Michelle Kathryn Essomé (née Taylor) is a former investment banker and the ex-

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of the African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (AVCA). She is also an ambassador of Build Africa, an international development and education charity based in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

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Early life and education

Essomé was born in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

in October 1968. She was raised in Washington D.C. and also lived in

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

for a short period as a child. Essomé was initially interested in politics, but, during her time at

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

, her interest switched to finance. Consequently, she transferred to th
Howard University's School of Business
where she obtained a BBA in Finance and was a recipient of a

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

scholarship. Later on, whilst working for

Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered in Lower Manhattan in New York City, with regional headquarters in many internationa ...

, she won an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

scholarship at

Columbia Business School Columbia Business School (CBS) is the business school of Columbia University, a Private university, private research university in New York City. Established in 1916, Columbia Business School is one of six Ivy League business schools and one of ...

, here she was
Robert F. Toigo fellow
She graduated with an MBA in Finance from

, Essomé is the inaugural recipient of the Columbia Business School Young Alumni of the Year Award (2014).

Career

Essomé's investment banking career has spanned over 30 years with roles in equities, fixed income and investment management. She has worked in the US, UK and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. After university, Essomé started her career at

Merrill Lynch Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, doing business as Merrill, and previously branded Merrill Lynch, is an American investment management and wealth management division of Bank of America. Along with BofA Securities, the investm ...

. She later moved to

and, after business school, to

Chase Chase or CHASE may refer to: Businesses * Chase Bank, a national American financial institution * Chase UK, a British retail bank * Chase Aircraft (1943–1954), a defunct American aircraft manufacturer * Chase Coaches, a defunct bus operator in ...

, (later

JPMorgan Chase JPMorgan Chase & Co. (stylized as JPMorganChase) is an American multinational financial services, finance corporation headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. It is List of largest banks in the United States, the largest ba ...

), where she spent time in

in Global Syndicated Finance and on the Securitisation Team''.'' After leaving

, she went to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and worked for a woman’s organisation, promoting women in business. She was then recruited back to Lehman Bros in

in a strategic role to attract more women and ethnic minorities to the bank. Afterwards, she moved to

Nomura Nomura (written: 野村 "field village" or 埜村 "wilderness village") is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: * , Japanese volleyball player * , Japanese-American baseball agent * , Japanese voice actor, including in t ...

. She was previously a Director at

Neuberger Berman Neuberger Berman Group LLC is an American private, independent, employee-owned investment management firm. The firm manages equities, fixed income, private equity and hedge fund portfolios for global institutional investors, advisors and high-ne ...

In September 2011, Essomé was appointed CEO of th
African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association
(AVCA), a pan-African industry body which aims to catalyse investment in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

Personal life

Hobbies include running, swimming, reading and travelling.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Essomé, Michelle 1968 births Living people Howard University alumni Columbia Business School alumni American women business executives American investment bankers American women bankers American venture capitalists Women venture capitalists Businesspeople from New York City 21st-century American women Goldman Sachs people JPMorgan Chase people