Ian Greenstreet was born in London on 19th February 1959 the late Professor Dennis Greenstreet and Professor Miranda Greenstreet. Ian’s international exposure started at a very young age, having been educated in Accra at the Ridge Church and then at Eltham College at boarding school in the United Kingdom. He received a Bachelors degree in Computer Science and Accounting at the University of Manchester. Upon leaving University Ian trained at Deloitte Touche in London (then Touche Ross) and qualified as a Chartered Accountant.

Ian’s international exposure started at a very young age, having been educated in Accra at the Ridge Church and then at Eltham College at boarding school in the United Kingdom. He received a Bachelors degree in Computer Science and Accounting at the University of Manchester. Upon leaving University Ian trained at Deloitte Touche in London (then Touche Ross) and qualified as a Chartered Accountant.

Ian is a competitive person and also a family man. With 7 daughters, Ian is a strong supporter of women realising their full potential. He is golfer and enjoys exercising and swimming and competed at the London Olympic triathlon in 2006. He is well travelled and speak 4 languages.

Ian worked as a Manager at Midland Montagu (now HSBC in London), he was subsequently appointed as the CEO of Henderson Portfolio Managers Group in Luxembourg, at the early age of 28. He was the only person of colour in the 1980s to hold such a position. Henderson Portfolio Managers Group was an asset management company with funds under management of £9 billion. Ian subsequently became Head of Credit Risk at Yamaichi, a Japanese broker. He was head-hunted to join ABN AMRO bank.

Ian is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. Throughout his career, Ian has worked for international firms including ABN AMRO Bank, Yamaichi, Lloyds Bank and Henderson Fund Management. Henderson Fund management is a group with £75bn assets under management and Ian was CEO of their subsidiary in Luxembourg. At ABN AMRO, Ian was responsible for ensuring that the Bank selected the right clients. He was able to predict the bankruptcy of a renowned Japanese brokerage firm and a large hedge fund, saving the Bank several billions. He devised a system of including risk experts on City trading floors to maximise profitability and mitigate risk on transactions, which has now become a global standard.

As Head of Risk at ABN AMRO London for 10 years Ian was responsible for a trading portfolio of £72 billion and a loan portfolio of £39 billion. Together with the team and CEO, he listed one of the first Indian Property Development companies on AIM in 2006. In addition, Ian has advised a leading bank on central clearing platforms such as the LCH, CME, ICE and the set up of the Japanese and Singaporean clearing houses with particular reference to state of the art risk methodologies.

In 2009, Ian left the City and founded his own corporate finance firm. Infinity Capital Partners is an independent Corporate Finance firm providing specialist strategic advisory services in financial risk, infrastructure, natural resources (oil, gas, power), banking and financial technology (with . In his capacity, Ian has taken the role of co-managing the development of the first private sector independent gas power plant in Nigeria. Despite the risks and challenges, Ian was drawn to such an opportunity due to its potential to have a substantial multiplier effect in the Eastern part of Nigeria. Together with the sponsors of the project, Prof Bart Nnaji and Pascal Dozier, Geometric will become the first independent, private sector integrated generation and distribution power plant in the country. The project pioneers a visionary approach to resolving Nigeria and Africas power and electricity challenges. Further to this, he has launched a first to market foreign exchange,FinTech product called TouchFX (touchfx.co) counting as its customers the largest global multinationals and global financial institutions. The product uses pioneering, disruptive technology and complies with up and coming regulatory changes in the foreign exchange market.

Ian has a wealth of Board and Governance experience spanning across the last 10 years and 3 continents. He has represented the Dutch development organisation, the FMO on two boards – the Bank of Africa, based in 14 countries in Africa and Alios Capital, based in a further 5 African countries. Ian was a key member of team that listed one of the first Indian property development companies on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in London and within a short period of time the value of the company had exceeded the amount invested by the sponsors many times over. He was a member of the board of the company and chairman of its board audit and risk committee. Ian currently sits as Board Director of Diamond Bank in Nigeria; he also chairs its Board Audit and Risk Committee and serves as Vice Chair of its Board Credit Committee. Ian represents the IFC, the private sector arm of the World Bank on the Board on an insurance company in South Africa. Additionally, he sits on the Advisory Board of the London Stock Exchange.

On his 50th birthday in 2009, Ian set up a Gift Africa – a foundation that provides solar lanterns to schoolchildren in Ghana. Prior to Gift Africa’s involvement in communities in Ghana, children faced challenges studying at home once the school day had finished. A reliance on kerosene lamps meant that children’s health was at risk, primarily from respiratory-related illnesses and underperforming in assigned school tasks. The lanterns provide an alternative, which allow children to reach their full potential.

To visit the Gift Africa website Click Here.