Who We Are: Ian Black

After Cambridge University in 1977 with a law degree, Ian spent two years as a Financial Analyst with Burroughs (now part of Unisys) in Scotland. In 1979 he moved to London and joined Continental Bank. Over the next ten years Ian worked his way up through the ranks of the treasury department ultimately running the bank’s operation in Chicago as vice-president.

In 1988 Ian joined the Kuwait Investment Office and was appointed Treasurer in 1989. His plans for expansion of the treasury department were disrupted by Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait in August 1990. The KIO in London became the Finance Ministry as well as the Central Bank (both in exile) of Kuwait. During this time Ian was largely responsible for securing a US$ 5.5 billion loan facility for Kuwait from commercial banks worldwide. Ultimately he was appointed as a member of the Finance Team of the State of Kuwait, chaired by the Finance Minister.

Ian became Group Treasurer with Smith New Court, but left in 1996 joined CDC Group (Commonwealth Development Corporation) as Director of Treasury & Pensions.

While at CDC, Ian oversaw the final salary pension scheme, altered the investment policy, appointed new investment managers and scheme administrators, and designed a unique contingent funding arrangement giving scheme members increased certainty on pension obligations, at the same time giving the employer increased flexibility.

Ian proposed and implemented many treasury-related initiatives at CDC. These included a corporate insurance policy for PI and D&O liability; development of a guarantee programme which increased resources available to CDC for investment; a structured approach to foreign exchange exposure management; and new investment propositions for CDC.

In December 2006, after a restructuring which reduced CDC staff from 500 to 25, Ian left the company, since when he has been advising companies on financial structure, cashflow control and management, and in particular deals with treasury requirements for our clients.