Aden Mohammed is a prominent Somali

Somali people

Somalis are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family...

 banker and entrepreneur

Entrepreneur

An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...

. He is the Managing Director of Barclays Bank in East

East Africa

East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...

 and West Africa

West Africa

West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...

.

Biography

Aden was born to Somali parents in the town of El Wak

El Wak

El Wak is a small city on the Somalia-Kenya border. The Kenyan portion is located in Mandera District....

 in Mandera District

Mandera District

Mandera District is an administrative district in the North Eastern Province of Kenya. Its capital town is Mandera. The district has a population of 250,372 and an area of 26,744 km² .The district has three constituencies:...

, where he had his primary

Primary education

A primary school is an institution in which children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as primary or elementary education. Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth Nations, and in most publications of the United Nations Educational,...

 and secondary education

Secondary education

Secondary education is the stage of education following primary education. Secondary education includes the final stage of compulsory education and in many countries it is entirely compulsory. The next stage of education is usually college or university...

. He was one of only two pupils at Mandera Primary School who made it to high school. Adan proceeded to the University of Nairobi

University of Nairobi

The University of Nairobi is the largest university in Kenya. Although its history as an educational institution goes back to 1956, it did not become an independent university until 1970 when the University of East Africa was split into three independent universities: Makerere University in...

, from where he graduated in 1989 with a first class BCom degree.

After joining Pricewaterhouse Coopers, he was sent to London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 for training as a chartered accountant

Accountant

An accountant is a practitioner of accountancy or accounting , which is the measurement, disclosure or provision of assurance about financial information that helps managers, investors, tax authorities and others make decisions about allocating resources.The Big Four auditors are the largest...

. He later switched his focus to consulting

Management consulting

Management consulting indicates both the industry and practice of helping organizations improve their performance primarily through the analysis of existing organizational problems and development of plans for improvement....

, and was posted to Shell

Shell Nigeria

Shell Nigeria is the colloquial name for Royal Dutch Shell's Nigerian operations carried out through four subsidiaries—primarily through Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited...

 in Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

 for three years in this capacity. In 1994, Aden decided to pursue an MBA at the Harvard Business School

Harvard Business School

Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...

, a degree he completed in 1998.

Career

After receiving his MBA, Aden returned to Kenya

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

 and joined the country's Barclays branch as a Finance Director. Aden would rise through the ranks and eventually assume his current position as Managing Director of Barclays bank in East and West Africa. Under his tenure, BBK won the Banker Awards 2009.