30 •
The Lion King
• October - December 2017
RENE-LAURENT ALCIATOR
BY NONSO NDUANYA
ASK THE EXECUTIVE
Tell us about yourself. Who is Rene?
I am a 40 year-old, married, French-
Italian whose life path actually started
in Africa as my parents were posted to
Somalia before I was born and stayed
a little longer after that. Attending
German Kindergarten and then
French schools in different European
countries, I have learned early to
adapt and meet other cultures. I
developed a yearning for internation-
al experience that has shaped my
path in life. My postgraduate studies:
political sciences with a major in inter-
national relations in Strasbourg and
then a masters in management in
Paris, Oxford and Berlin. My first job: in
M&A with an American bank in the UK
and Germany. My second important
job: attracting international investors
in Belgium. My third important job:
for a German trade-finance institu-
tion, originating deals from French and
Italian exporters with risks on Africa, the
Middle-East, Eastern Europe and Asia.
And now my most exciting assignment
ever: representing United Bank for
Africa, a pan-African bank, in France
and continental Europe. As for my
private life: you must have guessed
it by now, my wife’s neither French,
nor Italian but I’ll leave the nationality
unanswered so you can ask me next
time we call or meet!
What brings you to UBA?
A head-hunter called me during the
summer 2017 detailing the proposed
role at UBA and I was immediately
interested. The breadth of the assign-
ment and responsibility associated to
UBA’s footprint and the phenomenal
economic growth perspectives of
Africa for decades to come were the
attractive proposition. UBA’s people
whom I met during the hiring process
and the new people I continue to
meet all have this sacred fire that ulti-
mately inspires me – a very important
dimension of work motivation actually.
What is the synergy between UBA’s
Paris operations and that of the UBA
Group?
UBA Paris is a representative office,
reporting to the Group Deputy
Managing Director. The name clearly
calls for the function: UBA Paris repre-
sents the Group’s interests in France
and as a matter of fact in Europe too,
in full coordination with all the respon-
sible units of the bank. The mandate
is today geared towards relationship
acquisition and management with
global corporates, financial institu-
tions, EMDOs and sovereigns who are
clients of the banks in and out of
Africa. Taking a broader view, UBA
Paris is to be considered as a team
extension in Europe of any UBA unit
that has a business need in Europe.
What can we expect from UBA Paris?
An increase of UBA’s visibility in Europe,
new business and full support of our
African and non-African operations.
How does it feel to work for and repre-
sent an African bank in France?
The excitement of the role apart, and
I can tell two months after my start
that it has not levelled one bit, it
feels purposeful, an honour and a
great responsibility to represent UBA
in France. Purposeful because, on the
one hand, I can serve European cus-
tomer needs in Africa thanks to our
pan-African footprint, strong balance
sheet and intimate local regulatory
and business knowledge. On the other
hand, beyond the bottom line, pur-
poseful because I can contribute to
the bank’s needs such as attracting
hard currency deposits to our group,
Rene-Laurent Alciator is the Head
of UBA Representative Office in
Paris, and also acts as Global
Account Manager. Before joining
the UBA Group, Rene worked in
Germany and France, in senior
sales and management roles
within DF Deutsche Forfait AG, a
German-based non-bank financial
institution. Interestingly, Rene is
multilingual and speaks French,
English, German and Italian
fluently. His other skills include
international trade finance assets
origination, syndicated loans
trading, contract negotiation, credit
insurance, sanctions compliance
and international business
development, among others.
Rene speaks to us on his new role
at UBA.
HEAD, UBA REPRESENTATIVE OFFICE
& GLOBAL ACCOUNT MANAGER
