Kene Ejikeme is the first African to be promoted to Partner in Europe in Goldman Sachs’ history.

He is also Head of Multi Asset Platform Sales and High Touch Execution in EMEA at the global

giant. Kene is a key leader in the firm’s Global Banking Markets division, which accounted for 75 per cent of firm revenue in 2022. He is also the sponsor of Goldman Sachs’ EMEA Black Network and sits on the regional Inclusion and Diversity Committee. In this role, he actively drives advancement and strategic decisions for black talent, by promoting the recruitment, retention and advocacy for black professionals.

Kene was also actively involved in these initiatives during his 10-year tenure as Co-Head of the

Firmwide Black Network, which has 1,500 members. He has driven hiring efforts for black talent and served as a sponsor for black interns in EMEA-led efforts to recruit talent directly from Africa for positions in global GS offices.

Outside of the firm, Kene is a founding member of Impact X, a double-bottom-line venture capital company founded to support underrepresented entrepreneurs across Europe. Having identified an underserved and undersaturated niche of founders with compelling business models, Impact X sources uniquely differentiated deal flow to generate returns for investors.

He leads several external partnerships in the racial equity space through the GS Racial Equity Fund, which helps charitable organisations such as Urban Synergy and Mentivity with funding and technical support to scale up their activity and progress racial equity in the UK. He is also a board member of Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO), a UK-based organisation dedicated to preparing talented students from ethnic minority or low socioeconomic backgrounds for career success.