Evening Standard: City Spy
Say a Little Prayer for UBS
It was just over a year ago that UBS began its descent into the credit-crunch abyss with the ousting of chief executive Peter Wuffli, and it doesn’t look to be in any better shape now. So it is perhaps no surprise the bank is calling on one of its respected former employees for divine guidance. That man is Ken Costa, who now works at Lazard and is advising UBS on its strategic options. Costa is the former chairman of UBS’s European investment banking operation and, until last year, a 31-year veteran of the Swiss bank. He is also a lay preacher at Holy Trinity Brompton, the Anglican church in Knightsbridge, London, and author of God at Work, in which he writes about how his faith gave him strength when he lost sleep over a proprietary position that UBS had taken in a client’s stock. While praying is not a formal risk-management tool, it is probably worth a go as the credit crisis shows little signs of abating.
According to the FT, ‘it seems Mr Costa doesn’t have an official role in the strategic review Lazard is conducting for UBS, where there might still be some sensitivities.’
On Thursday 12th June, Ken Costa spoke to more than 180 guests at the 13th annual ‘Bishop of Guildford’s Dinner for Lawyers.’
The event was hosted and chaired by the Bishop of Guildford, the Rt Revd Christopher Hill, at the Guildford Cathedral Refectory.
Ken spoke on the subject, ‘Winning at Work without Losing in Life.’
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Reliance calls on Ken Costa to broker £35bn MTN deal
The Times has reported that Ken Costa, has been appointed by Reliance Communications, the second largest Indian mobile company, to advise on its negotiations with MTN, Africa’s largest wireless group.
The two companies are locked in exclusive talks that could create a new colossus in emerging mobile markets with a market value of more than £35 billion. More.
Anil appoints Lazard man to lead on MTN talks
Reliance Communications has appointed a veteran London banker and one-time anti-apartheid activist to lead its team of advisers on talks with South Africa’s MTN that could create a giant Indo-African telecommunications group.
Ken Costa, chairman of international business at Lazard, will lead Reliance’s negotiations with MTN, the two companies being locked in exclusive talks that could create a company with a market value of more than $68.7 billion.
Now a well-known city banker, Costa in his youth was the leader of the students’ council at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, then a centre for anti-apartheid activism, and spoke about his passion for justice in a recent interview.
The current chairman of MTN is 56-year-old Cyril Ramaphosa, a veteran of South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle who resigned key positions in the government after losing the contest to be South African president to Thabo Mbeki in 1997.
Ramaphosa continues to be a member of the executive committee of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa. More.
Ken Costa has been invited by Business Matters to speak about ‘finding purpose at work.’
The event will be held at The Roxburghe Hotel, Edinburgh on the 25th September. For more information, click here.
Ken Costa addressed more than four hundred students, alumni, and friends of the Ivy League universities at the annual Ivy League Congress on ‘Faith and Action.’ Sponsored by the Christian Union, the event was held at the Yale Omni Hotel from the 11-13 April.
Ken spoke about how faith should lead to action, how his career had taken shape and he also gave some advice to those about to embark on careers and how to make decisions.
Matt Bennett, founder of the Christian Union, said, ‘Ken Costa was an incredible and wonderful blessing to us all! We loved having him!’
Another delegate said, ‘[Ken's] presentation challenged many students - their feedback was ecstatic. [The] message could not have been more aligned with the purpose of the weekend. Thanks for making the trip to Yale.’
Listen
Listen to the talk here.
Read the talk here.
The New York Times
‘Three years ago a group of evangelical Ivy League alumni formed the Christian Union, an organization intended to “reclaim the Ivy League for Christ,” according to its fund-raising materials, and to “shape the hearts and minds of many thousands who graduate from these schools and who become the elites in other American cultural institutions.”
Founder Matt Bennett says, The Christian Union’s immediate goal, was to recruit campus missionaries. “What is happening now is good,” Mr. Bennett said, “but it is like a finger in the dike of keeping back the flood of immorality.”
“Trends in the Ivy League today could shape the culture for decades to come,” he said. “So many leaders come out of these campuses. Seven of the nine Supreme Court justices are Ivy League grads; four of the seven Massachusetts Supreme Court justices; Christian ministry leaders; so many presidents, as you know; leaders of business - they are everywhere.”
He added, “If we are going to change the world, we have got, by God’s power, to see these campuses radically changed.”‘
Published May 2005, read more here.
Sunday 16th March 2008
Colin Mackay chats to Ken Costa, one-time anti-apartheid activist turned City investment banker and devout Christian, about whether there is space for God in the workplace. Listen here.
BBC Scotland’s ‘A Life in Question’ invites individuals from all walks of life to reflect on their experiences.
Ken spoke at HTB on Sunday 2nd March on ‘Connecting with the Vision.’ Listen here.
He was speaking on Moses and the subject of ‘what will you do with what God has given you?’ He referred to Exodus 4:2, where the Lord asks Moses, ‘what is that in your hand?’
The talk came the week after Nicky Gumbel, Vicar of HTB, had spoken on Vision Sunday, ‘It’s time to Accelerate.’ Listen here.
Ken Costa was interviewed live on Metro FM (96.4) by chat show host Criselda Kananda in Johannesburg on 28th February at 7pm.
The show focusses on healthy body, mind and spirit on every Wednesday and Thursday evening 19:00 to 21:00 targeting 5.2 million listeners.
He was asked questions about his book God at Work, recently published in South Africa, and how he reconciles life as an investment banker, completing billion dollar deals with his life as a Christian. He then received questions from listeners.
Criselda Kananda has been actively involved in the fight for the rights of both the HIV infected and HIV negative people. She served as a Member of the Board of Trustees at the National AIDS Counsel (SANEC) 2005-2006 and in 2006 represented South Africa in New York during the United Nations General Assembly Special Meeting on communicable diseases, commissioned by Mr Koffie Annan. Criselda has also received an award from the First Lady Mrs Zanele Mbeki for her contribution towards the up-liftment of young women in South Africa as an ambassador for the Young South African Women in Dialogue.
Ken Costa was in Johannesburg on 28-29th February speaking on the subject of God in the workplace at the ‘Radical Christianity’ conference hosted by Rhema Church. It was the first time in 40 years since Ken had publicly addressed an audience, commenting that such a multi-racial gathering would have been illegal during his days as a student leader at the University of Witwatersrand.
Ken Costa has been invited to speak at the Ivy League Congress on Faith and Action. The conference will be held at the Omni New Haven Hotel at Yale, April 11-13, 2008.
Also invited from the UK is Baroness (Caroline) Cox. The Emcee for the Congress will be Eric Metaxas, author of New York Times bestseller Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery.
The Ivy League Congress on Faith and Action 2008 is expected to be the largest gathering of Christian Ivy League students, staff, faculty, alumni, parents, and friends in history. The weekend is designed to increase people’s vision and ability to advance the kingdom of Christ in their vocations and society.
The Plenary sessions aim to motivate delegates to change the world for Jesus Christ and keep Christ Lord of all, with a realistic expression of the costs associated with being used of God to build His kingdom.
