Board and Management

Chairman

Ayuli Jemide

Ayuli Jemide is the Founder and Lead Partner of Detail Commercial Solicitors, Nigeria’s first commercial solicitor firm.

Ayuli has a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) (1987), a Master of Laws degree from Northwestern University, Illinois, United States (2007), and a postgraduate certificate in business administration from the IE Business School, Spain. He is a regular facilitator at the Lagos Business School’s Center for Infrastructure, Policy, Regulation, and Advancement (CIPRA).

Ayuli’s expertise is in PPP, and project finance, and has garnered working knowledge on cognate subject matters, including Accounting, Banking, Finance – structured; projects; private equity and funds, Procurement – private and public, Financial Inclusion and Payment Systems, Corporate Governance, and Investments.

Managing Director

Oritsegbemi Agbajor

Oritsegbemi is the Managing Director of CardinalStone Trustees Limited with about 15 years of experience spanning trust services, estate planning, corporate law, and fiduciary advisory. He brings deep expertise in structuring complex transactions, business development, and delivering innovative trust solutions, with a strong track record of driving growth and strengthening client relationships across leading financial institutions.

Prior to joining CardinalStone, Oritsegbemi held senior leadership roles including Managing Director at Mega Capital Trustee & Fiduciary Services Limited, Head of Commercial Trust at ARM Trustees, and Head of Trust Services (Ag. Managing Director) at Coronation Trustees. Across these roles, he has led high-performing teams, driven significant business growth, and delivered a broad range of transactions including bonds, securitizations, escrow arrangements, and collective investment schemes.

He holds an LLM in Commercial and Corporate Law from Queen Mary University of London, a Bachelor of Laws degree from Benson Idahosa University, and is a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

Non-Executive Director

Mohammed Garuba

Mohammed is one of the founding partners of CardinalStone and has served as the Head of Asset Management for the past 8 years.  Prior to joining the firm, Mohammed served as Director of Equity Securities at Renaissance Capital and served as Managing Director/Chief Operating Officer of Zenith Securities Limited, a subsidiary of Zenith Bank Plc.

Mohammed began his professional career in the Finance and Treasury Department of Intercellular Nigeria Limited; soon after which he began his banking career at Investment Banking & Trust Company Limited (Now Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc).  

Mohammed holds a B.Sc. in Insurance from the University of Lagos and an MBA from London Business School. He is also a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers. He is an Authorized Dealing Clerk of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. 

Non-Executive Director

Micheal Nzewi

Mr. Michael Nzewi is one of the founding partners of CardinalStone and has been Managing Director of the Company since January 2017

Michael served as a Director in the Capital Markets division of Standard Chartered Bank (SCB), London. Prior to SCB, Michael served as the Head of Corporate Finance at Vetiva Capital Management

Michael holds a BSc. in Accounting from the University of Benin, Nigeria and an MBA from Said Business School, Oxford University, UK

He is an Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria

Non-Executive Director

Adenike Tokunbo Ajayi

Tokunbo has over 45 years of experience that cuts across Capital Market, Corporate Trust, Real Estate, and Private Trust transactions.

With 33 + years in the financial services sector, she previously held the role of MD/CEO at United Capital Trustees Limited. After retiring in March 2021, she served as an Independent Non-Executive Director at United Capital Plc and its Subsidiaries until April 2022.

She brings extensive expertise in Capital Market, Corporate Trust, Real Estate, and Private Trust transactions, managing assets worth approximately N6.0 trillion.

Tokunbo is a qualified Barrister & Solicitor, admitted to the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 1986 after earning her Bachelor of Law Degree from the University of Ife, Nigeria, in 1985 and affiliated with various professional bodies including the Institute of Directors Nigeria, and INSOL International.