Nairobi, 11 May 2021: Open Capital Advisors (OCA), an Africa-based management consulting and financial advisory firm, has expanded its senior leadership team with the election of its third Partner, Neil Wood, and appointment of Milton Lore as Head of Partnerships, and Chris Mrema as Principal.
Neil joined OCA in 2016 and has been serving as an Associate Partner and Head of Uganda since 2019, as well as head of OCA’s Agribusiness Practice. He has led numerous client projects across sectors and markets including Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso. Neil joined Open Capital from the Grameen Foundation, where he developed strategies and partnership models to support the integration of smallholder farmers into formal market systems. Prior to this, Neil brings years of experience leading international due diligence, audit, and advisory engagements for PwC, and strategy and business development for Target Australia. In the past, he also consulted many start-ups and non-profits, and launched the Social Entrepreneurs Mentoring Program at Melbourne Business School.
Milton, OCA’s new Head of Partnerships, brings over 25 years of professional experience in consulting, impact investing, and public policy globally to Open Capital. He has held leadership roles across Africa including overseeing a portfolio of 38 business organizations active in 15 countries under the Mastercard Foundation’s US$50M Fund for Rural Prosperity, serving as Chief of Party for USAID’s Feed the Future Kenya Innovation Engine, and CEO of the Africa Venture Capital Association. Milton previously co-founded Bridgeworks Africa, an early stage investing and technology transfer platform. He has also participated in advisory and investment committee capacities for Acumen, Sahel Capital, and Small Foundation.
Chris brings over 20 years of experience in management consulting and investment banking to OCA. Originally from Tanzania, Chris spent most of his career in the US, starting at Bear Stearns (now JP Morgan) in New York and then in management consulting at Enaxis and Accenture, where he led dozens of strategic advisory projects for major corporations across industries, including airlines, consumer goods, renewable energy, and technology companies. Chris was also Special Projects Manager for EDP Renewable Energy LLC, one of the largest wind energy companies in the US where he led strategic planning and mergers & acquisitions. Most recently, Chris was Senior Principal at Accenture in Houston where he supported multinationals in developing their digital strategy.
“We are thrilled to expand our senior leadership with such exceptional new team members! Neil has exemplified our values and led major areas of our business across agribusiness and the humanitarian sector, while driving a broad portfolio of impactful client work as well as internal priorities. In his role as Head of Partnerships, Milton brings a wealth of experience that will help us achieve outcomes across Africa and globally, and Chris’ decades of global experience will help us grow in many new areas. Our expanded team makes us even more confident of the impact we can achieve in the coming years, within Africa and by linking partners around the globe.” said Open Capital Co-CEOs, Andreas Zeller and Annie Roberts.
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About Open Capital:
Open Capital Advisors is a management consulting and financial advisory firm that drives growth, enables investment, and builds markets across Africa. We help businesses, investors, development partners, and the public sector to identify opportunities and deliver unique, impactful solutions. Our mission is to advance African economies and build future generations of business leaders. Since 2010, we have completed 800+ engagements across 25 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Our locally based team of over 130 full-time staff brings experience from the world’s top consultancies, private equity firms, investment banks, and development organization. For more information, please visit www.opencapital.com
Media Contact:
Corazon Sefu Wandimi – csefu@opencapital.com
