Ken Costa

Ken Costa
Born 1949 (age 6566)
South Africa
Residence London
Alma mater University of the Witwatersrand
Queens' College, Cambridge
Occupation Banker

Ken Costa (born c. 1949) is a London-based South African banker and Christian philanthropist. He served as the Chairman of Lazard from 2007 to 2011.

Early life

Ken Costa was born in South Africa circa 1949.[1] His family were farmers of Lebanese descent.[2] He was educated at a white-only boarding school in Pretoria.[2]

He graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand, where he received a Bachelor's degree in Law and Philosophy in 1972.[3] During that time, he was the President of the students' council and identified as a marxist.[2] He was an opponent of the apartheid regime and friends with fellow anti-apartheid activists like Ahmed Timol and Steve Biko.[2]

He went on to receive a Masters of Law Degree and a Certificate in Theology from Queens' College, Cambridge in England.[3] He converted to Christianity in Cambridge.[2]

Career

Costa started his career in finance at S. G. Warburg & Co. in London in the 1980s, when he was mentored by Sir Siegmund George Warburg.[2] He joined UBS when S. G. Warburg & Co. merged with it.[2][4] He eventually served as the Chairman of Europe, Middle East and Africa at UBS, retiring in September 2007.[4][5]

He served as the Chairman of Lazard from 2007 in 2011.[1][4][6] He was an advisor to Mohamed Al-Fayed on his 1.5 billion sale of Harrods to the Qatari royal family.[6]

In December 2014, he joined the Board of Directors of the Songbird Estates, which owns 70% of Canary Wharf, replacing Khalifa Al-Kuwari.[4][6][7]

He has lectured at Gresham College.[8]

Christian philanthropy

He is the Chairman of Alpha International, which promotes the Alpha course.[6] He has spoken at Holy Trinity Brompton,[9] where he is also a church warden, and also at New Wine. He is the author of God At Work, a 2007 book about Christianity's relationship to the workplace.[2][10]

Personal life

He has been married for thirty years.[2]

References

External link

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