Onyebuchim Ifechukwude Obiyemi is an executive-level professional with over twelve years’ experience in investment banking. She has a keen interest in advising and supporting businesses to achieve their strategic objectives, as well as teaching and imparting knowledge.
Onyebuchim’s investment banking experience spans various sectors including financial services, fast-moving consumer goods, healthcare, manufacturing, oil and gas, as well as the public sector. She has led mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructurings as well as debt and equity capital market transactions of varying complexities. She currently serves as a Vice President and Head of the Investment Banking Division at CardinalStone Partners Limited, and previously worked at Citibank Nigeria Limited and Afrinvest (West Africa) Limited, a leading investment banking firm. She credits working in boutique investment banking firms to her largely entrepreneurial approach in engaging clients given the need to proffer and demonstrate a strong value proposition in order to compete favourably with top-tier competitors.
She also has a result-oriented and hands-on approach, as well as in-depth analytical and strategic abilities tailored towards providing first-rate financing solutions to clients. Onyebuchim’s leadership capabilities, ability to drive teams to deliver solutions for clients and revenue targets, and skills in managing client relationships and building trust have also contributed to her success.
Onyebuchim holds a first class bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Lagos, as well as a distinction in her master’s in investment and finance from Middlesex University Business School, UK. She is also an alumna of the prestigious Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University where she completed the Senior Management Programme (SMP).
In this interview, Onyebuchim covers investment banking, life as a career woman and the meaning of success and sharing it with others.
What informed your choice of career in investment banking?
My desire to better understand the equity capital markets particularly the workings of the Nigerian Stock Exchange at the time was the foundation for my interest in investment banking. I started following the Nigerian stock market and then I decided to do a course in a related field which made me apply for a master’s in investment and finance at Middlesex University after I saw that the course scope was going to be beneficial for making the career shift. It was during the masters’ programme that I understood the various facets of capital markets and discovered that corporate finance was actually more suited for me. Corporate finance allows you to be very analytical and engenders the need to study or research various sectors and business types to be a well-versed adviser. Most importantly, I am an unapologetic Christian and I let God screen my choices no matter how compelled I feel about them.
What are the common challenges you encounter in your line of work and how have you been overcoming them?
Common challenges encountered in my line of work include:
- Competition: There are a teeming number of advisory firms pursuing very few transactions as many Nigerian businesses may have existed for so many years but it is a very different ball game having them in a place where they are able to do transactions or attract investments by third parties. This means that as an investment banker one has to stay close to the market and hone or develop relevant relationships to keep tabs with potential clients so as to be the go-to adviser when such companies want to do transactions. There is also the overriding advantage that investment banks affiliated with commercial banks have over boutique firms in that during the course of banking transactions, they become abreast with the needs of potential clients and sometimes are better positioned to be proactive at proffering tailor-made solutions. In any case, as boutique firms we find very ingenious ways to cultivate such potential client relationships and then we try to read market trends and patterns as well as nuances of regulatory agencies to sometimes be able to initiate transactions for such clients.
- Long working hours: The average investment banker cannot boast of the regular 9-5 work hours and most times has to dedicate a part of their weekend and holidays to work. The reality is that our business thrives on timely information and swift reaction to such information. There have been opportunities I learnt of on a Friday afternoon and had to mobilize my team to work over a weekend and get out a pitch or proposal for 10 a.m. on Monday. Many investment bankers have sort of developed a thick skin to navigate this lifestyle but I would personally say that beyond that, the biggest driver to keep at it is if you personally enjoy what you do and that’s been my biggest motivation. I am excited to be a part of a business’ growth story and happy to ride the tides with them to achieve their set objectives. I have become a better grounded professional through this journey. The only challenge is that the industry tends to have quite a staff turnover, especially at junior levels because we have a generation that is not particularly patient to do the grind and go through the rigour that investment banking requires. There is no shortcut to being a good investment banker. Companies try to introduce very creative retention strategies to mitigate this challenge.
Success means different things to different people. What would you say success means to you?
Success for me is really impacting my world with the investment in my personality which is multifaceted. For me it’s not a one size fits all measuring parameter but it is more like how well have I utilized my learnings and experience to make life better for my immediate family, relatives, community and other circles I find myself in.
Maintaining a work-life balance is a challenge to many women. Many are yet to find a solution to this puzzle. How do you create a balance between career and family?
Honestly, I would say that what I practice is more like a work-life integration strategy. Especially because of how competitive and fast-paced the investment banking space is, it can be very challenging to compartmentalize work from life. I cannot remember a weekend where my laptop was shut all through and any time that was the case, my children would literally ask me if I was ok. So how do I deal with it? First, my husband is a huge support structure because he understands the nature of my work and manages his expectations from me (so he doesn’t expect me to give him freshly made meals every day or expect me to return from work and start pounding yam lol). So he knows it’s ok to make soups at the weekend and then make fresh sides during the week to go along with it. Then because I want to have more time with my kids, we ride to school together every day and I pick them up (thankfully I got a good school that has a maximum of 10 children per class and has after school hours that helps me keep them up to 6.30 p.m. every workday so I try to work around that timing; when such is not feasible, then my husband may once in a while pick them up or my mum who is registered to pick them).
More importantly, whatever the case may be I make time for homework and I particularly closely engage with my children’s school to ensure I am abreast of any developments. Also at home sometimes I just intentionally shut down to rest because this body is not a machine and can break down. I also have gym equipment at home so I make time for workouts. I take breaks to prepare meals and also do house chores. I have introduced my children to some chores so we do them together. In addition, I belong to a team in church that provides advisory services to small-scale businesses and facilitates training for them so that also allows me to get time off my core work but still allows me to do something I love. Once in a while, we take time for family visits too. In all, I just try to integrate work and life as much as possible.
Most women-owned businesses suffer from poor funding, lack of infrastructure and other challenges compared to those owned by men. Why is this so and how can they get better access to investments?
Well it would be interesting to see the source of these statistics. I think both businesses run by men and women face this challenge and I would say the largest cause of this is lack of information and quality professional advice. From my 12-plus years working largely for mid-size companies I realize that entrepreneurs do not like to pay for external advice. They make do with suboptimal manpower that can only do so much per time. What I recommend for businesses is that while you may start with minimal human resources, have a clear-cut plan on how you would evolve to getting professionals to handle sensitive functions like record-keeping, legal and financial management. These are very important things that investors look out for when evaluating investment opportunities; they want to be sure that the legal framework around your business allows you to legally transact and then they want to understand how well the business has performed historically because that is the only way they can be confident that you have a business worth investing in. A lot of investible funds are available for Nigerian businesses but such businesses have to be investment ready and that’s part of our work as investment bankers. I think the other challenge is scale; our businesses are too small and many investors are typically looking to investments that roll into tens of millions of dollars in some cases.
You take pride in teaching and imparting knowledge. What motivates you to do this?
I have always loved teaching right from secondary school and actually wanted to go into the academia after my first degree. However, the starting salary of university lecturers then discouraged me and I told myself that I would probably work in industry and then do teaching part time. In the last few years, I take on opportunities for speaking and teaching engagements especially when it has to do with my career path and general self-development.
You have come a long way in your career path, do have a word for your younger self?
Make learning a lifestyle and be very intentional about self/professional development. Never feel shy or awkward to learn from whomever and never let remuneration guide your decision on the organisation to start your professional career. In starting a career especially in investment banking, the quality of professionals and the corporate culture you get immersed in would play a huge role on the type of professional you eventually become.
What advice would you give to young professionals looking up to you?
Be clear on what you want to do very early and never get on that path of comparing with peers (as it were) on progress made and your journey. The last time your paths are probably comparable is when you graduate with your degrees; afterwards you have a personal journey to make. Get advice from people (including good literature) who have walked the path you want to and get tips on how to navigate. Be very careful not to be put under undue pressure by the things you see on social media about how people run their lives. In all that you do, you must have a moral compass in life (for me it’s God) that filters what you can and cannot do; you must set clear boundaries that must never be crossed so that these guide the actionable steps you take in achieving your set goals. In all I say “to thyself be true”.