Your Interviews

 Ten minutes with.... Sonnie Ayere

EMBA 2000

1. What made you start DUNN LOREN MERRIFIELD?
“I asked myself a question once, „.....do I want to CREATE, or do I want to TRADE.....?‟I answered my question as „I WANT TO CREATE‟. Let the next generation trade what I have created. In other words, I have always had the urge to build an institution that will serve and employ posterity. By the way - I loved “Lego” as a kid. Starting UBA Global Markets in 2005, was my first experience in entrepreneurship, it was like setting up a company within the protection of a group i.e. (UBA Group) – it was my best training ground for surviving in an economic jurisdiction such as Nigeria. For this, I am ever grateful to and working for Tony Elumelu who, by his management style and energy gave me the encouragement to start a firm like DUNN LOREN MERRIFIELD, and to Paul D. Stevenson of BMO Capital Markets and Nesbitt Burns for giving me the analytical skills to tackle structured finance in particular, ABS/MBS and the broad skills and knowledge acquired from my MBA at CUBS now “CASS”.

2. As a valued MBA Alumnus who has founded a successful Investment Firm in Nigeria, how would you say you are impacting the growth of the Industry in Nigeria?
The first major impact I’ve had was to have been a principal adviser to the Nigerian Government when I worked for the IFC on the development of the domestic sovereign bond market. The turnover of the market has grown as follows:

Part of the mandate for DLM was to help drive the deepening and expansion of the fixed income market in Nigeria. We have been instrumental in assisting in Policy formulation to guide the growth of the capital markets in general and have also assisted corporate and sub-sovereigns in executing bespoke capital raising and advisory mandates

3. A leader must be equipped with a set of competences necessary to perform his/her role. Which would you say is the most important ability a leader should have?
I believe the first thing a leader should have is: HUMILITY– being „humble‟ amongst peers and seniors. VISION - but more importantly is the ability to clearly, COMMUNICATE your vision to your colleagues on a constant. RESILIENCE- being able to withstand adversity, and stand up when you fall (“always”). EMPATHY – good leaders are able to relate well to different people at different levels.

4. Where will the most significant growth occur in the company in the next few years?
I see major growth in developing proprietary trading markets for different asset classes across the African continent. The markets are beginning to open and this holds tremendous opportunities for those companies willing to invest the essential capital and skills.

5. Africa is a particular area of focus for some of CASS Business School Alumni, how does DLM hope to contribute to investment opportunities in your environment?
DLM proposes to play in the „Inverted Triangle‟ of Sub-Saharan Africa which means Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa and we see these three hubs as the key financial markets for the continent. Moving forward, we strongly believe these markets will increase in sophistication and depth, thereby providing remarkable opportunities for international and domestic investors.

6. Are you affiliated with any International firm(s)?
We are currently affiliated with Global Emerging Markets (“GEM”), a brokerage, corporate finance, fund management and private equity group with offices in the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa and MENA.GEM was founded in 1991 by Harpal Randhawa. GEM is a $3.5 billion alternative investment group that manages a diverse set of investment vehicles focused on emerging markets across the world.

7. How do you start your ordinary day? How does it end? Do you still have enough time to sleep and take a rest?
I wake up between 6:00 & 6:30am and check my emails. Start my workout 7:00 – 8:00am. I make business calls from 8:00 – 9:00am. Depending on the appointments arranged by my executive assistant, I am in the office with my co-workers by and large from 9:00am till 10:00pm. And that does not necessarily mean I have shut down for the day, absolutely not. This is when I start the real work of being a CEO - with no distractions. I generally get by on 5 hours of sleep a day. But you know what, who needs sleep when you have a passion for what you do. It‟s a privilege to be in the business I‟m in and I enjoy what I do implicitly.

8. DUNN LOREN MERRIFIELD..............why the name?
“......When you join the firm, I‟ll let you know.......!”