Commercial Strategist Client Relationship Manager Go-to-Market Specialist
McDonald is a curious and commercially driven professional who enjoys turning complex problems into practical solutions and bringing people together to make things happen. His career has spanned banking, fintech, payments, and management consulting, giving him a broad perspective on developing opportunities, building strong client and partner relationships, and bringing products to market.
Today, McDonald works at Bank of America within EMEA Global Markets Client Onboarding, managing institutional client relationships and complex onboarding programmes across multiple teams and regions. Earlier in his career, he built his commercial and go-to-market experience at Interswitch and Softcom, working across payment solutions, market expansion, product positioning, and strategic partnerships.
McDonald holds an MSc in Finance from University College Dublin’s Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School and a degree in Accounting from Covenant University, Nigeria. He is particularly interested in opportunities where commercial thinking, strong relationships, and disciplined execution come together to create meaningful outcomes.
Career history
- Act as the primary contact for institutional clients, Investment Managers, and internal stakeholders throughout the onboarding lifecycle, managing relationships from initial engagement through to trade readiness.
- Coordinate and lead complex, multi-stakeholder onboarding projects across credit, risk, legal, documentation, static data, settlements, and collateral teams, acting as an escalation point to resolve issues and keep launches on track.
- Onboard new fund launches for mutual funds, hedge funds, and other institutional investment managers, applying relevant regulatory requirements including EMIR and MiFID to ensure full compliance and trade readiness.
- Supported the design and enhancement of standard operating procedures across multiple regions, identifying opportunities for process improvement and contributing to initiatives that reduced onboarding lag by an average of 20%.
- Manage a portfolio of 15+ institutional clients, maintaining a consistent 4/5 client satisfaction rating while ensuring 100% compliance across multi-regional onboarding projects.
- Delivered a research-based presentation analysing the impact of rising interest rates on Bank of America's Global Markets business, highlighting potential business opportunities, market risks, and strategic considerations for senior leadership.
- Supported post-trade activities within Bank of America's Global Markets Operations team, gaining exposure to trade lifecycle processes, operational controls, and institutional market activities through a structured 10-week MSc Finance internship programme.
- Managed end-to-end commercial launch projects for a B2B payments platform, coordinating cross-functionally with product, engineering, and sales teams to bring new market launches live on schedule.
- Acted as lead point of contact for external partners and strategic stakeholders during onboarding and launch, securing 5+ major strategic partnerships through structured relationship management.
- Prepared business cases and go-to-market playbooks that enabled penetration into 3 new underserved markets, sustaining 5–10% month-on-month transaction volume growth.
- Enabled data-driven decision-making at the leadership level through monthly MI reporting to the Group Head, covering launch progress, risk exposure, and commercial outcomes.
- Developed and executed the go-to-market strategy for the firm's digital payment solution within the FMCG sector, building strategic partnerships and expanding product adoption across 1,000+ retailers.
- Identified and pursued new business opportunities through structured prospecting and lead qualification, increasing sales pipeline by 25% and achieving a 15% conversion rate.
- Developed sales strategies across 9 target market segments, managing pipeline performance and revenue forecasting to improve planning efficiency and increase forecasting accuracy by 20%.
- Collaborated with product, engineering, and operations teams to implement client feedback within launched payment solutions, improving customer satisfaction rating.
- Prepared targeted proposals and client discussion materials for 10+ prospective clients across the FMCG and financial services sectors, supporting business development initiatives and strengthening the consulting division's market positioning.
- Analysed and optimised operating processes for financial services clients, developing standard operating procedures (SOPs) that improved operational consistency and efficiency.
- Developed cost optimisation recommendations for clients using structured analysis and consulting methodologies, contributing to reductions in operating expenses.
- Led a team of 5 interns to redesign a life insurance proposition for a younger demographic — conducting market research, building user stories, and presenting the business case to senior leadership.
Where I add value
Selected case studies
Enabling Enterprise Client Access to Global Financial Markets & Instruments
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Expanding Merchant Payments and Partnerships for Quickteller Business
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Launching Digital Payments for Nigeria's Transportation Sector
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Building Brand Engagement Infrastructure for African Startups
View Case StudyLet's have a conversation.
Open to client-facing roles in relationship management, GTM strategy, and commercial execution. Reach out by email, phone, or LinkedIn.