Peter O'Kane

Peter O'Kane has a 20 year track record of business building in financial services at Chase Manhatten, Lehman Bros, Enskilda Securities and then as owner of the pan-Asian investment bank, Crosby.

He graduated from Cambridge University with an M.A. in Law. He entered The City in 1984 after three years with John Swire and Sons, across SE Asia.

After a period in bond sales and trading at Chase he initiated their Euro-CP activities. He grew these to a substantial business and was recognised as a leading market commentator.

Joining Lehman in 1987 he took on the development of the Scandinavian investment banking business, growing it from a limited presence to a market leader in regional M&A, fixed income and equity new issues, establishing relationships with all the regions major business groupings and leaders.

After seven years he was invited by the owners of Enskilda, the leading Scandinavian securities house, to assist in its turn-round. He stabilised and then grew its London base, including the initiation of two key JV's, in the US with Blackstone and in Asia with Crosby. Joining Crosby, the leading independent investment bank in Asia, as an equity partner in 1997, he bought it following the Asian financial crisis. He re-positioned its Corporate Finance, investment management and Private Equity efforts in China, Singapore, Hong Kong and London and exited via a 2003 trade sale. Crosby floated on AiM in 2004.

He has been an active private investor and this, combined with his investment banking career, has given him experience in the Financial, Defence, Capital Goods and Healthcare sectors. He is a non-executive director of the leading UK senior management networking organisation, the "D" Group.

Outside his financial sector involvements he is actively involved in fund raising for educational and military charities and in supporting entrepreneurship within the UK economy.

He is married with four children.