Word: ogunlesi
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...wild and wicked sense of humor and his rebellious attitude revealed a man who refused to let go of his youthful, rebellious spirit throughout his entire life. Your story said he was "an outspoken teenager who never quite grew up." Who ever said that was a shortcoming? Tolulope Ogunlesi Lagos German Chancellor Helmut Kohl undoubtedly brought together East and West Germany, but George H.W. Bush's description of him "as the greatest European leader of the second half of the 20th century" shows a degree of naiveté. Kohl was yet one more politician who wanted to leave his mark...
...Ogunlesi, whose father was the first Nigerian-born medical professor tenured in his home country, studied philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford and then earned law and business degrees from Harvard. He clerked for Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall--who, unable to pronounce his name, dubbed him "Obeedoogee." (Most friends and colleagues today call him Bayo.) Ogunlesi joined the top-shelf New York City law firm Cravath, Swain & Moore, where he jumped at the chance to advise First Boston on a Nigerian gas project. Success in that effort landed him a better job at First Boston (which was acquired...
...emerging markets, he built CSFB's project-finance business into the world's best, in part by encouraging corporations and governments to tap public debt markets in addition to commercial lenders. That strategy allowed the debtors to borrow for longer periods and reduce their short-term costs. When Ogunlesi's project-finance group absorbed several other divisions, a colleague produced T shirts that read, "I've Found Happiness in the Bayosphere...
Today there's little happiness in financial services. Ogunlesi urges demoralized bankers to stay in front of clients and advise them on non-deal-related matters like industry trends, a strategy that pays off once the deals return. Says David Sokol, CEO of MidAmerican Energy Holdings and an Ogunlesi client: "Bayo is a person whom you can talk to about any issue, whether or not his firm is working...
...Ogunlesi has lived in New York for 20 years and is active in volunteer work. But he also cultivates his ties to Africa. He informally advises the Nigerian government on privatization. And last summer Manute Bol, the 7ft. 7-in. former NBA center, visited Ogunlesi in his Park Avenue office, seeking donations for a charitable foundation in Bol's homeland, Sudan. The 5-ft. 9-in. Ogunlesi walked Bol around the hallways, introducing him to junior staff. It was just another day in the Bayosphere...