Nick O’Donohoe CMG has decided to step down as CEO of British International Investment plc (BII) later this year after seven years successfully leading the institution.
Under Nick’s leadership BII has grown substantially. Today it employs over 600 people in eleven offices across Africa and Asia. Since 2017 it has made a positive portfolio return and committed more than £9 billion into new investments in support of development and to tackle climate change.
BII is today recognised as one of the world’s preeminent development finance institutions for its innovation and leadership in key sectors for impact such as renewable energy, critical economic infrastructure, venture capital, financial inclusion and gender lens investing. BII has set the highest environmental and social standards in all these areas, while strengthening its measurement and understanding of its impact on peoples’ lives.
The Board, led by BII’s Chair Diana Layfield, is leading the process to find Nick’s successor. As part of a well-ordered succession, Nick will support the transition to the new CEO following their appointment.
Nick O’ Donohoe said: “It has been an extraordinary privilege to be the CEO of BII over the past seven years. When I joined my objective was to continue building a world-class investment organisation that would have development impact at the core of everything it does and would ensure the UK was recognised as a leader in development finance. I am enormously proud of what has been achieved and to have had the opportunity to lead an organisation of such incredibly dedicated specialists who work tirelessly with our partners to deliver the sort of change that makes a meaningful difference to peoples’ lives. This year is a natural time to hand over the stewardship of this wonderful and vital institution for its next stage.”
Diana Layfield, Chair said: “I would like to express my, and the Board’s, huge gratitude to Nick for his dedication over the last seven years. He has led BII through a period of significant transformation and has had a tremendous impact on BII and on development finance more broadly. During his time as CEO, the world has faced an exceptional combination of challenges, yet under Nick’s leadership BII has met these challenges with bold and innovative solutions. We have been very lucky to have him at the helm for so long, and he will leave BII in a strong position for his successor.
The role will be publicly advertised shortly, and enquiries about the role should be directed to katie.bennett@russellreynolds.com.
About Nick O’Donohoe
Nick O’Donohoe has been BII’s Chief Executive and a member of the Board since 2017.
He was previously a Senior Adviser to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation where he specialised in the use of blended finance models to support the work of the Foundation.
Nick co-founded, with Sir Ronald Cohen, Big Society Capital (BSC). He served as its Chief Executive Officer from 2011 to December 2015. BSC is an independent financial institution established by the UK Government as “the world’s first social investment bank” and is capitalised with unclaimed UK bank accounts and investment by the largest UK banks.
Previously Nick worked at JP Morgan, latterly as Global Head of Research. He was a member of the Management Committee of the Investment Bank and the Executive Committee of JP Morgan Chase, as well as the senior sponsor for JP Morgan’s Social Finance Unit. Prior to JP Morgan, he spent fifteen years at Goldman Sachs.
Nick served as Chairman of the UK Dormant Assets Commission which reported in March 2017. He is also a board member of the Global Impact Investing Network and between 2017 – 2023 was Deputy Chairman of the Global Steering Group on Impact Investment.
Nick was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) by Her Majesty the Queen in the 2022 Jubilee Birthday honours list.
About British International Investment
- British International Investment is the UK’s development finance institution and impact investor.
- British International Investment is a trusted investment partner to businesses in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean.
- It invests to support the UK Government’s Clean Green Initiative and to create productive, sustainable and inclusive economies in our markets.
- Between 2022-2026, at least 30 per cent of BII’s total new commitments by value will be in climate finance.
- BII is also a founding member of the 2X Challenge which has raised over $16 billion to empower women’s economic development.
- The company has investments in over 1,470 businesses across 65 countries and total assets of £8.1 billion.
- For more information, visit: bii.co.uk
- Follow British International Investment on LinkedIn and X.
