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PATRICK GUTMANN
CEO, UBA UK
The CEO of UBA UK is not only passionate about building businesses, he is also playing a very important role in creating a new world of borderless opportunities through the facilitation of trade and investment flows between Africa and Europe.
Tell us about Patrick Gutman
I was born in the US to a Swedish mother and a Swiss father, but spent most of my childhood in Sweden, Switzerland and Japan. I graduated from High School with an Internation- al Baccalaureate diploma from St. Mary’s International High School in Tokyo, Japan. I pursued my under- graduate studies in the US and grad- uated with a major in International Studies and a core in Economics from Macalester College in St. Paul, MN. I then worked for a few years in various areas of commercial banking before pursuing an MBA from North- western University’s Kellogg School of Management in Chicago, IL.
During my career, I have lived and worked in North America, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe.
I married my wife, Pamela who is from Zimbabwe, in Harare in 2000, and we have three sons aged 14, 12, and 10 years old.
I am passionate about building busi- nesses and teams, whilst continuing my professional growth. In addition, I enjoy spending time with my family, reading, travelling, running and play- ing tennis.
How did you get this role? What were you doing previously?
I have over 20 years of international banking experience, having worked for both large multi-national and smaller regional financial institutions, across many geographies and diverse cultures. The last 15 years of my career have been spent working in and with Emerging Markets, across
BY BOLA ATTA & NONSO NDUANYA
Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
I started my banking career with Wells Fargo Bank in the US, and after concluding my graduate studies, joined ABN AMRO Bank in Chicago.
I spent five years with ABN AMRO in the US, one year with them based in the head office in Amsterdam and then five years in their Asia Pacific Regional Head Office in Hong Kong. Most of my time with ABN AMRO
was spent in the Transaction Banking business, although I also spent time in various Finance & Strategic Planning functions.
After about 10 years with ABN AMRO, I was approached to join the largest private sector bank in Egypt, Com- mercial International Bank (CIB), with a mandate to build up and grow their Transaction Banking business, while also supporting the strategy development for their Corporate & Institutional Banking division. I spent three exciting and rewarding years
in Cairo and upon concluding my engagement with CIB, I was ap- proached by Ecobank to join them in a significant role. I subsequently spent 5 years with ETI (Ecobank Trans- national Incorporated), as the Group Head of Global Transaction Services, managing and expanding the Transaction Banking business (which included Trade Finance, Cash Man- agement & Payments, Supply-Chain Financing, and Corporate Electronic channels) across the entire Ecobank footprint. With ETI I was based in Jo- hannesburg, South Africa for 4 years and then based in Lagos, Nigeria for my final year; although with exten- sive travel and work in most Ecobank countries.
Most recently before joining UBA UK, I was the Managing Director and Head of Corporate & Institutional Banking for BACB, another pan-Afri- can bank here in London. In this role I managed and led an expansion for all business client-facing front-of- fice activities within BACB, which included about 65 staff in Treasury & Capital Markets, six product areas, and four regional coverage areas with five representative offices.
What does it mean to have a com- mercial license in the UK?
With a wholesale banking license, UBA UK is an authorized and regu- lated bank in the UK. This allows the bank to conduct regulated business activities, which in our case means that we can accept deposits from corporate and institutional clients. It also means we are now able to offer a broader array of products and services, which the UBA entity in the UK could previously not offer.
What can you tell us about UBA UK’s operation?
We are a team of about 35 ener- gized and experienced bankers who are all attracted by the pan-African vision and ambitions of UBA. UBA is
a large African bank with a vision to help develop the African continent and to strengthen the ties between Africa and the rest of the world... and that is where UBA UK comes
in. We are here to deliver on UBA’s vision to be Africa’s Global Bank. UBA UK is here to service the entire UBA Group and to provide access to the sophisticated financial markets and services in London. However, be- yond the Group, UBA UK is helping to
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