David Keast Email & Phone Number

London, Gb

London, United Kingdom

Corniche Growth Advisors is an authorised and regulated transaction advisor and strategic business development company with a difference. It is based on more than 20 years of entrepreneurial experience, where campaigns are waged with "live bullets". It's mission is to help tech companies in the Fintech, Insurtech and Telecoms sectors grow through capital raising, M&A and organic growth (through strategic partnerships, geographical expansion etc.), whilst also advising tech-based investment funds on new and existing investments.

Switzerland And Singapore

Lotaris SA, a Red Herring Global Top 100 Company, based in Switzerland with subsidiaries in Japan, Singapore and the US, is a global mobile payments service provider which provides cloud-based licensing and payment services to both large enterprises and smaller mobile app developers. I was a founding shareholder in Forbes Digital Commerce, and was primarily responsible for strategic direction and execution in the company.Specialities:- entrepreneurial business leadership- business & strategic partnership development- corporate development - M&A and funding role- product roadmap strategy- "go to market" strategies- mobile & payment services and ecosystems

David Keast co-founded Accelon, a satellite broadband provider in West Africa, based on a concept paper that he developed. He played an instrumental role in attracting satellite operator, SES Global of Luxembourg, and the Industrial Development Corporation as investors in this start-up, securing regulatory approvals and recruiting management teams in South Africa, Nigeria and Ghana, throughout 2003. Mr. Keast played a strategic management role during the start-up phase during 2004-2005 as an executive director including capital raising, corporate development, platform procurement, marketing and new product strategy, restructuring, financial review and regulatory activities.

David Keast co-founded Johannesburg based Africa Venture Partners (AVP) in June 2002. Besides founding Accelon, Mr. Keast managed a study mandated by the Development Bank of Southern Africa and IDRC (Canada) on the viability of the Under Serviced Area Licences (USALs) in South Africa, and a study mandated by the Vodacom Group into the viability of setting up a venture capital fund, on behalf of AVP.Africa Venture Partners (AVP) was invited into the Black Economic Empowerment consortium which purchased the SBC/Telkom Malaysia stake in Telkom South Africa during 2005, in a transaction valued at $1.2 billion. Mr Keast developed the African growth strategy, which positioned the consortium as a value-adding investor.

David Keast worked as a director of Kaydon Limited, a TMT investment advisory firm, as the lead partner managing its technology partnership with Ethos Private Equity. This involved developing and processing an investment pipeline and ongoing post-investment roles through non-executive directorships. Mr. Keast was instrumental in acquiring and executing mandates for Kaydon such as a general mandate to source & execute strategic acquisitions for Xerox South Africa, the disposal of internet service provider, Vodacom World Online, raising project finance for system integrator, Choice Technologies and restructuring Zambian payphone operator, Zynex.

Mr. Keast provided strategic investment advice and business planning services to major South African and international operating companies during the period 1998-1999 through his consulting practise, Xhumana, including developing an entry strategy into Africa for U.S. satellite operator Orbcomm, repositioning South African signal distributor Orbicom as a multi-media operator and developing an m-commerce strategy for a leading international gaming operator.

As strategic business development manager for MIH/Multichoice & M-Cell (now MTN Group) for the 3 year period 1995-1997, Mr. Keast developed and executed investment opportunities in the mobile cellular and satellite sectors, including the acquisition of cellular service providers into MTN, and pioneering MTN’s early African growth strategy.

During 1993 Mr. Keast developed and implemented Plessey’s strategy and business plans for its entry into the cellular industry as a Service Provider. This included finding a joint venture partner, negotiating commercial arrangements and securing Board approval for the investment. Mr. Keast was involved in a variety of roles during the start-up phase of Plessey Cellular during 1994, where he gained intensive hands-on commercial experience in all aspects of the business.

David Keast designed and developed real-time application software as a Software Engineer in the U.K, and was responsible for systems acquisition, integration, management and marketing as a Systems Engineer at Plessey.

David Keast started his career as an engineer-in-training developing and implementing real-time monitoring systems at the Iscor (now Arcelor Mittal) Vanderbijlpark steel works.

Mba, Finance, Marketing, Winner Tax Prize

Activities and Societies: Company Analysis: Plessey

B.Sc. Engineering (Electrical & Electronic)

"A" Aggregate, Academic Colours