Emrie Brown is a seasoned investment banker whose career in Investment Banking started in 1997 in Structured Finance. She was appointed as Co-Head of the Investment Banking Division (IBD) in 2015 and sole Head in 2019. In 2019 the Banking Division was created in our journey towards increased client centricity and improved cross-functional collaboration across RMB. Emrie is Head of the Banking Division which includes IBD, Corporate Banking and Coverage.
Under Emrie’s leadership, IBD has won “The Banker” Most Innovative Investment Bank in Africa from 2016 to 2019, the M&A Today Global 100 Investment Bank of the Year in Africa for 2020, the Global Finance Best Bank in Africa for New Financial Technology, the Spire Best Debt Origination Team on the JSE for 10 consecutive years from 2010 to 2019 and the Dealmaker’s Best BEE Investment Adviser in 2019, amongst many others.
Emrie obtained a B.Com Accounting degree in 1990 at the University of Pretoria and completed her Honours degree the following year at what used to be called Rand Afrikaans University. Emrie qualified Cum Laude as a Chartered Accountant (SA) in 1994.
She started her working career at RMB in 2001 and specialised in various lending businesses including Property, cross-border finance and Leveraged Finance, culminating in her being appointed as Head of Acquisition and Leveraged Finance in 2006 when RMB formed the Investment Banking Division. In 2009 she relocated to Cape Town and filled various positions within the Cape Town office, including Business Development Director, and moved back to Johannesburg in 2015.
Emrie currently serves on the RMB Executive committee. She also sits on the RMB Financial Resource Management Exco, RMB Platform and Conduct Exco and RMB Nigeria Board.
Diversity and inclusion in financial services and growing the number of females in managerial positions in the bank are two of Emrie’s many passions. When she is not hard at work growing RMB’s Investment Banking and Banking business, she enjoys traveling to the bush, and having good food and wine with friends and family.
“Your career can be much more like a jungle gym than the traditional career ladder in your journey to achieve success. How you define success and the sacrifices that you are prepared to make, are decisions that will be required along the way and will be different for each person. As women we don’t have to “man up” to be successful in financial services.”