CBO Investment Management, a Nigeria based investment management firm focused on African private equity, has appointed Gary Steinberg as the Head of its Advisory board and a member of the Investment Committee.

The appointment comes at a time when CBO seeks to raise a $150m fund dedicated to investing in the SME space in West Africa.

Steinberg joins CBO with immediate effect as he retires from his role as Chief of the Investment Unit at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after nearly six years in post.

Commenting on his appointment, Steinberg said: "I am delighted to be joining CBO IM at this exciting stage of their development. I look forward to helping them, and their clients achieve their investment objectives in one of the most dynamic areas of the global economy."

With over 30 years’ experience in the investment industry, Steinberg joined the IMF in 2010 as Chief of the Investment Unit which manages a portfolio of approximately $20bn.

Prior to joining the IMF, he held several high profile positions including the Chief Investment Officer of Wellcome Trust, the world's largest endowed medical research charity with £15bn under management, and Chief Executive of British Petroleum's UK £12bn pension plan.

Steinberg has also worked as a consultant to institutional clients and served as a non-executive Director of SVG Capital, a UK private equity company.

He was also Chairman of the Investment Committee of the Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity between 2002 and 2010, and served on the Investment Committees of the University of Cambridge Endowment between 2002 and 2006, and The King’s Fund from 2006 to 2009.

Bex Nwawudu, Managing Partner of CBO IM, said: “We are very pleased to have attracted Gary to CBO. His fund management and investment experience with some of the most recognizable names in the industry will help considerably as we seek to build a leading investment manager for Africa. His institutional knowledge and credentials further reinforce our corporate governance framework, and he is a very welcome addition to our Investment Committee.”

“Gary joins our existing team which has over 50 years of combined experience in private equity and fund management. To date we have committed to eight investments and exited six, delivering positive returns to our investors. I have no doubt that Gary’s expertise will prove invaluable as we seek to raise our $150m fund dedicated to investing in the underserviced SME space in West Africa,” he added.