The Governing Council oversees and provides strategic direction to the management team. The Council has various committees, enabling it to give special attention to various aspects of the operations of the Exchange.
Corporate Governance
Governing Council
The Exchange is governed by a Council of nine representing three independent members, two representatives of licensed dealing members, two listed company representatives, and two executives
Mrs. Abena Osei-Poku is the second female in twenty-six years to become the Chairperson of the Exchange after Mrs. Gloria Nikoi of blessed memory. She takes over from Mr. Ray Anselm Sowah, whose tenure ended at the last Annual general meeting held on 28th July,2021.
As one of the three independent members on the Council representing the Associate members, Mrs. Abena Osei-Poku is also the Managing Director of Absa Bank Ghana- a systemically important player in the Ghanaian economy. Abena is credited with leading the successful Barclays transition from a “100-year-old household brand” to Absa. She is responsible for charting a transformational direction for the bank and for entrenching the new brand amongst key clients, customers, and all stakeholders. Prior to this, she worked at Absa Group in South Africa as Managing Director responsible for the Corporate & Investment Banking business in East and West Africa.
As a High-Ambition leader, Abena combines effective commitment to high financial performance and social good. She has over 27-years pan-African experience from Standard Chartered and Barclays Bank with various leadership roles in risk management, corporate governance, business management, strategy, client coverage and change management.
She has broad board experience, having previously sat on boards in telecommunications, banking, commerce, and hospitality. She is currently the Chairperson for the Council of the Ghana Stock Exchange and the Chairperson of the Advisory Board of the College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana. In addition, she sits on other executive fora and is an Honorary Member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers and an Honorary Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing Ghana.
Abena is an alumnus of University of Ghana Legon and has an MBA from the Manchester Business School in the United Kingdom. She has participated in various leadership and other programmes worldwide. She is fluent in English with a working knowledge of French.
Abena Amoah is the first female Managing Director of the Ghana Stock Exchange, appointed by the Exchange’s Council effective November 24, 2022.
Ms. Amoah is an accomplished investment banker and capital markets expert who has led on many landmark transactions for more than 20 years.
Abena’s experience covers stock market listings and trading, mergers and acquisitions advisory, investment research, asset management, private placement of equity, debt and hybrid instruments, large infrastructure project development, business start-ups and incubation, public education on investment and financial matters, and capital markets development strategies, across diverse sectors of the Ghanaian environment.
She has served on boards of companies – publicly listed, private and not-for-profit – such as Access Bank PLC, African Women’s Development Fund, Ghana Stock Exchange, Ghana Petroleum Funds, Kosmos Energy Ghana HC Advisory Council, The Foschini Group Ghana Ltd, University of Ghana Council, Venture Capital Trust Fund and Wapic Insurance Ghana Ltd. She has been an advisor to the Government of Ghana and financial sector regulators in West Africa on the deepening of financial markets, and is highly respected in her industry for her outstanding professionalism and integrity.
Abena started her career as an investment analyst and stockbroker, growing to build and lead top investment banks in Ghana. She has previously worked with the BlackIvy Group LLC, where she led development of the 400-acre WestPark Industrial Park at Shama in the Western Region; Renaissance Group, where she was CEO of NewWorld Renaissance Securities Ltd and Head of Investment Banking & Finance in West Africa (ex-Nigeria) for Renaissance Capital; and Strategic African Securities Ltd, where she was the Executive Director of the company.
Abena is an alumna of the University of Ghana Business School, and has also undertaken academic and leadership studies at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Harvard Business School and the University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business, all in the USA. She was a founding executive of the Ghana Securities Industry Association, an Authorised Dealing Officer of the Ghana Stock Exchange and an Assessor (Capital Markets Expert) of the Commercial Division of the High Court of Ghana.
Seth is currently the General Manager of SIC Brokerage Ltd. and a member of the Ghana Securities Industry Association (GSIA). Prior to joining SIC Brokerage Ltd., He was an Associate Vice-President of IC Securities (Ghana) Ltd. responsible for heading the Brokerage Department, having previously worked with SDC Brokerage Services as an Authorised Dealing Officer. As a Registered Securities Dealer (RSD) licensed by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Ghana Stock Exchange, with over twenty-five years of experience, he has initiated and executed numerous block trades worth several millions of Ghana Cedis on the Ghanaian bourse on behalf of both local and foreign investors.
As General Manager providing strategic and visionary leadership at SIC Brokerage for over a decade now, Seth has led various business development programmes including processes leading to the listing of a number of companies on the Ghana Stock Exchange. He has also headed a team to establish Provident Fund Schemes for a number of associations whose members are on the payroll of the Government of Ghana.
He holds an Executive MBA in Banking and Finance from the Paris Graduate School of Management, Paris France and a degree in BSc Admin in Banking and Finance from the University of Ghana, Legon. He has undertaken a course and holds a certificate in Domestic Debt Management in West Africa, jointly organized by the West African Institute of Finance and Economic Management/United Nations Institute of Training and Research (WAIFEM/UNITAR). He is an avid writer of stock market articles in both local and international newspapers and magazines.
Benjamin Brighte Ackah-Nyamike is the General Manager of UMB Stockbrokers Limited, a pioneer Brokerage firm on the Ghana Stock Exchange where he leads the execution of the institution’s long-term strategic plan. He has exhibited in a career spanning over 20 years, skills in Marketing, Brokerage, Financial Analysis and Management resulting in Mergers, acquisitions, and listings on the Ghana Stock Exchange including the merger of Dannex Ltd, Ayrton Drug Manufacturing Ltd and Starwin Products Ltd to Daspharma PIc. Prior to this role, he was the CEO of HFC Brokerage now Republic Securities, where he provided leadership to position the Company at the forefront of the industry.
Benjamin is a Registered Securities Dealer of the Ghana Stock Exchange, a CIMA Associate member and a Chartered Global Management Accountant. He holds an MBA in Finance from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) and a BSc. in Chemistry from the University of Ghana.
Philip Ebow Bondzi-Simpson is a Barrister and Solicitor of many years’ standing, a Professor of Law, the immediate past Rector of GIMPA, the Founding Dean of UCC Faculty of Law, Former Dean of Business at UCC, former Director of Legal Services and Investigations at CHRAJ, former Senior Lecturer at the Ghana School of Law and Editor of the Ghana School of Law Journal, and former Head of Management Studies at the then Central University College (now Central University).
Of Mfantsipim School, Cape Coast and St. John’s School, Sekondi, his tertiary qualifications include LLB (Ghana), LLM (Saskatchewan), SJD (Toronto), and BL (Ghana) and PGDE (Cape Coast). He has also taken courses at The Hague Academy of International Law, The Hague, The Netherlands; the International Institute of Human Rights, Strasbourg, France; the Institute of International Public Law and International Relations, Thessaloniki, Greece; the Ghana Stock Exchange, Accra; Galilee International Management Institute, Galilee, Israel; and University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Mr. Yao A. Abalo is the Chief Executive Omcer of the Central Securities Depository (GH) Ltd, a position he has held since June 2017. He previously worked with the Bank of Ghana, rising to become an Advisor to the Governor of the Bank, with oversight on treasury operations. Among other positions held in the Bank, he was Director and Head of the Treasury Department, Risk Management Department and Director of the External Financial Relations Department.
Mr. Abalo holds an M.A. in Economic Policy Management from McGill University, Canada, a Graduate Diploma in Population Studies and a B.A. (Hons) in Economics and Statistics from the University of Ghana.
Pearl Nkrumah is a consummate banker with two and half decades of multinational banking experience across Africa, Europe and Asia. She is currently the Executive Director for Retail and Digital Banking at Access Bank (Ghana) Plc, where she oversees the Retail Business and leads the charge in driving the Digital Strategy of the Bank.
Pearl started her Banking career at Standard Chartered Bank in 1998 and later joined Stanbic Bank in 2012 where she occupied senior roles delivering on the strategic aspiration of the bank. Under her leadership, the bank’s Main Market and Ecosystems business recorded outstanding growth. She is also credited with building the blueprint and structure for the Bank’s inclusive and Mass Market business segments including Youth Banking.
Pearl has provided strategic leadership for diverse portfolios and built significant expertise in Retail Banking, Digital Financial Services, SME and Commercial Business. She also has extensive hands-on experience in Credit Product Design and Ecosystem Relationship management.
Beyond her busy professional schedule, she is passionate about initiatives that drive gender equity, empowerment, education, and the promotion of entrepreneurship and strongly believes in the power of digitalization in impacting the wider society beyond banking.
She holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) and a Bachelor of Science (BSc.) in Business Administration (Marketing) from the University of Ghana. She also holds a Bachelor of Laws degree (LLB) from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA). She has attended several executive leadership programs at leading international institutions, including the Harvard Business School Authentic Leaders Development program.
Kofi is an experienced banker with over 29 years of professional experience, 20 of which have been at the executive management level. Kofi has an accumulated worth of experience in project and export finance, development finance, corporate and transaction banking, and providing financial solutions for international and regional institutional clients.
Kofi was appointed as the Managing Director of GCB Bank Plc in November 2020 after 11years of employment with African Export-Import (Afreximbank) Bank as Director & Global Head, Project and Asset-Based Finance. He led and structured several transactions worth over USD10 billion across the African continent in both public and private sectors.
Kofi was appointed as the Executive Director, Corporate & Institutional Banking at Barclays Bank Ghana Limited (now ABSA Bank) between 2005 and 2009. He also held key management roles at Ecobank Ghana Limited and rose to the Head of Institutional Banking Group. His Banking Career started at The Trust Bank Ghana Limited in 1993.
Kofi holds an Executive Masters’ Degree in Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture majoring in Economics both from the University of Ghana, Legon.
Akua is the Legal Advisor and Company Secretary of the Exchange and provides legal advice across the full spectrum of the Exchange's business. She is also responsible for the Exchange's compliance function and ensures that the Exchange complies with its legal and regulatory requirements as well as internal policies, and that Listed Companies and Licensed Dealing Members fulfil their continuing obligations to the Exchange.
Prior to joining the Exchange, Akua practiced at the law firm, Bentsi-Enchill, Letsa & Ankomah, where she worked on local and international transactions in the energy, petroleum, and mining sectors. She has also previously worked in Human Resources and Administration at AngloGold Ashanti Limited.
Akua holds a Master of Laws Degree (LL.M.) from Columbia University, New York; a Bachelor of Laws Degree (LL.B.) from the University of Ghana; and a Bachelor of Arts Degree (B.A.) in Management and Psychology, also from the University of Ghana. In addition, she holds a Qualifying Certificate in Law from the Ghana School of Law, where she was awarded the Best Graduating Student in the Law of Taxation at her call to the bar.
She has received legal and capital market training from reputable institutions such as Clifford Chance, U.K; International Law Institute in the U.S.A; and the International Capital Market Association (ICMA). She is a member of the Ghana Bar Association and the International Bar Association.
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