Welcome to Tolulope Ajadi and Zain Karbani!

Please join me in welcoming Tolulope Ajadi, Corporate Finance Assistant Manager and Zain Karbani, Corporate Finance Associate Director (pictured above with Adam Croft, Head of M&A) who joined the business yesterday, and will be based in our Stratford office.

Zain says:

“My name is Zain and I’ve joined as Associate Director in the M&A / Lead advisory team. Born in Yorkshire and raised in London, I’ve lived in Dubai for 7 years before returning back full circle and studying at the University of York. I’ve been a lifelong Arsenal fan but whilst waiting for the glory days to return, I’ve taken up golf and trying to get my game back – anyone fancy a round let’s connect!

I joined PwC straight after graduation into the Deals Lead Advisory where I worked across a number of sectors including Real Estate, Infrastructure and Healthcare. I’ve also had the opportunity to work abroad during a secondment to NEOM in Saudi Arabia, where I advised on the deal structure and portfolio mix of the ultra ambitious city being built in the country.

I will be working with Adam Croft on our new service offering advising on mergers and acquisitions. My role as an Associate Director will be delivering buy-side and sell-side transactions for our clients and originating new deals. Whilst we will be actively looking in the market for new deals, should any of our existing client be looking to exit or acquire a business, please feel to reach out to have a chat.

I am a Chartered Accountant and am currently studying a part time Masters in Real Estate at the University of Cambridge. I’m passionate about giving back to the community and have recently got involved in building water wells in Uganda, where I hope to travel to next year.”

Tolu says:

“Hi, my name is Tolulope Ajadi but prefer to be referred to as Tolu. To tell someone about myself it would absolutely have to start with sports. I enjoy watching F1, Basketball and then there is the driver of all my emotions, football. To say that my weekend is driven by the result of the Chelsea match would be an understatement. Outside of sports, I have other interests such as the cooking (more so the idea of it), going to the gym and sudoku.

For my undergraduate degree, I studied Economics at Loughborough University. Then I decided to pursue a master’s degree in corporate finance at Loughborough University. In terms of practical experience, I have just over 2 years experience within M&A, working within the Consumer Corporate Finance team at PwC, primarily focusing on sell side transactions.

A particular focus within my job role, especially over the next year, is to help senior team members to expand the brand recognition amongst Private equity and growing founder-led businesses. To achieve our goal, I think taking red will be the marketing of the firm will be essential such as attending and speaking at industry events, attending networking events and writing LinkedIn pieces. 

The highlight of career thus far was the first transaction I was apart of due to be various difficulties faced during the transaction so getting it across the line was really fulfilling. Another work highlight of mine was being able to attend a networking event in Madrid, where I was able to meet and learn from people from all over the EMEA region.”

If you see Zain and Tolu around the business, please join me in welcoming them to LB Group!