Bernard Mensah joins the Board of the Kofi Annan Foundation
The Kofi Annan Foundation is pleased to announce the appointment of Bernard Mensah, President of the UK and Central Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa and co-head of Global Fixed Income, Currencies and Commodities Trading at Bank of America, to the Board of the Kofi Annan Foundation.
“I am delighted to welcome Bernard Mensah to the Board of the Foundation,” said Chair of the Board Elhadj As Sy. “With over 20 years of global trading and investing experience, and as a member of the management committee of one of the world’s leading financial institutions, Bernard’s counsel and global leadership perspective will be of tremendous value to us as we strive to realise Kofi Annan’s vision for a fairer, more peaceful world.”
“It is an honour to be able to play a part in the amplification of his enduring legacy.”
“It is a great privilege to become a member of the Kofi Annan Foundation Board,” Mr Mensah said. “Kofi Annan was a pioneer of an inclusive approach to problem-solving, bringing the private sector and civil society together; this is as critical today as it has ever been. It is an honour to be able to play a part in the amplification of his enduring legacy.”
Alan Doss, President of the Kofi Annan Foundation, said: “On behalf of the Foundation, we are honoured that Mr Mensah has joined the board. As a highly regarded leader in the global financial sector, he brings a wealth of experience from his extensive and highly successful career, which will be an incredible asset as we look to expand our partnerships with private sector organisations.”
About Bernard Mensah
Bernard Mensah. Photo courtesy of Africa Progress Panel.
Bernard Mensah is President of the UK and Central Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa (CEEMEA) and co-head of Global Fixed Income, Currencies and Commodities (FICC) Trading at Bank of America. He is Chief Executive Officer of Merrill Lynch International (MLI), Bank of America’s largest International subsidiary, and head of the Bank of America NA (BANA) London branch. Bernard is a member of Bank of America’s Management Committee.
Based in London, Bernard has jointly led the firm’s FICC Trading business globally since 2015 and assumed broader leadership responsibilities regionally in April 2018.
In his role as President, Bernard is responsible for the execution and development of the bank’s strategy, business activities and support functions in the UK and CEEMEA. These span corporate, commercial and investment banking, treasury services and sales and trading. He is also responsible for ensuring the effective delivery of the broad Bank of America franchise to its corporate and institutional clients across the region. Bernard chairs the firm’s regional Executive Committee and is a member of the Global Banking and Markets Committee.
Bernard has more than 20 years global trading and investing experience, serves on the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority’s Markets Practitioner Panel, and was recently asked by the Bank of England to join the Senior Advisory Group overseeing LIBOR transition in the UK. He joined the firm in 2010 from Goldman Sachs in London, where he was a Partner and global head of Bank Loan and Distressed Trading, and prior to that ran the bank’s Asia Credit and Convertibles business, based in Hong Kong and Tokyo.
Bernard received his BA in Social Sciences at the Joint School of Philosophy and Economics at the University of Bristol in 1989. He is a qualified chartered accountant and became a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants England and Wales in 1992. Bernard chairs the West Africa Advisory Board of Prince’s Trust International.
