A debayo Ogunlesi is a Nigerian-born lawyer and investment banker with a distinguished career in global finance, culminating in his role as the founder, Chairman, and Managing Partner of Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP). GIP is a leading private equity firm that specializes in large-scale infrastructure investments, managing a portfolio that includes major airports, energy facilities, and transportation assets across the world. Born in Nigeria, his father was the country's first professor of medicine. Ogunlesi pursued an elite education abroad, earning degrees from Oxford University and Harvard, where he was a classmate of future Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.

Before founding GIP in 2006, Ogunlesi had a long and successful tenure at the investment bank Credit Suisse, where he rose through the ranks to become the Global Head of Investment Banking. His decision to leave the pinnacle of banking to start an infrastructure-focused fund proved prescient. GIP became famous for high-profile acquisitions, including its purchase of London's Gatwick Airport. In a testament to the firm's success, investment giant BlackRock announced its intention to acquire GIP in early 2024 for over $12 billion, a deal set to make Ogunlesi a billionaire and place him on BlackRock's board.