with specialization in Tax.

Rafiu Akindeji Abina

Adviser, AACS

Rafiu is the Managing Partner of AACS. He has extensive experience partnering with investors and management teams to achieve results and execute on new business opportunities. He has led strategy and implementation activities for organizations including large and small companies, and sovereign wealth funds. His experience has taken him through Africa, the Middle East, Europe and the USA, and West Africa.

Rafiu was a senior member of Booz Allen Hamilton’s Communications, Media and Technology practice in the Middle East where he provided leadership for efforts related to new business launches in highly competitive emerging markets including Dubai, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Nigeria.

In his early career, Rafiu worked with Ocean and Oil Holdings (Nigeria), Unilever (USA), AT&T (USA), and the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (USA).

Rafiu holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Howard University and an MBA from New York University and London Business School. He is a citizen of Nigeria and the USA.