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The Honorable Alan Ganoo
Minister of Land Transport and Light Rail and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade at Republic of MauritiusProfessional:
Barrister since 1975
Lawyer Legal Adviser to various Trade Union Federations and other social organisations
Political:
Elected Member of the National Assembly in 1982, 1987, 1991, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2014 and 2019
Speaker of the National Assembly in 1982
Opposition Whip 1987-1990
Deputy Chief Whip in 1990
Minister of Justice and Attorney-General from 1991 to 1993
Minister of Housing 1996 to 1997
Minister of Public Utilities from 18 September 2000 July 2005
Acting Minister of Fisheries as from 15 November 2004 to July 2005
Elected Member for Constituency No. 14, Savanne and Black River on 9 occasions
Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee as from 22 June 2010 up to 14 March 2012
Member of Parliamentary Committee on Independent Commission Against Corruption
Member of the Standing Orders Committee as from 22 June 2010 up to 14 March 2012
Member of the Select Committee on Live Broadcasting of House Proceedings as from 12 April 2011 up to 14 March 2012
Leader of the Opposition as from 28 January 2013 to 01 October 2013
Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee as from 26 February 2015 to 24 April 2015
Minister of Land Transport and Light Rail as from 12 November 2019
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade as from 06 February 2021
Hon. Betty C. Maina
Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Industrialization, Trade and Enterprise Development, Kenya at Republic of KenyaHon. Betty C. Maina, CBS brings a wealth of experience and professional capability built over two decades of engagement with top-notch public and private sector organizations. She has more than 27 years’ experience in organizational leadership and development, with an ability to prepare and implement strategic business plans and mobilize resources for implementation, traits that place her at a strategic position to effectively lead the coordination of Industrialization, Trade and Enterprise Development in Kenya.
Hon. Maina has served as the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, State Department for industrialization, and State Department of East African Affairs. She has also served as the Chief Executive of the Kenya Association of Manufacturers for 11 years (between June 2004–July 2015), where she not only oversaw the doubling of membership of the association, but also established seven satellite offices to compliment the services offered at the national office
Ms. Maina was behind the successful implementation of the association’s strategic plan, resource mobilization and fundraising and oversaw its revenue increase from Kshs 24 million to Kshs 400 million annually within her ten year stewardship.
Jaswinder (Jas) Bedi, EBS, MBS
Chairman at Kenya Export Promotion and Branding AgencyJas graduated as a textile technologist in the UK in 1984 and has over 32 years’ experience in the manufacturing sector in Kenya.
He is also an industrialist and an entrepreneur who has numerous responsibilities in business and various business member organizations.
His business acumen has been recognized by Government of Kenya whereby he was appointed a board member at The Export Promotion Council honored with a medal, Moran of the Burning Spear (MBS).
Jas is currently:
Chairman Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency (KEPROBA)
Board Member of the Industrial and Commercial Development Corporation (ICDC)
Managing Director of Bedi Investments Limited
Executive Director of Fine Spinners Uganda Limited
Vice Chairman of Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA)
Member of Young Presidents Organization (YPO)
Diane Farrell
Acting Under Secretary and Deputy Under Secretary for International Trade at U.S. Department of CommerceDiane Farrell is the Acting Under Secretary and the Deputy Under Secretary for International Trade. In these roles, she plans, determines, and coordinates policy; directs the International Trade Administration; and oversees the daily operations of the International Trade Administration (ITA), which has an annual budget of $483 million with approximately 2,100 trade and investment professionals—based in more than 100 U.S. cities and 70 markets around the world.
She most recently served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Asia, where she was the principal advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Global Markets on all matters concerning international economics, trade, investment, and commercial policy programs and agreements with respect to Asia. In this role, she also oversaw planning and execution of Commerce commercial diplomacy and export promotion strategies at United States Missions in Region Asia.
Previously, Ms. Farrell worked at the U.S. India Business Council (USIBC). As Executive Vice President, she oversaw business advocacy policy and government relations.
Prior to joining USIBC, Ms. Farrell served on the Board of Directors at the Export-Import Bank of the United States (U.S. Exim Bank). A Presidential appointee, confirmed by the U.S. Senate, she was responsible for voting on transactions in excess of $10 million as well as significant policy matters. Her portfolio responsibilities included small businesses, India, Southeast Asia, and portions of Latin America. In addition, she was named a member of the White House Business Council. During her tenure at U.S. Exim Bank, India transactions expanded and diversified as aircraft sales and conventional and green energy projects, among others, led to India becoming the second-largest country by U.S. dollar allocation in the bank’s overall portfolio.
Before serving at U.S. Exim Bank, Ms. Farrell was elected as the First Selectwoman in Westport, Connecticut. A strong mayor form of government, she managed multimillion-dollar budgets within the Consumer Price Index and maintained the town’s Aaa bond rating at a time when significant infrastructure investment was taking place. She oversaw the construction of schools, a municipal wastewater treatment plant, affordable housing, and other necessary facilities.
Ms. Farrell also served as Chairwoman of the Southwestern Connecticut Regional Planning Agency Metropolitan Planning Organization that was responsible for federally funded transportation infrastructure in a vital commercial corridor. As a select member of the National League of Cities Transportation and Infrastructure Steering and Policy Committee, she helped set policy goals for transportation and infrastructure initiatives in support of cities and towns across the United States.
Catherine Grant
Director of Tutwa Consulting GroupCatherine is an experienced trade negotiator and trade policy expert having worked in the public, private and academic sectors at multilateral and regional levels. She is a Director of Tutwa Consulting Group.
She was a diplomat for New Zealand for 10 years, posted in New York and Geneva where she participated in United Nations (human rights and development), World Trade Organisation and International Labour Organisation negotiations. Since relocating to South Africa in 2000 she has been involved in trade policy development and trade negotiations on behalf of the private sector and as a recognised expert. She has coordinated public-private sector engagements on a wide range of economic policy and trade promotion issues in Southern Africa, including as Secretary of the SADC Employers Group and SADC Business Forum from 2007 to 2010.
She is a recognised researcher and commentator on economic diplomacy issues with a range of published papers, opinion pieces and blogs. She has managed and participated in research teams on projects funded by DFID, GIZ, DANIDA, USAID, SIDA, World Bank, ILO, African Development Bank, SDC, EU and others. This is a reflection of the strong networks and partnerships that she has in the Southern African region and globally.
She currently co-teaches an MBA elective on Emerging Economies and Globalisation at the Graduate School of Business at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg and is Head Tutor for the London School of Economics online course on Business, International Relations and Political Economy.
Catherine prepared a handbook on the EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and recently contributed to the Commonwealth Secretariat handbook on regional integration. She has worked with colleagues at the Tutwa Consulting Group in support of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement negotiations, specifically on trade in goods. She has also been actively involved in outreach in Southern Africa on the SADC-EU EPA, including the development of a civil society platform for monitoring the implementation of the Agreement. Catherine’s think tank experience has focused on bringing global economic governance issues to African partners, including on economic justice issues relating to illicit financial flows, financial inclusion and impact of trade agreements on informal traders.
Dan Phipps
CEO of Red River FoodsDan Phipps is the Chief Executive Officer of Red River Foods, a leading global supplier of nuts, seeds and dried fruits. Through his leadership, Red River has experienced tremendous growth in its global infrastructure, CSR activities and contributions, product offerings and volume. Through 8 offices and 4 processing facilities, Red River Foods sources 50 products from more than 25 countries. Red River Foods supplies a world-wide customer base with high-quality, ethically sourced cashews, pine nuts, macadamia nuts, Brazil nuts, pumpkin seeds, hazelnuts, dried apricots and more.
Dan wholeheartedly believes that a successful business model means a commitment to responsible business practices that result in a sustainable supply chain: promoting human rights, protecting the environment, and supporting ethical business conduct. Since joining Red River, Dan has worked to share his strategic vision for the industry with all stakeholders in order to build a truly sustainable future of food. In line with Red River’s mission statement to provide expert market insights, Dan recognized the need to have direct access to cashew producers and the raw cashew nut trade in Africa and set up a company in Ghana in 2012. Since then, we have expanded our African operations to Cote d’Ivoire, Benin, and Tanzania; in these countries not only do we buy directly from cashew producers and communities, but we also work to help improve their productivity and thus incomes. In 2021, Red River was approved for a $50 million co-investment project with USAID’s West Africa Trade and Investment Hub, to, among other activities, construct a cutting-edge cashew processing unity in Cote d’Ivoire as a part of its West Africa Cashew Development Initiative. This initiative is also receiving support from Prosper Africa.
Diane Sayinzoga
Head, SEZ & Export Facilitation at Rwanda Development Board
Lisa Schroeter
Global Director, Trade and Investment Policy of DowLisa Schroeter is the Global Director of Trade and Investment Policy for Dow. As part of the corporate Global Government Affairs team, Lisa’s responsibilities focus on trade policy and regulations, trade negotiations, and investment issues that foster growth in Dow’s global businesses. The role drives bilateral, regional and multilateral strategies to promote policies that secure market access and facilitates global trade across Dow’s value chains and manufacturing.
Her role has direct responsibility for developing corporate strategies across trade policy, from tariff reduction to regulatory simplification; from export controls and sanctions to IP protection and to promote growth of environmental markets and diverse, inclusive workforces. Lisa regularly works with international colleagues and business leaders to engage on trade policy issues critical to drive Dow’s operations around the world. For the industry, she leads the global chemical industry trade association (ICCA) work on trade policy and global regulatory cooperation.
Before joining Dow, Lisa was the Executive Director of the TransAtlantic Business Dialogue (TABD). TABD was a unique trade-facilitation process by which American and European CEOs worked with the U.S. Administration and the European Commission to implement practical, detailed recommendations. Ms. Schroeter joined TABD in 1999 and managed the process on behalf of the Boeing Company, PricewaterhouseCoopers, United Technologies Corporation and Xerox.
Lisa is currently Chair of the WIIT Trust, driving a women’s empowerment and skills sharing program with local universities and was previously the President of WIIT (Association of Women in International Trade). In addition, she is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR); and a Board member of the Washington International Trade Association (WITA). She recently and successfully completed the Georgetown University Qiyadat Women’s Leadership program.
Omri van Zyl
CEO of Agri EnterprisesOmri was appointed Executive Director of Agri SA in December 2015, representing 28 000 commercial farmers in 9 provinces, 27 commodity organisations in various fora and 60 corporate members. He was subsequently appointed as the CEO of Agri SA Enterprises (PTY) Ltd. the commercial arm of Agri SA. He manages a team that has a strong strategic focus on agriculture development, strategy, operations and dealmaking in the industry.