Ken Ofori-Atta

Kenneth Nana Yaw Ofori-Atta (born 7 November 1958), is a Ghanaian investment banker who serves as the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning in the cabinet of Nana Akufo-Addo. He was a co-founder of Databank Group, a Ghanaian financial services company, and served as executive chairman until 2012 when he resigned. He was nominated by President Nana Akufo-Addo on 10 January 2017 and assumed office on 27 January 2017 as finance minister. Early life and education Ofori-Atta was born on 7 November 1958 in Kibi, a town in the Eastern Region of Ghana. He is a member of the Ofori-Atta family. He is the son of the economist and politician Jones Ofori Atta. Ofori-Atta attended Achimota School for his O-Level and A-Level certificates received in 1976 and 1978 respectively. He got a temporary job as a mathematics teacher at Accra Academy in the period after his A-level at Achimota. In August 1980, Ofori-Atta was enrolled at Columbia University for a B.A. in Economics. He graduated from Columbia in 1984 and worked at Morgan Stanley in New York. He studied for and received an MBA from the Yale University School of Management in 1988 and went to work for the investment bank, Salomon Brothers. Career Finance Ofori-Atta co-founded Databank Financial Services with Keli Gadzekpo and Togbe Afede XIV in 1990; he served as its executive chairman until 14 February 2012 when he went on retirement. He has other business interests in Insurance, Retail Banking, Private Equity, Microfinance, Pharmaceuticals, and Real Estate.