Team
Rendeavour’s senior management team draws on cumulative decades of experience in Africa and other high-opportunity emerging markets.
Stephen Jennings
Founder and CEO
"Quite simply, we are building Africa's Urban Future."
Stephen Jennings is a pioneer of capital markets in Africa and Central & Eastern Europe, responsible for over $200 billion of investment flows to these regions. He has been living and working in emerging markets for more than 25 years.
Since 2012, Stephen has focused on Rendeavour, of which he is the largest shareholder.
Prior to Rendeavour, Stephen founded Renaissance Group, in 1995, building investment banking, securities sales and trading, asset management and consumer finance businesses across Central & Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa.
During the period between 1983 and 1992, Stephen worked at Credit Suisse First Boston in New Zealand and in the New Zealand Treasury. He also consulted for the governments of New Zealand and Australia on issues of privatization.
George Kapanadze
CFO
"Transforming dreams to goals and goals to reality, this is what we do at Rendeavour"
George is an experienced financial executive who has held diverse roles across Europe, Africa and CIS, covering financial management in various environments, from business start-ups to restructurings.
Prior to joining Rendeavour in 2014, George worked at Renaissance Group and Renaissance Capital supporting the Asset Management, Investment Management, and Private Equity business units. From 2008-2012, George worked at PwC as an auditor in financial services and banking division.
George holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Tbilisi State University and is a Chartered Certified Accountant.
Preston Mendenhall
Executive Vice President
"The aspirations of the people in our markets inspire Rendeavour to succeed."
Preston has more than 20 years' experience in emerging markets. For Rendeavour, he leads sales, marketing and business development across the company’s new city developments. At Tatu City, he manages daily operations of the 5,000-acre Special Economic Zone in Kenya.
Previously, Preston was Head of Marketing & Public Affairs for Renaissance Group, the Moscow-based emerging markets investment firm. Prior to Renaissance, Preston was Vice President for Strategy of Russian Standard, Russia’s leading global consumer brand with interests in financial services and alcohol beverage production and distribution.
From 1993-2006, Preston was a producer and correspondent for NBC News, covering global events in the Soviet successor states, Europe, Central and South Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Preston is a graduate of Cornell University and Phillips Exeter Academy.
Yomi Ademola
Country Head, Nigeria
"Rendeavour is creating new urban paradigms across Africa."
Yomi is a New York qualified attorney with significant legal and business experience across three continents, including corporate and project finance, mergers & acquisitions and urban land development projects. Yomi has been with Rendeavour since its inception and prior to that worked with Renaissance Capital and Renaissance Partners.
Yomi started his career in the New York and London offices of Weil, Gotshal & Manges and then Latham & Watkins. He has a Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown University and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Illinois Wesleyan University.
Chris Barron
Country Head, DRC
"Building Kenya's future"
Responsible for the delivery of Kiswishi, Chris joined Rendeavour in 2011. Chris was previously Country Head for Rendeavour in Kenya.
Prior to Rendeavour, Chris worked for the United Nations World Food Programme, where he served in the Darfur region of Sudan, Somalia, the West Bank and Gaza and Pakistan. Prior to that, he worked in the humanitarian sector with the HALO Trust, in Cambodia, Angola, Eritrea and Abkhazia. Chris started his career with the Australian Defence Force, where he served in the Australian Regular Army as an infantry officer.
Chris is the Chairman of the Rendeavour CSR Committee.
Bright Owusu-Amofah
CEO, Ghana
Bright has worked for on Appolonia City since its launch in 2012. Prior to joining Appolonia City, Bright was a Senior Analyst at Black Star Advisors, a boutique private equity firm in Ghana and was involved in structuring investment deals in various industries within the SME sector. He has also worked in investment banking and the financial services sector in various roles including as an Accounts Manager at Barclaycard in the UK. Bright attained a Master’s degree in Finance from the University of Lincoln (UK) and also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Physics. He has completed a number of courses in finance and project management and is a member of the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (ACCA) where he is currently working towards obtaining final certification. Bright is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School’s Real Estate Management Program.
Odema Ogbeh
Head of Human Resources
"Few things I have been involved in are as exciting and compelling as the work Rendeavour is doing. This is indeed a great stride for Africa’s urban development!"
Odema is a Human Resources professional with experience covering recruitment and manpower planning, training and development, compensation and benefits and employee welfare.
She began her career at Lehman Brother’s European headquarters in London and has gained extensive experience from other private sector establishments, such as Nomura International, Stanbic IBTC PLC, Asset and Resource Management (ARM Investments) and Linetrale Petroleum Limited.
With a Bachelor’s degree in Biodiversity Conservation from the University of Kent and a Master’s degree in Sustainable Business from the University of Leeds, she is also a member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).
Rachel Kanyora
Group Financial Accountant
‘Great minds thinking independently together to achieve a great vision ‘
Rachel is responsible for Rendeavour’s financial reporting processes and accounting systems implementation strategy. Rachel holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economic and Social Studies from the University of Manchester, England, and is a Chartered Certified Accountant.
Prior to joining Rendeavour in 2016, Rachel worked at EY for eight years as an audit manager, gaining experience in real estate and insurance sector audits.
Board of Directors
Frank Mosier
Chairman
"It is clear that this is Africa's time and we are proud to be a part of that story."
Frank Mosier is a lead investor in Rendeavour and the non-executive chairman of the board of directors. With over 20 years of experience in emerging markets, Frank is also the founder and head of investments of Kazimir Partners, the emerging markets investment firm. Kazimir Partners manages investments in public and private equity and real estate in emerging and frontier markets with a focus on Emerging Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa. Originally from Pennsylvania, Frank holds a B.A. in International Politics & Economics from Middlebury College.
Lord Ashcroft KCMG PC
Deputy Chairman
After more than 40 years as an entrepreneur working in the UK and overseas, Michael Ashcroft is an active investor in new companies and ideas. At various points in his business career, he has headed companies employing more than 100,000 people. In 2000, he was knighted and became a member of the House of Lords (Lord Ashcroft of Chichester, KCMG). Lord Ashcroft has written 17 books, mainly on politics and bravery, and four of these books on gallantry have been made into television series.
Stephen Jennings
Founder and CEO
"Quite simply, we are building Africa's Urban Future."
Stephen Jennings is a pioneer of capital markets in Africa and Central & Eastern Europe, responsible for over $200 billion of investment flows to these regions. He has been living and working in emerging markets for more than 25 years.
Since 2012, Stephen has focused on Rendeavour, of which he is the largest shareholder.
Prior to Rendeavour, Stephen founded Renaissance Group, in 1995, building investment banking, securities sales and trading, asset management and consumer finance businesses across Central & Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa.
During the period between 1983 and 1992, Stephen worked at Credit Suisse First Boston in New Zealand and in the New Zealand Treasury. He also consulted for the governments of New Zealand and Australia on issues of privatization.
Yomi Ademola
Country Head, Nigeria
"Rendeavour is creating new urban paradigms across Africa."
Yomi is a New York qualified attorney with significant legal and business experience across three continents, including corporate and project finance, mergers & acquisitions and urban land development projects. Yomi has been with Rendeavour since its inception and prior to that worked with Renaissance Capital and Renaissance Partners.
Yomi started his career in the New York and London offices of Weil, Gotshal & Manges and then Latham & Watkins. He has a Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown University and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Illinois Wesleyan University.
Stuart Mowbray
Director
Stuart has had an extensive investment banking career, specializing in ECM and Corporate Finance/M&A. He has worked in London, Hong Kong, Sydney and Melbourne, holding senior executive positions variously with CSFB, SBC, Nomura and Societe Generale. Stuart holds an LLB from Victoria University, Wellington, and an MBA from Kellogg (Northwestern University)/HKUST. He is also admitted as a Barrister & Solicitor to the Supreme Court of New Zealand.
David Kippen
Director
David is a private equity executive and corporate manager based in Bermuda. Previously, David was based in New York, San Francisco and London, where he was focused on TMT, energy and industrial sectors globally with Credit Suisse First Boston, JPMorgan Chase and UBS. Over the past 25 years, David has completed over 40 M&A transactions together with private and public debt and equity financings in North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia Pacific and Africa. David has also developed cross border ventures, worked with growth stage companies and acted as an interim CFO. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from McGill University in Montreal and a Masters of International Public Policy from Johns Hopkins/SAIS in Washington DC.
Simon Edwards
Director
Simon has been working in investment and capital markets for over 30 years.
After graduation in Economics and Finance at University of Sheffield, he started his career in New Zealand in investment analysis and fund management then moved to London with Credit Suisse First Boston in 1992. In 1997 he moved back to his home city of Liverool to become the Chief Executive of the Merseyside Pension Fund, one of the largest public sector pensions funds in the UK, overseeing assets of over £5billion. In 2002, with several colleagues he started a new fund management group, Midas Capital Partners limited, as chief executive and majority owner. This proved successful and the business was sold in late 2007. Also during this period Simon held non executive director roles including Standard Life Private Equity, London Scottish Bank, Merseyside Special Investment Fund and several Charitable organisations. He now spends his time between homes in Italy and UK and concentrates on managing his personal assets.
Contact Us
Please contact us by phone or email, or find one of our offices by clicking below
+254 (0) 20 513 1000
info@rendeavour.com