CHRISTOPHER OTIENO

· Lead and Strategize: Spearhead comprehensive financial strategies for multi-million-dollar projects, providing invaluable leadership in structuring and executing project finance deals.

· Negotiation Mastery: Successfully navigate complex negotiations with stakeholders, including government entities, financial institutions, and international partners, resulting in favorable terms and agreements.

· Financial Optimization: Drive financial optimization by overseeing the development and implementation of innovative capital structures, ensuring efficient use of resources and maximizing project feasibility.

· Risk Management Expertise: Assess and mitigate financial risks through meticulous analysis, developing robust risk management frameworks to safeguard project investments in dynamic and challenging markets.

· Innovative Financial Modeling: Pioneer the creation and implementation of sophisticated financial models, enhancing accuracy in forecasting and decision-making processes.

· Regulatory Compliance: Navigate and ensure compliance with intricate regulatory landscapes in the Middle East, establishing a reputation for adherence to the highest ethical and legal standards.

· Global Relationship Building: Cultivate and maintain strong relationships with key industry players, governmental bodies, and financial institutions, fostering collaboration and securing strategic partnerships.

Proven Track Record: Deliver consistent and exceptional financial outcomes, evidenced by a decade of successful project finance leadership in the Middle East.

• Managing a large portfolio of Project Finance (Infrastructure) deals and playing an active role in deal origination, monitoring & analyzing business performance and proposing/initiating appropriate corrective actions to counter underperformance
• Managing returns on the allocated portfolio and end-to-end deal life cycle for tickets in Project Finance, Structured Export Finance and Aviation Finance
• Preparing robust business credit applications to the Credit Committee to facilitate financing towards new investment opportunities or to facilitate advancing increased limits to existing clients
• Advising our syndications team on the positions to be sold down in the secondary market and exposures to take and hold.
• Finance and Portfolio Analytics Monitoring, Ensuring a minimum 9% Return on Tangible Equity by mitigating and preventing events of default for the bank’s largest exposures in our Corporate Finance division
• Responsible for Business Development- Sourcing opportunities for bankable projects
• Building and maintaining relationships with companies and sponsors to ensure steady and robust deal pipeline
• Quarterbacking business partnerships with project sponsors to deliver best-in-class financial structures which will ensure sustainable lending activities in my coverage region - Southern African, East Africa and the Middle East
• Collaborating with product partners such as Financial Markets to structure additional hedging products (swaps etc.) and coordinating with colleagues in Legal, Compliance, Tax, Audit, Risk and Loan documentation for deal support
• Performing Client visits at client’s premise and engaging borrowers and prospects at the MD (Managing Director), CFO- FD (Financial Director) levels where necessary
• Monitoring and reporting
• Leading the tracking of client’s operational performance and preparing quarterly or yearly progress reviews
• Proposing and setting Early Alert Triggers to ensure material concerns are caught and addressed in good time
• Proactively assessing client’s ability to service debt obligations
• Preempting risks based on complex financial models
• Reviewing external reports, client prepared packs and financial statements and advising internal stakeholders on appropriate actions to be taken through internal reports for decision making
• Mentoring and coaching
• Sharing best practices for the benefit of juniors and new joiners
• Creating a culture of timely circulation of information required for decision making.

• International Management Program | Corporate Institutional Banking and Corporate Finance (CIB), Colombo; Nairobi
• CIB International Management Associate contributing to business development and risk assessment in our key markets in Asia and Africa by undertaking the following activities:
• Corporate Credit Risk Management: +Worked on assignment to assess Portfolio level risk for the bank on exposures across Corporate, Institutional and Commercial Clients
• Recommended approval of increased limits or renewed credit lines within delegated authority
• Financial Markets Sales: +Assisted the team to meet revenue and client development targets
• Executed FX trades within approved trading and credit limits
• Transaction Banking Sales: +Structured industry-leading financing solutions for our Local Corporate clientele
• Influenced the uptake of our award-winning digital banking channels, S2B, to reduce associated operational costs incurred by Client and Lender
• Arranged cash products and trade solutions for billing, payments liquidity, electronic banking, specialized network connections such as Host to Host (H2H) and Swift, invoice discounting, reverse-factoring, supply chain finance etc.

• Supported the implementation of the Finance strategy to meet NSSF’s overall vision of securing a comfortable retirement for pensioners
• Prepared the annual revenue/cost budget and forecasting maps
• Developed & maintained an effective MIS and reporting cycle to monitor business momentum and pro-actively highlighted potential issues
• Developed & maintained regular reports as and when required
• Communicated the key drivers behind the budget & forecast, linking the financial performance to strategy
• Advised the leadership team on external factors that were affecting business performances and where we needed to leverage on or increase our focus.