Jude Kofi Bucknor

Kofi began his professional career at Chemical Bank in New York in 1979 after obtaining an MBA (Finance) degree from Columbia University in 1979 and a BSc (Administration) degree from the University of Ghana, Legon in 1977. In his student days he worked for the Northern Ireland Electricity Service, Belfast; Merchant Bank of Ghana; and the First Boston Corporation in New York.

At Chemical Bank he became a Vice President in 1981 based in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. He joined the African Development Bank in Abidjan as Deputy Treasurer in 1986, becoming Treasurer from 1990 to 1994.

He joined then Lehman Brothers International, London in 1994 as an Executive Director, Corporate Finance. In 1997, Kofi returned to Ghana as Managing Director of CAL Merchant Bank until 2000 when he formed his own advisory and investment firm, J. Kofi Bucknor & Associates.

In 2003 he simultaneously became the Managing Partner of Kingdom Zephyr Africa Management (KZAM) which launched the $122 million PAIP-PCAP African private equity fund, followed in 2008 by the $492 million PAIP II fund, which wound down in 2015. 

Kofi has been a Director of Ashanti Goldfields Corporation, Pep Stores Ghana, Normandy Mining Corporation of Australia and Ecobank Transnational Corporation.  He was a member of the Commonwealth Secretary General’s Special Advisory Panel on the 1996 Asian Financial Crisis.

Kofi has also been Chairman of the Ghana Stock Exchange, a Director of T.A. Holdings Limited in Zimbabwe, Chairman of the Council of the University College of Education, Winneba, a Director of Letshego Limited, Botswana, Kingdom Hotels Ghana Limited, Mixta Africa, Spain, ARM, Nigeria, Chairman of Baker Hughes Oil Services, Ghana and Thunnus Overseas Limited, Côte D’Ivoire. He was also a Director of NYSE listed Newmont Mining Corporation from 2012 to 2020 and of Consolidated Infrastructure Group, South Africa.

Kofi was for 6 years, Chairman of Ghana’s Investment Advisory Committee, a statutory body set up to advise the Minister of Finance on the management of Ghana’s Heritage and Stabilization Funds.

Kofi currently serves on the boards of The Africa Channel, USA, Sanlam Assurance (formerly Saham Assurance), Morocco, Newmont Ghana Gold, and the Bank of Ghana.

Kofi has been an adviser on African investments to billionaire investor HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud, Chairman of Kingdom Holding Company, Saudi Arabia.

Kofi is fluent in French.