Bro. James Addo has over 20 years of management experience in financial services institutions in frontier and developed markets. Bro. Addo has served as a member of the advisory board of Homestrings LLC, an investment platform that facilitates Diaspora investments, as a member of the advisory board at Innovare Advisors, as Executive Advisor at Asensu Holdings & GFI Limited, as an equity partner at BusyInternet and as a partner at Fincon Africa.
Bro. Abdul Latif Bennett is an attorney and Nutrametrix advisor. He assists health professionals in understanding the latest health care reforms and provides them with customized practice solutions to take advantage of it. Prior to his return to the US, while in South Africa, he worked as CEO for the African Communications Agency (ACA), an ad agency which held the exclusive international advertising rights for CNN International in Africa. As CEO, he drove all ad sales as well as oversaw marketing and production.
Bro. Arthur Wade Anderson is a South African born, U.S educated social entrepreneur who decided to leave the Corporate world to pursue a dream of restoring access to education, health and economic services to melanoid people on the continent and the diaspora. Bro. Anderson is a director of Green Outdoor Gyms and the CEO of GOT – Game, which is develops mobile ICT hubs that focus on education and economic inclusion of people in underserved communities. In 2016, he also became the CEO of Blacode Networks in Santa Monica CA, a start-up that aims to provide the highest quality consumer focused software and services business developed by minorities in the United States.
Bro. Rev. John Allen currently serves as the head of security for the US Peace Corps Southern Africa and he is also the founding pastor of a 500 strong multi-racial and diverse congregation in Pretoria, South Africa. Prior to living in South Africa, Bro. Allen and his family resided in Augusta, Georgia (USA) where he was senior pastor of the historic Sharon Baptist Church for eleven years. He is a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps where he served in various assignments in Georgia; North Carolina; South Carolina; Virginia; Washington, D.C.: Japan; Philippines; and South Korea.
Brother Kevin is currently a Senior Associate in Carlyle's Sub-Saharan Africa fund. His focus is on growth and buyout investments in African business across all sectors and is primarily responsible for sourcing, diligencing and executing investment opportunities. Previously worked as an Associate in Carlyle’s Corporate Mezzanine Fund based in New York. He was responsible for structuring, evaluating and executing private debt and equity investments across various industries including business services, technology media & telecommunications (TMT), healthcare, consumer and retail.
Bro. Colin Clarke is the Chairman of ACPI (SA) Pty Limited, a subsidiary of London based asset manager ACPI that has US$3.3 billion under management, Chairman of the Investment Committee of the Sizwe Medical Fund, South African’s seventh (7th), largest medical aid provider, RSA, a member of the Board of Directors Atlatsa Group Resources, a mining, exploration and development resources company that controls the third largest PGM resource in South Africa; and Chairman of the Board, Benguela Global Fund Managers. Bro. Clarke’s career spans over 20 years in the private equity field and he has lived in South Africa since the mid-1990s.
Brother Fajana is a seasoned Real Estate Professional, with specialzation in Housing, Property Management, Urban Planning and Development. Most recently served as an Advisor to a State Governor in Nigeria where he helped manage the Urban Renewal efforts in Ondo State. Before then, worked with US Real Estate Leaders such as The Peterson Companies, Boston Property, Equity Residential and Borger Management.
Bro. Thabo Gcwabaza is a Technical Specialist at Lonmin Platinum and is an experienced professional in mining, minerals processing and beneficiation. He’s been involved in advising management on the strategic technical response to the policy guidance around mineral beneficiation. In addition, he has a strong scientific based nanotechnology background from his earlier career at CSIR as a Research Scientist. In addition to his current work, he is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Pretoria.
Bro. Rodney Gillespie is the Country President -South Africa of AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals. Over the past few years, he has worked internationally, first in the UK and currently in South Africa. Prior to this, he served as the VP of Commercial Strategy, International and before that he was the Commercial Head of the Dapagliflozin Franchise as well as Saxa/Dapa for the International region where he worked closely with emerging markets to successfully launch its brands. He also led the integration of the Diabetes business from Bristol Myers Squibb to AstraZeneca for the International markets.
Bro. Richard Hayes Richard is an Associate Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship at the Frank Zarb School of Business at Hofstra University in New York. Prior to joining the faculty at Hofstra, Richard was a member of the faculty at North Carolina Central University (NCCU) where he won numerous teaching awards including being named Graduate Professor of the Year at NCCU for the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 academic years as well as Undergraduate Professor of the Year for the 2005-2006 academic year. Bro. Hayes is also the full-time Pastor of Metropolitan United Methodist Church in New York City and a Senior Advisor, Entrepreneurship Development for the Africa Business Group.
Bro. Jared Yancey is a member of the U.S. Foreign Service and a recipient of the Charles B. Rangel Fellowship. In Johannesburg, he served as a Public Diplomacy Officer at the U.S. Consulate. Joining the Foreign Service in 2008, Jared served as a consular officer in San Salvador, El Salvador. Following the disastrous earthquake in Haiti, he completed a temporary assignment in Port-au-Prince. For his second tour, Jared returned to Washington, DC to serve as the desk officer for Swaziland and Zambia in the Office of Southern African Affairs. Bro. Yancey, relocated back to the US in August 2016.
Bro. Bishop Robert Kelley III Bro. Bishop Robert Kelley III is the founder and Senior Pastor of My Father’s House Christian Fellowship Church in Johannesburg, South Africa. For the first 13 years in which he lived in South Africa, he was involved in various roles as private equity fund manager. This included assignments with Chemonics International and one of the earliest US government supported equity funds to help SMEs in post- apartheid South Africa, the Southern African Enterprise Development Fund, where he served as CEO.
Brother Delano Lewis serves as the Director of the Institute of International Relations of New Mexico State University, an institute he established in 2006 and in adddition, now serves on the board of the American Institutes for Research. Bro. Lewis has served on the Corporate Board of Directors for many organizations such as Colgate Palmolive, Eastman Kodak, GEICO, Black Entertainment TV, Apple, Haliburton and JP Morgan Chase.
Bro. Tristan Allen is a Diplomat with the U.S. State Department. Until mid-206, he was a vice consul for the U.S. Department of State in Johannesburg, South Africa. Prior to his SA appointment, he was an Economic Officer for three years in Greater Jakarta Area, Indonesia for the U.S. State Department. Prior to this he was a graduate analyst for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. He also served in the U.S. consulate in Hong Kong in the public affairs section.
Bro. Reginald Shaver is Vice President of Capital Markets Corporate at General Electric. He is responsible for Project Finance, Strategic Equity Investments and Corporate Finance activities as it relates to General Electric's (GE) operating businesses for Sub-Saharan Africa, with a regional focus on Southern Africa. Since 2012, Reginald has been responsible for arranging and executing: trade, structured & project financings as well as balance sheet investments in support of GE customer-related projects to drive equipment sales for GE’s industrial business segments.
Bro. Gerald Sherman is a corporate executive and global consultant. He has been fortunate to enjoy classical leadership that has included key responsibilities with well-known organizations including Hollard Insurance; Liberty Insurance; Marriott International; Chiquita Brands International; L-3 SPAR Aerospace Limited; Air Canada; Magna-Decoma; and CIBA Visions Inc.
Bro. Michael Sudarkasa is the CEO of Africa Business Group (ABG), a continentally active African economic development company based in Johannesburg, South Africa. ABG focuses on strategic consulting, agriculture and renewable energy projects and capacity development. A commercial attorney by training, and economic development practitioner, he moved to South Africa from Washington, DC in 1999. Bro. Sudarkasa earned his Juris Doctor degree at Harvard Law School and BA degree in History (with High Honors) from the University of Michigan.
Bro. Linston terry is the Area Director for Africa and Middle East, International Operations Division, Foreign Agricultural Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Bro. Terry has over a decade of experience in his field of work with exceptional skills in public relations, strategic planning and customer service. Mr Terry has been a Public Policy and International Affairs Fellow at Princeton University
Bro. Gerald Theus is Regional Assistant Director -Sub-Saharan Africa of U.S. Wheat Associates in South Africa and has been based in Cape Town since 1992. U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) is the export market development organization for the U.S. wheat industry. USW promotes the reliability, quality and value of all six U.S. wheat classes to wheat buyers, millers, bakers, food processors and government officials in more than 100 countries around the world. The company has four offices on the African continent: Cape Town, Lagos, Casablanca and Cairo.
Bro. Eric Thompson is the Finance Director of Coca-Cola South Africa. He joined the Southern African team after seven years as Finance Director for the Central, East and West Africa (CEWA) Business Unit, playing a vital leadership role in the strategic financial planning process, and steering the Business Unit toward achieving its financial targets. From 2003 to 2005, Eric returned to Atlanta to lead the Company's revenue growth management initiative and was subsequently appointed as Executive Assistant to the Managing Director of Odwalla Juice.
Bro. Christopher Walker is the Africa HR Operations Excellence Leader at Cummins Inc., a corporation of complementary business units that design, manufacture, distribute and service diesel and natural gas engines and related technologies, including fuel systems, controls, air handling, filtration, emission solutions and electrical power generation systems. Before becoming Africa HR Operations Excellence Leader in 2014, Chris worked on Six Sigma Master Black Belt for 3 years in Indianapolis, USA. Currently, he utilizes his experience in 6 sigma and Human Resources to work with HR teams across the African continent driving functional excellence and leading organizational change.
Bro. Sean Walker is the Co-Founder and CEO of Royal Hairstyles Training Academy and Salon in Johannesburg, South Africa. At Royal Hairstyles, he is the senior administrator and serves as a jack-of-all-trades, helping his organization grow, while increasing the formalization of the South African hair industry. Prior to founding his business, he served as the Director of Entrepreneur Services at Endeavor South Africa. Before his work at Endeavor, Mr. Walker spent two years as an M&A investment banker at Citi in New York. He completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Economics at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, with a concentration on finance.
Bro. Victor Williams is the Head, Corporate and Investment Banking (Rest of Africa) at Standard Bank. His responsibilities include strategy, business execution and financial performance for Standard Bank’s business with corporate, sovereign and portfolio investor clients in nineteen countries across sub-Saharan Africa (outside South Africa). In prior roles with Standard Bank, he served as Executive Director and Head, Corporate and Investment Banking - Nigeria and Regional Head, Corporate and Investment Banking - East Africa.
Originally from San Francisco, California, Eric has over 25 years’ experience as an investor and entrepreneur in the U.S., Africa and the Middle East. Before becoming an entrepreneur, Eric was the head of private equity and venture capital at Citigroup in South Africa. Eric worked in investment banking prior to moving away from the U.S. Eric has been the founder and co-founder of a number of businesses including Gold Coast Securities, Africa Venture Partners, Accelon, TowerShare and the African MBA Indaba. Eric led the Africa investment policy group, as part of the foreign relations committee for the Barack Obama Presidential Campaign.
Russell is Program Counsellor for the Economic Section of the Korean Embassy (KOTRA) in South Africa. His work includes identifying opportunities for Korean firms to partner with Southern African businesses. Previously as founder and CEO of ITDI InvesTrade, a South African Company, he focused on trade and investment, sustainable development, and events management. ITDI InvesTrade also initiated the 1st annual international conference for Women in Local Government and did consultancies for organizations such as the World Wildlife Fund, the Group for Environmental Monitoring, and South African municipalities.
Russell has more than twenty-five years of experience in South Africa, United States, and international development initiatives. He served as a senior project manager with the U. S. Agency for International Development in South Africa for more than six years. He was responsible for the design, development, and implementation of more than $25 million in foreign assistance projects in South Africa. His areas of focus included: urban development, environmental management, capacity building and skill development, housing, sustainable development, and municipal finance and municipal management. He also served as the principal U.S. Embassy liaison with the USA/South Africa BiNational Commission’s Conservation, Environment, and Water Committee.
He has served as a lecturer at Wits University, George Mason University, USA, Auburn University, USA, and as a guest lecturer at Port Elizabeth Technikon, the University of Ft. Hare, the University of Cape Town, and the University of the Western Cape.
Gregory Marchand Jr is a Director at Avencion Group; an emerging market advisory, financial services and management consulting firm, and the Founder and Chairman, of Gizmos Solutions (GSL), a global IT engineering and technology company with offices in Africa and North America.
His professional background includes experience and projects with Jhpiego, FHI 360, Abt Associates, Catholic Relief Services, Citibank, MCI Worldcom, AT&T, Exelon, Barclays Bank, MTN, the European Union, Emirates Airlines, Airtel, UNICEF, and various departments in the United States government.
In 2014 Greg was named by African Business Magazine as one of the Top 100 Economic Leaders Under 40 in Africa.
Greg has served as an adjunct professor at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in the Finance and Global Programs departments; teaching the Global Initiatives in Management course which focuses on conducting business in Africa
Bino has been in his current role since January 2017. His role entails providing support to the CEO to ensure the leadership oversight for the bank including developing and executing on its strategy, balancing governance, financial management, customer and franchise management and talent management.
Prior to his current position, Bino spent 5 years with Standard Chartered Bank of Botswana in Transaction Banking and Corporate Banking teams respectively where he closed key transactions in the mining and FMCG sectors.
Bino is a member of the Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) for Africa which is the highest talent pool for Standard Chartered Bank Africa.
Bino is passionate about community service, youth coaching, and is a member of the Naledi Secondary School Alumni which works to motivate and share like skills with students of Naledi Secondary School.
Bino is also passionate about sports, he provides tennis coaching to students in his free time, and was a member of the Botswana National Tennis team that represented Botswana at the Prestigious Davies Cup Tournament in 2005.
He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics from Southern University and Agricultural & Mechanical College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and holds a NMDP from Stellenbosch University in South Africa
Vivek Wadhera is a thought leader, speaker, and consultant on leveraging cultural diversity to drive innovation & growth. Prior to this Vivek was COO of JSE-listed Choppies Supermarkets, a ZAR ~12 Billion FMCG Retail corporate. Vivek also ran 2 fintech start-ups in South Africa: Inoxico, where he was COO and MFS Africa, where he was VP for big data analytics. Vivek spent 14 years in the USA before relocating to South Africa; during this time, he worked in management roles for Fortune 500 corporates like Micron Technology and Harley-Davidson. Vivek is originally from Botswana.
Thami Mupawose’s experience includes 30 years of tourism and hospitality management and consulting, as well as large-scale commercial farming of tobacco, maize, seed potatoes, chickens, cattle and pigs. He also has consulted for the World Bank and USAID in Washington DC on agricultural business and value chain issues related to African countries, worked as an agricultural research technician in California, USA. He has consulted extensively for the Grant Thornton Tourism Consultants, Productivity SA (formerly known as the National Productivity Institute), SEDA, Umlimi Agricultural Holdings, the Limpopo Province Department of Agriculture and municipalities in South Africa.
He has experience working in various tourism/hospitality and agricultural settings in the USA, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania and Ghana. Thami also has extensive experience in the agricultural sector.
Donald has held several positions in the financial services industry over the past eight years. He is currently the tied agency manager, at Hollard, managing a team of financial advisors. Donald is also the co-founder and CEO of Added Time, a talent management company that manages professional soccer players. Previously, Donald also co-founded a non-profit organisation called Beyond Football, an organisation that identifies young talented athletes and assists them in finding scholarships in universities