Rendeavour, the owner and developer of Tatu City, has appointed David Kippen as Chairman of the Board, joining Lord Ashcroft, who continues in his role as Deputy Chairman.
Additionally, Graeme Wheeler and Darrell M. Blocker have been appointed to the Rendeavour Board as Independent Directors.
Rendeavour Founding Chairman, Frank Mosier, has retired as chair, after serving in that position for more than eight years but remains a board director and one of the largest shareholders.
Tatu City is Kenya’s first operational Special Economic Zone (SEZ); Alaro City is a partnership with the Lagos State Government in Nigeria’s Lekki Free Zone; Jigna is in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja; and Kiswishi SEZ, the first private SEZ in DRC; while in Ghana, Rendeavour is building Appolonia City and King City.
“We are pleased to strengthen our board with versatile emerging markets experts with experience in global finance, economic development and security,” said Rendeavour Founder and CEO Stephen Jennings.
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He added: “In David, we have a long-serving director; in Graeme, we have a globally renowned economist, central banker and policy maker; and in Darrell, we have one of the most respected intelligence officers to have served in Africa.”
On the Rendeavour Board of Directors, Kippen represents Torstein Hagen, the founder, chairman and CEO of Viking Cruises and a long-time Norwegian investor in Rendeavour.
Rendeavour’s other board members are Yomi Ademola, Simon Edwards and Robert Reid.
“On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Frank Mosier for his eight years as chairman and his ongoing support for Rendeavour as the company’s principal American shareholder,” opined Jennings.
Biographies:
David Kippen
David is a private equity and infrastructure investor based in London.
David’s career spans TMT, energy and industrial sectors with Credit Suisse First Boston, JPMorgan Chase and UBS based in London, New York and San Francisco.
Over the past 30 years, David has completed over 45 M&A transactions together with private and public debt and equity financings in OECD and emerging markets.
David has also developed cross border ventures, worked with growth stage companies and acted as an interim CFO.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from McGill University in Montreal and a Masters of International Public Policy from Johns Hopkins/SAIS in Washington DC.
Graeme Wheeler
Graeme Wheeler served as Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand from 2012 to 2017.
Prior to that, he held senior positions at the World Bank, including Managing Director responsible for World Bank operations from 2006 to 2010; Vice President and Treasurer of the World Bank from 2001 to 2006; and Director of the Financial Products and Services Department from 1997 to 2001.
In New Zealand, Wheeler also served as Treasurer of the New Zealand Debt Management Office (NZDMO) and Deputy Secretary to the New Zealand Treasury from 1993 to 1997, Director of Macroeconomic Policy in the New Zealand Treasury from 1990 to 1993, Economic and Financial Counsellor in the New Zealand Delegation to the OECD, Paris, from 1984 to 1990 and an advisor in the New Zealand Treasury from 1973 to 1984.
Wheeler has served as Independent Non-Executive Director of China Construction Bank Corporation since 2019 and Non-Executive director of Thyssen-Bornemisza Group since 2017.
Wheeler obtained his Master of Commerce in economics from the University of Auckland in 1972 and was awarded Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2018.
Darrell M Blocker
Blocker retired after a successful 32-year career in the US Intelligence Community, earning the CIA’s Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal in 2018.
His CIA career highlights include serving as Chief of Africa Division, Deputy Director of the Counterterrorist Center, Chief of the agency’s iconic training facility and multiple tours as a Chief of Station.
At the time of his retirement, after serving as a CIA operative for 28 years, Darrell was the most senior black officer in the Directorate of Operations with the rank equivalency of a three-star general.
Darrell also served four years as an Analyst/Briefer in the US Air Force (1987-1990).
Darrell has lived and worked in 10 foreign countries, but his earliest childhood memories were the five years living in Okinawa (1968-1973).
He also served in South Korea as an Air Force officer which launched his career as subject matter expert (SME) on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea or North Korea.
Darrell’s other SME areas include Soviet Russia, Iran, Terrorism and Counterintelligence which he uses as an on-air contributor for ABC News since 2019.
Darrell founded DMB Consulting Services, a strategic crisis management and executive advisory firm, in 2018, serving as a strategic advisor to individuals and businesses operating in the defense, national security and international affairs sectors.
He is currently serving on one nonprofit board dedicated to improving the future of youth in foster care (Peace4Kids.org).
