John P. Causey IV

Founder & MD

Education

Master's in Finance, University of Cape Town

MBA, Northern Kentucky University (Concentration: International Business)

Certificate, Commercial Real Estate Analysis & Investment, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Juris Doctor, Chase College of Law,. Bar Admissions (Inactive): NC & AZ

Bachelor’s of Arts, Psychology, University of Louisville

Leadership Bio

John P. Causey IV is the Founder and Managing Director of Vantage Advisory, a strategic investment and advisory firm helping clients enter, scale, transact, and lead better in Africa and Southeast Asia’s most promising markets. The firm’s newsletters are followed by more than 13,000 business decision-makers and investors, including those at pension funds, endowments, DFIs, private equity firms, corporates, and family offices.

John has led and advised on over $500 million in transactions across frontier and emerging markets. His sector experience spans early-stage ventures, private equity, M&A, real estate, infrastructure, and joint venture formation. He has worked extensively across both regions, with prior long-term postings in South Africa, Zambia, Nigeria, Cameroon, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

His emerging markets journey began in 2002 as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer on the Cameroon–Nigeria border. A decade later, he left Morgan Stanley to pursue a Master’s in Finance at the University of Cape Town, Africa’s top-ranked university. Graduating with distinction, his thesis analyzed private equity syndication in Africa involving both local and global investors.

In 2016, he became CEO of Novare’s Zambia operations, where he established the country office and led the development of three grade-A shopping malls and the Standard Chartered Bank Zambia head office. Totaling 695,000 square feet, the developments were financed through Novare’s $480 million private equity real estate fund, with debt from the IFC, Stanbic, and Standard Chartered. He secured Novare’s largest lease by economic value to date and originated its first IFC investment, structured as debt financing for two retail centers.

In 2024, John returned as interim CEO of Novare’s West Africa operations, based in Lagos. There, he originated and closed a $100 million joint venture with U.S.-based ReElement to develop Africa’s first commercial rare earth refining facility. He also led the spin-off of a shared office platform, while implementing operational systems, securing third-party mandates, and strengthening local teams.

Now, John is focused on building Vantage into a leading platform for business and investment between the U.S. and Africa and Southeast Asia.