The Ethiopian Securities Exchange (ESX) has announced the departure of its founding Chief Executive Officer, Tilahun Esmael Kassahun (PhD), with the Board of Directors appointing Yodit Kassa as his successor.

In a statement issued Friday, ESX thanked Tilahun for his “visionary leadership and invaluable contribution” to establishing Ethiopia’s securities exchange and congratulated Yodit on her appointment.

Yodit moves into the CEO position from within ESX. She joined the Exchange in late 2023 as Chief Business Development Officer after spending about a decade with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), working across its Africa team. She later served as ESX’s Chief Operating Officer.

She holds an MSc in Accounting and Finance from Addis Ababa University and has been involved in ESX’s business development, issuer engagement, listings pipeline and investor education initiatives.

Tilahun joined the ESX project office in May 2022 as Senior Project Manager after working with the International Finance Corporation (IFC). He was appointed founding CEO following the incorporation of ESX as a share company in October 2023.

During his tenure, ESX launched its pilot money market platform in October 2024 before opening its securities trading operations in January 2025.

Dr. Tilahun had set an ambition for the Exchange to reach 90 listed companies within a decade.

Yodit now takes over as ESX enters a new phase focused on expanding participation and developing secondary-market activity. While the Exchange has recorded significant progress in listings and money-market transactions, equity trading remains relatively limited.

The leadership transition comes as Ethiopia’s capital market ecosystem continues to develop, with investment banks and other capital market service providers expanding their operations and regulators working to build a broader investor base.