Wale Edun: All you need to know about the man tipped to be Tinubu's Minister of Finance

Olawale Edun is a name many are familiar with. The astute financial expert has been an old ally of President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

He has a background in economics, public finance, international finance, merchant banking, and corporate finance on a national and international scale. He was also the brain behind Tinubu's relatively successful tenure as governor of Lagos State - he served as Commissioner for Finance for an unprecedented two terms (1999-2007).

According to New Telegraph, he was nominated by Tinubu to be Minister of Finance when the Buhari administration began.

Known popularly as Wale Edun he has a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of London and a Master of Science in Economics from the University of Sussex in England. His birth date, as well as the primary and secondary schools he attended, are not publicly available.

He has since been selected as a member of the Presidential Transition Council (PTC).
The was made public by Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and Chairman of the Presidential Transition Council (PTC) on Tuesday, March 28.

Career

Wale Edun has had a successful career in finance, both at home and abroad. He was the Head of Treasury and Deputy Head of Corporate Finance at Chase Merchant Bank, where he oversaw the bank’s Treasury and Money Market operations, as well as Capital Market and Financial Advisory operations on behalf of big multinational corporations’ local subsidiaries and affiliates.

During his stay at Chase, he obtained worldwide exposure while on secondment to the Wall Street businesses of Lehman Brothers and Chase Manhattan Capital Markets Corporation in New York, USA. From 1980 until 1986, he worked at Chase Merchant Bank (later Continental) in Lagos.

It is worth noting that he has over twenty-five years of national and international expertise in merchant banking, corporate finance, economics, and international finance.

He joined the World Bank/IFC in Washington, DC, in September 1986, as part of the distinguished Young Professionals program. Mr. Edun worked at the World Bank on economic and financial packages for various Latin American and Caribbean countries, including the Dominican Republic and Trinidad, as well as in the Far East with Indonesia and India.

He has been the Chairman of Chapel Hill Denham Group since March 2008. In 1989, he returned to Nigeria as Co-Founder and Executive Director of Stanbic IBTC Plc (formerly Investment Banking & Trust Company Limited). He established Denham Management Limited in 1994. He also sits on the boards of several additional businesses.

Previous works

His previous experience includes working for the World Bank/International Finance Corporation in Washington, DC, where he was involved in assignments in India, the Caribbean, and East Asia, among other places.

In Nigeria, Wale also worked in merchant banking. He is a director of numerous other private companies and the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Ogoni Trust Fund for the Environmental Clean-up of Ogoniland in Nigeria’s Niger Delta.

He is the creator of Denham Management Limited, the Chairman of Livewell Initiative, a non-profit organization in the health sector, and a Trustee of Sisters Unite for Children, a non-profit organization that assists children in need. He also sits on the boards of several additional businesses.