16 March 2018, Sweetcrude, Casablanca, Morocco –- Africa50, the pan-African infrastructure investment platform capitalized by the African Development Bank, 25 African countries, and two African Central Banks, is pleased to announce the appointment of Kimberly Heimert as General Counsel.
As General Counsel and member of Africa50’s senior leadership team, Heimert will provide expert advice on Africa50’s strategies and their implementation, manage the legal function, be directly involved in investment transactions, and work closely with Africa50’s Board of Directors as its counsel.
“Appointing a General Counsel of Ms. Heimert’s caliber will greatly facilitate Africa50’s mission,” said Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank and Chairman of Africa50’s Board of Directors. “Under her leadership, I expect that Africa50 will set a high standard for legal and ethical behaviour while balancing financial performance and corporate integrity for infrastructure development in Africa.”
Prior to joining Africa50, Heimert was Vice-President and General Counsel of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the U.S. Government’s development finance institution. As an appointee of President Barack Obama and the second most senior official at OPIC, she led a team of 35 legal professionals, served on OPIC’s Investment and Enterprise Risk Management Committees, and was Counsel to the Board of Directors, Audit Committee, and Risk Committee. During her tenure, OPIC committed more than $2.6 billion to projects in Africa.
Prior to OPIC, Heimert was the Deputy Chief Counsel for Loan Programs at the U.S. Department of Energy, where she helped oversee legal aspects of creating and monitoring a portfolio of energy projects worth over $30 billion. Before working for the U.S. Government, she was a Managing Director and Counsel at General Electric Energy Financial Services, leading teams in energy-related transactions and helping to create the company’s energy venture capital group. In private practice, she has worked for the law firms Shearman & Sterling, Chadbourne & Parke, and White & Case, in New York City, Washington D.C., London, and Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Heimert earned a Juris Doctorate, cum laude, from Harvard Law School and a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies and Broadcast Journalism, summa cum laude, from The American University.
“I’m honored to be joining Africa50,” said Heimert. “It is a key player in bridging the equity gap that thwarts the implementation of many infrastructure projects on the continent. I’m excited to work with Africa50’s team and our shareholders to contribute to Africa’s growth by catalyzing public and private sector capital and achieving developmental goals while providing appropriate returns to our investors.”
Alain Ebobissé, Africa50 CEO, added, “Bringing on board Kimberly nearly completes our senior management team and will speed up our delivery of projects. Her combination of high-level government and private sector experience will be a tremendous asset.”
