Matt qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 2017 and immediately joined Challenger in early 2018 after the completion of his articles with KPMG. Matt joined Challenger as a Deal Originator, and has progressed to Africa Portfolio Manager, overseeing the loan book, originators and credit evaluations. Continuous learning has always been a key focus for Matt and having studied part-time during his time at Challenger, successfully completed his CFA in 2021. In addition to continuing his studies, Matt is a regular contributor to Trade Finance Global, after being selected as a winner in the International Trade Professionals Programme (ITPP). Matt has been instrumental in structuring deals in Africa, including Cocoa from Cote D’Ivoire, pulses from Tanzania and hard commodity exports from South Africa.
Iain Sykes
(Deal Team Africa)
Iain Sykes
After qualifying at the University of Cape Town, Iain spent 2 years in the UK. On his return he started the first online, Continuing Professional Development platform in South Africa. The platform was white labelled for asset management firms and utilised for internal compliance and training purposes. In 2012, Iain launched a pet product businesses, designing, importing and manufacturing premium products for South African retailers, which he exited in 2017. This experience was pivotal for his role on the Challenger deal team and gave him a practical understanding of the trade cycle. In his role at Challenger, Iain identifies, structures and manages deals across a diversity of commodities and geographies. Over and above his role on the deal team, he assists with portfolio management and general business development.
Maximo Tovagliari
(Deal Team Latam)
Maximo Tovagliari
Maximo’s first foray into the Financial and Investment Industry was during his early teenage years, investing his own money in the stock market, achieving great yields after +15 years of managing his own portfolio. After qualifying as an Industrial Engineer in June 2013, he took up a financial analyst position in the main Argentinian electricity distributor (Edenor) and then moved to Sydney (Australia) in January 2014, being a financial analyst for Mirvac, the largest Australian Real Estate developer. He returned to Buenos Aires (Argentina) in late 2015 and joined BAF Capital Fund in a deal origination role, where he focused on midterm debt and PE investments. He advised on more than $130m in corporate finance transactions and $30m in PE investments. Maximo joined the Challenger team at the end of 2019 and since then he has structured several deals across the Latam region.
Miguel Richards
(Deal Team Latam)
Miguel Richards
Argentinian with an Accountant Degree, Miguel has worked in the LATAM Agribusiness for almost 20 years. With experience in Collaterals due to his past in Control Union (world leader for Collateral Services), he had worked for different funds, having advised on more than $ 350 mm in transactions. After living in Sao Paulo (Brazil), where he developed the country for BAF Capital, he relocated in Buenos Aires (Argentina) from where he had his focus in Brazil but including Peru and Ecuador as well. Left BAF in 2018 and joined Challenger in early 2019.