Ken Costa
{{Short description|South African banker and philanthropist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Kenneth "Ken" Costa
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| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1949|10|31|df=yes}}
| birth_place = South Africa
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| alma_mater = University of the Witwatersrand
Queens' College, Cambridge
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| occupation = Banker
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Kenneth Johann Costa, commonly known as Ken Costa, (born 31 October 1949) is a London-based South African banker and Christian philanthropist. He served as the Chairman of Lazard from 2007 to 2011.
Early life
Ken Costa was born in South Africa on 31 October 1949.[https://document-api-images-prod.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/docs/TquyZNvjaX_ZSJWCHLxj9sBg5bSkxoHo9u5JesIrMMI/application-pdf?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Credential=ASIAJPKKG2FNBFDJQSYQ%2F20180729%2Feu-west-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20180729T151249Z&X-Amz-Expires=60&X-Amz-Security-Token=FQoDYXdzEO%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2FwEaDJfhZ7za1u60HAWXeyK3AxsJnWzf9FSSAgbXUtW%2B%2FFAgTrJGknE2458GybLiegQYIdn8TcEFAZgvhDzzGUIoUDXAuggkab6ciCUU18oAI%2FHHww6XXTP6viM5eP0tOB91mSkvg%2B9dR1lSuXkT9toekU%2B1opDhA3tcsf6muKTuUrDtJvz7LeQQEB6b%2FcXvxtxpPt8AK34rXOMBnnJNj4HTB5%2Fxv5zVY32lhXFpNGlbxz0M0BQ0lPfRDNhh99D%2BfLs0JPyeBrHbi5KqU4XJ8Q4bI%2BhV3vaEbsnFshwrWfQtpon93izSG%2FmbEn9hzvqBj4xYkLG%2FtrT1Bq3kKUvTiWpxpkO8LyuaPHhCrNjm%2FP5iXxLF27mOoj%2BvTCJdQG4wPT4AHjk2uMQ7BKklMpuhyN45NQ%2BCzS1M4W3zGV3Wp07KKl8Y%2FfsaBy7%2FFJHfbTGMJLY0RQBLgYgA%2BHQ6qL0C6TqeRBZfjLpacab2JJ7OGkry%2F1lbRkbevXdpU8olnM1QSpnn%2F9is2fqSUGxOP%2BBdzSfWxzw9Zrybovy%2F3Bq8vgX2cVPtg54Ff%2FBbQIQixtdf62mWYeL6floZVcWOQ%2BvYLp5neFmm5zYBGa0oxIf32gU%3D&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Signature=8eb6d8affd66a94c198f6fc4f87f279b1abe1f7c8a470107f4a50213d4522f76 Companies House, Appointment of director for the Lambeth Trust]Liam Vaughan, [https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704471904576230303762161070 Ken Costa Quits Lazard], The Wall Street Journal, March 30, 2011 His family were farmers of Lebanese descent.Michael Skapinker, [http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f2688a68-cd42-11dc-9b2b-000077b07658.html#axzz3WhUVHzqW Lunch with the FT: Ken Costa], Financial Times, February 1, 2008 He was educated at a boarding school in Pretoria.
He graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand, where he received a bachelor's degree in Law and Philosophy in 1972.[https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=2172980&ticker=LAZ Ken Costa], Bloomberg Business During that time, he was the President of the students' council and identified as a marxist. He was an opponent of the apartheid regime and friends with fellow anti-apartheid activists like Ahmed Timol and Steve Biko.
He went on to receive a Masters of Law Degree and a Certificate in Theology from Queens' College, Cambridge in England.
Career
Costa started his career in banking at S. G. Warburg & Co. in London in the 1980s, when he was mentored by Sir Siegmund Warburg. He joined UBS when S. G. Warburg & Co. merged with it.Claer Barrett, Kate Allen and Arash Massoudi, [http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/8ab1dadc-8104-11e4-896c-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3WhUVHzqW Qataris appoint Ken Costa to Songbird Estates board], Financial Times, December 11, 2014 He eventually served as the Chairman of Europe, Middle East and Africa at UBS Investment Bank, retiring in September 2007.Katherine Griffiths, [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/2815306/Ken-Costa-leaves-UBS-to-join-rival-Lazard.html Ken Costa leaves UBS to join rival Lazard], The Daily Telegraph, 07 September 2007
He served as the Chairman of Lazard International from 2007 to 2011.Kasmira Jefford, [http://www.cityam.com/205515/qatari-hires-veteran-banker-ken-costa-board-songbird Qatari hires veteran banker Ken Costa to board of Songbird], City A.M., 12 December 2014 He was an advisor to Mohamed Al-Fayed on his 1.5 billion sale of Harrods to the Qatari royal family.
In 2011 with other bankers he set up DMC Partners, a private equity fund that aimed to raise $2bn to invest in emerging markets. But the fund had to close in 2014 after failing to raise enough money.{{Cite web|last=Macfarlane|first=Alec|title=Ex-Goldman bankers scrap emerging markets mega-fund|url=https://www.fnlondon.com/articles/dmc-partners-private-equity-wind-down-fund-fundraising-tpg-goldman-sachs-20140904|access-date=2021-11-14|website=www.fnlondon.com|language=en-GB}}{{Cite news|last=Ross|first=Alice|date=2019-07-19|title=Ken Costa looks to Saudi Arabia for next big deal|work=Financial Times|url=https://www.ft.com/content/303a3952-9cd7-11e9-b8ce-8b459ed04726|access-date=2021-11-14}}
In December 2014, he joined the Board of Directors of Songbird Estates, which owns 70% of Canary Wharf, replacing Khalifa Al-Kuwari.Russell Lynch, [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/qatar-appoints-ken-costa-to-songbird-board-as-battle-for-canary-wharf-takes-new-twist-9918014.html Qatar appoints Ken Costa to Songbird board as battle for Canary Wharf takes new twist], The Independent, 11 December 2014
In 2018 he became a Partner and Co-Chairman of Alvarium Investments, a private wealth management business, offering corporate finance deals to ultra-wealthy families.{{Cite news|last=Ross|first=Alice|date=2018-07-02|title=Ken Costa joins family office aimed at ultra-wealthy|work=Financial Times|url=https://www.ft.com/content/7637afe8-7bbd-11e8-bc55-50daf11b720d|access-date=2021-11-14}}
Costa dismissed concerns about Saudi Arabia’s purchase of Newcastle United Football Club as just “noise” created by people jealous of the investment. His comment was criticised by Amnesty International and Layla Moran, foreign affairs spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats, who said “The Saudi Arabian government has one of the worst human rights records in the world: brushing that off as just noise is outrageous.”{{Cite web|date=2021-11-13|title=Newcastle United takeover fears just 'noise', says UK Saudi envoy|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/nov/13/newcastle-united-takeover-fears-just-noise-says-uk-saudi-envoy|access-date=2021-11-14|website=the Guardian|language=en}}
He was Professor of Commerce at Gresham College{{Cite web|url=http://www.gresham.ac.uk/professors-and-speakers/professor-kenneth-costa|title=Professor Kenneth Costa|website=www.gresham.ac.uk|access-date=2017-10-05}} and he is the dean of [https://leadershipcollegelondon.org/faculty-listings/ken-costa Leadership College London].{{Cite web|url=https://leadershipcollegelondon.org/ken-pete-blog/2017/8/30/ken-costa-dean|title=Dean Ken Costa|website=www.leadershipcollegelondon.org|access-date=4 December 2017}}
Christian philanthropy
He is the Chairman of Alpha International, which promotes the Alpha course. He has spoken at Holy Trinity Brompton,{{Cite web|url=https://www.htb.org/media/speaker/Ken+Costa|title=Ken Costa {{!}} HTB Church|website=www.htb.org|access-date=2017-10-05}} where he was previously a church warden, and also at New Wine. He is the author of God At Work, a 2007 book about Christianity's relationship to the workplaceMichael J. De La Merced, [https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/03/29/costa-senior-lazard-banker-quits/?_r=0 Ken Costa, Senior Lazard Banker, Quits], The New York Times, March 29, 2011 and Know Your Why in 2016, a book about finding and fulfilling your calling.
Political activity
Costa donated £50,000 to the Conservative Party in 2010,{{Cite web|date=2010-05-01|title=Secret Christian donors bankroll Tories|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/may/02/secret-christian-donors-bankroll-tories|access-date=2021-11-14|website=the Guardian|language=en}} and gave £10,000 to Jeremy Hunt during the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election.{{cite news |last1=Walker |first1=Peter |last2=Walker |first2=Amy |title=Tory leadership donations: who's really backing Boris Johnson |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jul/05/tory-leadership-donations-whos-really-backing-boris-johnson |accessdate=29 May 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=5 July 2019}} During the 2019 United Kingdom general election, he donated £25,000 to the Conservative Party.{{cite web |title=View donation |url=http://search.electoralcommission.org.uk/English/Donations/C0479218 |website=The Electoral Commission |accessdate=29 May 2020}}
In 2017, UK Prime Minister Theresa May appointed Costa as the UK government’s special envoy to Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.{{Cite web|last=Riyadh|first=David Maddox in|date=2017-04-04|title=Saudi Arabia makes Brexit Britain its 'preferred partner' to help reshape its economy|url=https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/787843/Brexit-Britain-Saudi-Arabia-preferred-partner-reshape-economy|access-date=2021-11-14|website=Express.co.uk|language=en}}
Personal life
He has been married for thirty years and is a fan of Chelsea football club.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.godatwork.org.uk/ Official website]
{{Authority control}}
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Category:South African people of Lebanese descent
Category:University of the Witwatersrand alumni
Category:White South African anti-apartheid activists
Category:South African anti-apartheid activists
Category:Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge
Category:South African bankers
Category:South African philanthropists