The CDFS is governed by an independent board of directors and led by a management team with extensive experience in development finance and capital markets.
Jean-Michel Severino
Chairperson
Jean-Michel Severino
Chairperson
Jean-Michel was CEO of Investisseurs & Partenaires between 2011 and 2021 and previously served as Vice-President for Asia at the World Bank and Director General of the French Development Agency. He serves on the boards of CFAO, Ecobank International, France Telecom and Danone, and is a member of the Academy of Technology and a Knight of the French Legion of Honor. Jean-Michel holds degrees from Sciences-Po and ENA.
Thomas Venon
Executive Director
Thomas Venon
Executive Director
Thomas is executive director of the CDFS and a founding partner at Eighteen East Capital. Thomas has 20 years’ experience in the asset management industry including as head of institutional business at African Alliance, a director at S&P Fund Research, and senior positions at RBS/ABN Amro and Old Mutual. He holds an MBA from the University of Cape Town and a Master’s in Applied Finance from the University of Melbourne.
Dave Portmann
Senior Advisor
Dave Portmann
Senior Advisor
Dave is a senior advisor at the CDFS and founding partner at Eighteen East Capital, where he leads activities for the FCDO MOBILIST programme in Africa. Dave previously gained extensive experience across Africa during his time as a senior consultant at Douglas Parker Associates. He was born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa and holds B.Sc. (Hons) and MBA degrees from the University of Cape Town.
David Escoffier
Senior Advisor
David Escoffier
Senior Advisor
David is a partner at Eighteen East Capital and senior advisor at the CDFS. An experienced banker he most recently held senior management positions as Global CEO of Newedge and Deputy Head of Global Markets at Société Générale. David has also served on several corporate boards, including Lyxor Asset Management. David is a graduate of Sciences-Po Lyon.
Kjell Roland
Senior Advisor
Kjell Roland
Senior Advisor
Kjell was CEO of Norfund from 2006 to 2018, prior to which he spent two decades working as partner and CEO of the consultancy firm ECON. As a consultant, Kjell worked for private companies, governments and international organizations such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. He holds an MSc from the University of Oslo and has been a visiting scholar at Stanford University.
Magnus Billing
Senior Advisor
Magnus Billing
Senior Advisor
Magnus has over 20 years of experience in the international financial industry. He was previously the CEO of Nasdaq Nordic and, most recently, the CEO of Alecta, one of Europe's five largest pension funds. As CEO, he transformed the portfolio into a sustainable asset base by leveraging an active, in-house investment model to drive transitional growth. Magnus holds an LLM from Stockholm University and an Executive Management degree from Stockholm School of Economics.
Viola Kilel
Senior Advisor
Viola Kilel
Senior Advisor
Viola is a policy advisor at the Netherlands Embassy in Kenya and a senior advisor to the CDFS. She previously spent 8 years at the Capital Markets Authority, Kenya within the policy and market development directorate. Viola holds a MSc in Development Finance from Strathmore Business School and is a Chartered Development Finance Analyst with the CIDF in South Africa.
Hamid Asseffar
Senior Advisor
Hamid Asseffar
Senior Advisor
Hamid was most recently Head of EMEA Sustainable & Impact Investing at Invesco, leading their transition finance initiatives and responsible for business development with DFIs and IFIs globally. Hamid previously worked for Amundi, Credit Suisse and Société Générale Gestion. He graduated from EDHEC Business School and sits on several technical advisory groups to help scale up investment solutions targeting the Global South.
Wasim Tahir
Senior Advisor
Wasim Tahir
Senior Advisor
Wasim is a Research Fellow at Harvard University, where he focuses on the intersection of climate and development finance, aiming to mobilize private capital. Prior to Harvard, he was a director at British International Investment, leading on financial sector development and private capital mobilization. Wasim has extensive advisory experience through roles at BCG and Oliver Wyman. He holds an MPA from Harvard Kennedy School, an MEng from the University of Oxford, and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
Sashi Jayatileke
Senior Advisor
Sashi Jayatileke
Senior Advisor
Sashi was a senior climate policy advisor at USAID, where she managed the Climate Finance portfolio and led the design of catalytic financing initiatives to unlock private investment for climate action. Her expertise spans deal structuring, risk-sharing instruments, and financial innovation to expand access to capital in underserved markets. Sashi holds an MSc from the London School of Economics and a BA from Vanderbilt University.
Philip Walker
Senior Advisor
Philip Walker
Senior Advisor
Philip was most recently co-head of private equity investments at Asteria Obviam, with a lead responsibility for investment and portfolio construction in Africa. Prior to Obviam, Philip was a founding member of the team that developed and launched the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment. Philip has a master’s degree in finance from London Business School.
Oksana Volchko
Senior Advisor, Ukraine office
Oksana Volchko
Senior Advisor, Ukraine office
Oksana has over 20 years' experience in banking and governance roles in Ukraine. At Raiffeisen Bank International she held senior commercial banking roles and as an independent director at JSB Ukrgasbank and JSC Ukrposhta, she specialised in corporate governance and green finance. Oksana has an Executive MBA from Sheffield University, and certifications in corporate governance and digital transformation from INSEAD, Oxford and Cambridge Universities.
Cameron Khosrowshahi
Lead, EMDE Public Markets Coalition
Cameron Khosrowshahi
Lead, EMDE Public Markets Coalition
Formerly Managing Director of the Investment Team at Prosper Africa and director of the INVEST initiative. Cameron gained extensive coalition management experience managing Prosper Africa and USAID’s Institutional Investor Initiative, a collaboration with the US and African pension communities that has mobilized over $1.7 billion in institutional capital commitments. Cameron is a graduate of Johns Hopkins School of International Studies.
Mari Blumenthal
Communications Specialist, EMDE Public Markets Coalition
Mari Blumenthal
Communications Specialist, EMDE Public Markets Coalition
Mari leads communications for the UK government’s MOBILIST programme and has worked on development finance projects across Africa and the Middle East. She has worked with clients including the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), Bloomberg LP, and BlackRock Asset Management. A former financial journalist, Mari holds Honours degrees in both Economics and Journalism from Stellenbosch University.
Mira Ivanova
Senior Associate
Mira Ivanova
Senior Associate
Mira Ivanova is a senior associate at the CDFS. Her prior professional experience includes roles at KPMG, the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), PwC Luxembourg, and the European Commission's Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs (ECFIN). She holds degrees in Economics and Political Science from Otto-Friedrich University, Goethe University Frankfurt, as well as a certificate in climate and renewable energy finance from the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management.
Wuraola Okuwobi
Associate
Wuraola Okuwobi
Associate
Wuraola is a Master’s in Finance student at the Stockholm School of Economics (SSE). As a Wallenberg fellow, she completed an internship GEF Capital Partners. Prior to SSE, Wuraola worked in the international tax divisions at PwC and Andersen where she advised multinationals and domestic group companies on related party transactions. In addition she sits on the board of Green Growth Africa (formerly ISNAD-Africa).
Hjalmar Haglund
Associate
Hjalmar Haglund
Associate
Hjalmar Haglund is an associate at the CDFS. His prior professional experience includes roles at the French Ministry of the Interior, the French National Assembly, Doctors of the World, and the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Paris. He holds degrees in public law, history, and political science from Paris-Dauphine University, École Pratique des Hautes Études, and Lund University.
British A. Robinson
Board Member
British A. Robinson
Board Member
British has a wealth of experience in driving inclusive growth and investment across the continent of Africa. She currently serves as Chair, Africa at the Milken Institute, and previously led as Coordinator for Prosper Africa. She holds master’s and bachelor's degrees from Johns Hopkins University and George Washington University, and honorary doctorates from Fairfield University and the American University.
John Kristensen
Board Member
John Kristensen
Board Member
John is COO of Astrid, an EdTech venture he co-founded after a career in development finance and investment banking. Previously, as head of fund investments at Swedfund, John built and managed one of the largest impact investment portfolios of its kind in the Nordics. Prior to Swedfund, he worked at Aviva plc and Merrill Lynch in the City of London
Mita Samani
Board Member
Mita Samani
Board Member
Mita was until June 2023 the Head of the Private Sector Department at the United Kingdom’s Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office. She was tasked with the oversight and management of BII and represented the UK on the Board of Directors of the EBRD. Mita in addition helped develop the UK’s position on climate change policy for the MDBs and leveraging private finance in the international climate change negotiations.
Thomas Venon
Executive Director
Thomas Venon
Executive Director
Thomas is executive director of the CDFS and a founding partner at Eighteen East Capital. Thomas has 20 years’ experience in the asset management industry including as head of institutional business at African Alliance, a director at S&P Fund Research, and senior positions at RBS/ABN Amro and Old Mutual. He holds an MBA from the University of Cape Town and a Master’s in Applied Finance from the University of Melbourne.