MiDA Management/Staff

Aymeric Saha, Managing Director, MiDA
November 2016 to Present

Aymeric Saha is the Managing Director of MiDA or
“Mobilizing Institutional Investors to Develop
Africa’s Infrastructure,” a partnership between the
U.S. National Association of Securities Professionals (NASP) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The initiative mobilizes, advises, and expands opportunities for U.S. institutional investors pension funds, insurance companies, foundations and endowments into infrastructure investments in Sub-Saharan Africa in seeking higher returns while making a meaningful impact on development in the region. Since 2017, MiDA members have closed on new deals totaling close to $700 million. The initiative was recently showcased at the last G20 Investor Summit in Argentina in November 2018 as a successful model for mobilizing private sector financing for infrastructure and sustainable investing in developing countries. MiDA’s investor network extends to 70 U.S. pension funds, foundations, and endowments with close to $3 trillion in assets under management. As part of his duties, Mr. Saha oversees a team of investment and legal experts, several joint initiatives with the World
Bank and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, and manages program resources and operations. He recently co-authored a research publication with Mercer – one of the most influential pension investment consulting firm – on “Institutional Investments in African Public
Infrastructure.” He has also been featured and interviewed by leading international industry publications, including Pensions & Investments, Brink News, ESI Africa and Business Insider. Mr. Saha is a regular speaker at investor forums and pension fund retreats in both the United
States and Africa.

Mr. Saha previously spent fourteen years in investments and banking at the World Bank and led the quantitative risk finance function responsible for managing market, credit and liquidity risks for the leading development financial institutions. In this role, Mr. Saha led the team that revamped the financial risk management and systems for several of the bank’s functions, including oversight of a $100 billion investments portfolio; asset-liability management for a $150 billion banking balance sheet; and $200 billion in derivatives trading for interest rates and currency risks hedging across multiple markets. He was subsequently awarded for excellence for his accomplishments in leading the bank’s risk management reforms after the financial crisis by the bank’s global head of finance and risk management.

In 2013, Mr. Saha was appointed Financial Policy Director in the United States Congress House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions Ranking Member Congressman Gregory W. Meeks to oversee the implementation of banking and capital markets reforms in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. In this role, Mr. Saha was responsible for coordinating the subcommittee’s oversight of banks, institutional investors, housing finance agencies, non-bank lenders, and banking regulators, including the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). Mr. Saha led numerous legislative proposals that were adopted by Congress on banking regulations, housing finance, consumer financial protection, insurance and financial inclusion. Cumulatively, he directed initiatives to boost U.S.- Africa trade and investments, particularly within the Power Africa initiative.

In 2005, Mr. Saha co-founded New Bridge Development/1438 Street LLC, a boutique real estate investment firm that developed and managed multi-million dollar assets in commercial and residential properties, including several retail operations in the Washington, DC region. The business successfully transacted on dozens of financing and leasing deals and managed over 40 employees in the region.

Mr. Saha holds two master’s degrees in finance and business management from Johns Hopkins Carey Business School and a bachelor’s degree in finance and economics from McGill University. He previously lived abroad in Africa, Europe, and Canada, and is fluent in French.

Bintou Kabore-Zerbo, Program Coordinator

Bintou Kabore-Zerbo is the Program Coordinator for the NASP-USAID Investment Partnership – Mobilizing Investors to Develop Africa’s Infrastructure. She is responsible for the coordination of daily operations and communications, and compliance with USAID policies, reporting and procedures. Bintou holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, and a Juris Doctorate with a concentration in international Law.

Daniel Bond, Senior Advisor

Daniel Bond is an economist with over 35 years of experience focused on the study of emerging market countries. He was Chief Economist for the Export-Import Bank of the United States, Group VP of Duff & Phelps Credit Rating Company and First VP of Ambac Assurance Corporation.  In recent years he has served as a consultant on infrastructure financing for the World Bank and the U.N. Capital Development Fund.

Dianne Rudo, Senior Advisor

Dianne Rudo is an infrastructure finance expert with over 30 years of transaction and advisory experience in both developed and emerging markets. She was a partner in the corporate finance department at Drexel Burnham Lambert, and Vice President, Project Finance Division of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, which she established.  Ms. Rudo is a Director on the Board of GuarantCo, which provides local currency guarantees to infrastructure projects in emerging and frontier countries.                                                                                        

U.S National Association of Securities Professionals (NASP)

Donna Sims Wilson, NASP Chair, President of Smith Graham & Co.

Donna Sims Wilson is the President of Smith Graham & Co. Investment Advisors, L.P., a $6 billion investment management firm in its 27th year of operations. Mrs. Wilson is responsible for Business Development, Marketing and Client Relations. She also works in conjunction with the Chairman and CEO on new product development and short and long-term strategies for the firm. She recently expanded the firm’s product offerings into the alternatives space through the acquisition of a residential mortgage whole loan business from a leading real estate equity and debt firm. Mrs. Wilson has 30 years of financial services experience, including formerly serving as Executive Vice President of CastleOak Securities, L.P. a leading New York-based boutique investment bank, where she also served on the Management Committee of the firm. Previously, she was President of M.R. Beal & Company and was a Founder and Managing Director of Loop Capital Markets. Mrs. Wilson was a Vice President at Bear Stearns where she sold mortgage-backed securities and started her career as an analyst in corporate finance at Lehman Brothers Kuhn Loeb. She currently serves as Chair of the National Association of Securities Professionals, a trade organization of minorities and women who work on Wall Street. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Greater Houston Partnership and the United Way of Houston.

Shawn Lytle, NASP Immediate-Past Chair, Deputy Global Head of Macquarie Investment Management President, Delaware FundsSM by Macquarie.

Shawn K. Lytle is deputy global head of Macquarie Investment Management and president of Delaware Funds by Macquarie. In this role, he leads the US business for Macquarie Investment Management, in addition to overseeing several multi-boutique investment teams that span all major asset classes and provide investment solutions for individual and institutional investors. Lytle joined Macquarie Investment Management (MIM), which includes the former Delaware Investments, in June 2015 as president of Delaware Management Holdings, Inc. (Delaware Investments). He became CEO and president of the Delaware Funds in August 2015 and director/trustee in September 2015. Before joining the firm, he held several management roles at UBS Global Asset Management where he worked for 13 years. He was regional head of the Americas for UBS for five years, based in Chicago and New York. Before that, Lytle worked in London in various roles within the firm’s equity group, including deputy global head of equities. Before joining UBS in 2002 as a global equities portfolio manager, he worked for JPMorgan Asset Management for 10 years in a variety of roles in London and New York, including global equities client portfolio manager and US mutual fund sales. He received a bachelor’s degree in marketing from The McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. His a member of the board of directors of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), and he is a member of the board of governors for the Investment Company Institute. (ICI)

Guy Logan, NASP Chair-Elect, Managing Director – Municipal Securities Division, Citigroup Global Markets Inc.

Guy Logan is Managing Director, Head of Metropolitan Issuers Finance Group, at Citigroup Global Markets Inc. He is responsible for delivering all investment banking services to municipal issuers throughout the United States. Prior to joining Citigroup, Guy worked at Moody’s Investors Service, where he analyzed municipal bonds. Born and raised in Windsor, Ontario Canada, Guy received both his B.A. in Economics and his M.B.A from Union College. Guy is presently a term member of the Union College Board of Trustees and previously served on the College’s President’s Council.

Orim Graves, Executive Director, NASP

Orim Graves, CFA is the Executive Director of the National Association of Securities Professionals (NASP), a three-decades old trade association for minorities and women in the financial services industry headquartered in Washington, D.C.  Over 150 companies including approximately 45 small/emerging companies in all aspects of the financial services industry are represented in NASP’s membership across the U.S. including ten chapters in major financial centers.

Prior to joining NASP, Mr. Graves was a partner at an investment firm responsible for the firm’s performance evaluation, reporting and risk analysis and was a member of the Investment Committee. Mr. Graves also has held positions as a senior member of a leading investment consulting firm, where he provided investment counsel to a number of institutional clients across the country. He specialized in introducing new alternative strategies and innovative managers to the firm’s client base.

Prior to working as a consultant, Mr. Graves served as deputy chief investment officer for the City of Philadelphia Board of Pensions and Retirement where he provided expertise in investment performance attribution and evaluation, as well as asset allocation strategies specializing in non-traditional asset categories. In addition to his consulting and plan sponsor experience, Mr. Graves previously served as an analyst in the gaming industry and as a fixed income trader for a major multi-national bank.

Mr. Graves serves on the board of Dillard University, a historically black university in New Orleans, LA. Mr. Graves earned his Bachelor of Science in Finance from Hampton University and an MBA in Finance from the University of Wisconsin. He is a CFA charter holder.

United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

The MiDA initiative was created through an agreement managed by USAID’s Private Capital and Microenterprise Office (PCM). The office has a mandate to more strategically mobilize private investment into priority USAID sectors and markets.  PCM’s focus areas include SME finance, enterprise development, privatization, project finance, capacity building, private sector development, and capital markets development.