Deji Opeola 2026 Speakers
Chief Executive Officer , ARM
“Deji Opeola is Chief Executive Officer of the ARM Private Credit Fund, where he leads the development of an institutional private credit platform focused on addressing Africa’s SME financing gap through disciplined, risk-managed lending.
A seasoned global finance executive with over 25 years of experience, Deji has worked across investment banking, private credit, leveraged finance, and emerging-market risk management in North America, South America, and Africa. He has held senior roles at Credit Suisse, Bank of America, J.P. Morgan, Citigroup, and American Capital Strategies (now Ares Capital), developing deep expertise in credit underwriting, structured and leveraged lending, corporate finance, portfolio construction, and risk management.
At American Capital Strategies, he was directly involved in originating, structuring, and managing private credit investments for small and mid-sized companies, strengthening his disciplined, downside-focused approach to credit investing.
He later served as Country Head of Investment Banking for Nigeria at Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, leading complex corporate and capital-markets transactions, and managed emerging-market corporate and institutional credit portfolios in Brazil at Citigroup.
Today, Deji leads ARM’s Mauritius-based, multi-currency private credit platform, deploying USD and NGN capital to scalable SMEs across Sub-Saharan Africa. The Fund is anchored on senior secured lending, rigorous underwriting, strong governance, and active portfolio management, with a focus on sustainable economic growth and risk-adjusted returns.
Deji holds an MBA from Case Western Reserve University and brings a calm,”
