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H.E. Abdalla Hamdok (Prime Minister at Republic of Sudan)

H.E. Abdalla Hamdok

Prime Minister at Republic of Sudan

HE Dr Abdalla Hamdok is Prime Minister of the Republic of Sudan, and head of the country’s transitional executive council since August 2019. He has almost 40 years’ experience in the areas of development planning and policy and public sector reform, governance, regional integration and resource management, addressing diverse development challenges in the African policy landscape. Dr Hamdok previously served as Acting Executive Secretary and Deputy Executive Secretary and Chief Economist of the the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, prior to which, he headed ECA’s portfolios of activities on development policy management, NEPAD and regional integration, and governance and public administration. From 2003-2008, he served International IDEA as Regional Director for Africa and the Middle East. He has also held senior positions at the International Labour Organization, African Development Bank and Deloitte & Touche; as well as at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning of Sudan (1981-1987). He served in several High-level Panels and Committees on global and regional agenda and issues and published extensively on governance and development issues.

Dana Banks (Senior Director for Africa)

Dana Banks

Senior Director for Africa

Dana L. Banks has been selected to serve as Senior Director for Africa at the NSC. Recently, Dana was the Director of Executive Development at the State Department's Foreign Service Institute. In 22 years with the State Department, Dana has also served as Deputy Political Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in South Africa, Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Togo, and Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Tanzania. In Washington, Dana has worked in the Operations Center and as Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Africa. A native of Philadelphia, Dana is a graduate of Spelman College and Syracuse University’s Maxwell School.

H.E. Dr. Altahir Ismaeil Harbi (Minister of Agriculture and Forests at Republic of Sudan)

H.E. Dr. Altahir Ismaeil Harbi

Minister of Agriculture and Forests at Republic of Sudan

Dr. Harbi is a renowned Sudanese expert in the agricultural field. He has a proven track record of over 45 years of practical experience in diversified fields covering the professional, technical and academic aspects of agriculture. He has worked as a civil servant, in the private sector, with International Development Agencies, NGOs, and Sudanese and international consulting firms, and has also been a lecturer and a farmer.

Dr. Harbi holds a Ph. D. in agricultural engineering.

Dr. Harbi is a political activist who resisted the previous Ingaz regime in Sudan for 30 years, and participated in the leadership of the December 2018 Intifada Revolution that emancipated the Sudanese people from injustice and corruption.

H.E. Dr. Gibril Ibrahim (Minister of Finance and Economic Planning at Republic of Sudan)

H.E. Dr. Gibril Ibrahim

Minister of Finance and Economic Planning at Republic of Sudan

Dr Gibril Ibrahim is the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning of the Republic of the Sudan. Dr Gibril joined the Transitional Civilian Government of Sudan after the Juba Peace Agreement. Prior to becoming minister, Dr Gibril was the leader of the Justice and Equality Movement, one of Sudan’s most prominent political parties, which had mounted a resilient armed movement against the previous regime for many decades. Dr Gibril holds a masters degree and a PhD in Economics, which he obtained in Japan. He is determined to use his time as finance minister to oversee the transformation of the Sudanese economy, ensuring the implementation of a balanced economic policy, that is pro-poor whilst being supportive of investment and the private sector.

Admassu Tadesse (President and Chief Executive at Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank)

Admassu Tadesse

President and Chief Executive at Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank

Admassu Tadesse is an international banker and business leader with experience at board and executive-levels globally and in Africa.

He is currently the President and Chief Executive of the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (TDB Group) – formerly the PTA Bank. Specialized in trade and corporate finance as well other areas of development finance and asset management, TDB covers 22 Member States and has 41 shareholders, both sovereigns and financial institutions, including the AfDB, BADEA, Denmark’s IFU, the People’s Bank of China, the OPEC Fund, as well as several pension funds, and insurance companies.

Since he joined the Bank in 2012, Mr. Tadesse has launched new business operations, centres of excellence in risk management and treasury as well as critical institutional reforms which have led TDB to transform its ownership, geographical scope and organizational structure. The TDB Group currently comprises TDB (the Bank), TDF (the Trade and Development Fund – TDB’s soft window), ESATF (the Trade Fund), the TDB Academy and TCI (the TDB Captive Insurance).

Over the past decade, the TDB Group has grown its assets from USD 1 billion to well over USD 7 billion, driving wider and deeper impact. During this period, TDB’s capital and funding have multiplied over five-fold, alongside sharp growth in its shareholder base, and portfolio. With several credit ratings upgrades, the Bank is now investment grade-rated and one of the leading and impactful financial institutions in the region, with half of its portfolio now contributing to SDGs. In 2020, TDB was recognized as by African Banker Awards as ‘African Bank of the Year’.

Previously, Mr. Tadesse was Executive Vice-President at the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), where he served for some 10 years, and was responsible for international finance and corporate strategy among others. He has also worked as a senior advisor and specialist with various funds and international organizations globally.

He serves on several boards and industry bodies in Africa and internationally, including the International Development Finance Club (IDFC), and the Mauritius Institute of Directors (MIoD), and is a recipient of several distinctions, including of the 2019 ‘African Banker of the Year’ award by African Banker Awards. He holds an MSc from the London School of Economics, and an MBA from Wits Business School. He is also an alumnus of Harvard Business School and Western University in Canada.

Amb. Demetrios Marantis (Senior VP and Head of Global Govt Engagement at Visa)

Amb. Demetrios Marantis

Senior VP and Head of Global Govt Engagement at Visa

Ambassador Demetrios Marantis serves as Senior Vice President, Global Government Engagement, leading Visa’s global government engagement team and is responsible for partnering with government officials around the world to advance policies that foster the growth of electronic payments.

Ambassador Marantis joined Visa from Square, where he led global policy, government, and regulatory affairs. Prior to joining Square in May 2013, Marantis served as Acting United States Trade Representative and Deputy United States Trade Representative. Marantis was nominated for his position by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 6, 2009. As Deputy United States Trade Representative, he was responsible for U.S. trade negotiations and enforcement in Asia and Africa, including the TransPacific Partnership (TPP), the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum, the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT), the U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum, and Trade and Investment Framework Agreements with countries ranging from South Africa to the Philippines. He played a central role in the negotiation and congressional passage of the U.S.-Korea trade agreement and spearheaded conclusion in APEC of the first ever agreement to reduce tariffs on environmental goods.

Before the Obama Administration, Marantis served as Chief International Trade Counsel for the Senate Finance Committee. In this capacity, he advised then Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, as well as members and staff of the Finance Committee and Democratic Caucus, on trade and economic issues. He joined the committee in February 2005 after serving as Issues Director on the Kerry-Edwards 2004 presidential campaign. Marantis spent 2002 through 2004 in Hanoi as Chief Legal Advisor for the U.S.-Vietnam Trade Council where he provided technical assistance on international trade matters. Between 1998 and 2002, he served as Associate General Counsel in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative where he negotiated provisions of international trade agreements and represented the United States in WTO dispute settlement proceedings. He also worked for five years in the Washington, D.C. and Brussels, Belgium offices of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld.

Marantis holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School and an A.B. in Public and International Affairs from Princeton University.

Gustavo Oberto (President of Irrigation at Lindsay)

Gustavo Oberto

President of Irrigation at Lindsay

Mr. Oberto is the President of Irrigation, a position he has held since September 2020. Mr. Oberto joined Lindsay in September 2019 and served as President of Elecsys International, the IoT technology arm of Lindsay. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Oberto served as Managing Director of Global Sales & Markets for Conductix-Wampfler Group, a division of Delachaux S.A. During his 20-year career at Conductix-Wampfler, Mr. Oberto held a series of leadership positions in international business development. Prior to joining Conductix-Wampfler, Mr. Oberto worked as International Liaison to Fmr. Nebraska Governor Ben Nelson in international agriculture trade matters. Mr. Oberto is currently a member of the U.S. Commercial Service District Export Council. Mr. Oberto grew up in Argentina and is a triple-citizen of Argentina, Italy and the United States.

Ahmed Gaber (General Manager, North Africa at Visa, Inc.)

Ahmed Gaber

General Manager, North Africa at Visa, Inc.

Ahmed Gaber joined Visa in April 2006 and held a number of strategic positions including General Manager of Saudi Arabia and the Group Country Manager for Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain. Ahmed is a payments industry veteran with over 17 years of experience. As General Manager of Visa's operations in North Africa, Ahmed is responsible for developing the digital Payments industry across numerous markets with special focus on enabling digital commerce, launching EMV acceptance & issuing, rolling-out of Financial Inclusion programs and helping governments implement digital payments programs. Ahmed is also responsible for cultivating the relationship with Visa's clients, including Financial Institutions and government authorities.

Prior to Visa, Ahmed worked for the National Processing Company, NPC, in Cairo and Cashnet Telecommunications.
Ahmed holds a Bachelor of Electronics and Communications Engineering from the Arab Academy for Science and Technology that he obtained in 2000. He also attended more than 25 courses in leadership, sales, and strategy. Ahmed also attended the Strategic Business Management, a Harvard University course, and the Visa Leadership program in partnership with INSEAD to Lead and manage teams.

Mai Abdelhalim (President, North Africa, GEIM at GE)

Mai Abdelhalim

President, North Africa, GEIM at GE

Mai assumed the role of President for North Africa, General Electric International Markets in January 2021, and President of North East Africa in January 2020, leading acceleration of growth initiatives in Egypt, Libya and Sudan in addition to Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. Mai joined GE in August 2017 as Government Affairs and Policy Director, North East Africa.

Before joining GE, Mai worked as Senior Commercial Advisor in the U.S. Department of Commerce, Foreign Commercial Services officer, U.S. Embassy in Cairo from 2012 to 2018, and Economic Assistant to US Consul General in Alexandria in the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Consulate General from 2009 to 2012.
Earlier, Mai worked as the Head of the Advocacy Unit at the Alexandria Business Association (ABA), and also at International Multimodal Transport "RAFIMAR", in the early 2000s.

Mai has a broad range of experience related to multinational corporations and government stakeholder relations. Mai holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Alexandria, Egypt and a MBA from South Wales University, U.K

Bernard Dunn (President at Boeing Middle East, Turkey and Africa (META))

Bernard Dunn

President at Boeing Middle East, Turkey and Africa (META)

Bernie Dunn is responsible for coordinating all companywide activities in the region and developing and implementing country and regional strategies. Dunn focuses on government affairs, new business and industrial partnership opportunities, corporate citizenship projects, expanding the Boeing presence and strengthening company relationships with customers and other stakeholders. He is based in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and reports to Michael Arthur, president of Boeing International.

Dunn joined Boeing in 2012 as president of Boeing Turkey and North Africa. He was based at the Boeing Turkey headquarters in Ankara and successfully led the company’s government affairs and activities in Turkey, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya.
In May 2015, Dunn was named president of Boeing Middle East.
Several months later, Boeing expanded his leadership role to include Middle East, North Africa and Turkey (MENAT). In November 2020, his role was expanded further to include Sub Sahara Africa.

Dunn has more than 30 years of extensive experience with the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey, nearly all of it involving living and working in the region, and he is fluent in Arabic. Before joining Boeing, Dunn was vice president, Middle East/Africa, Business Development, for ITT Defense International. In this role, he was responsible for coordinating and overseeing marketing and business development activities across all business units of ITT Defense in a region stretching from Morocco to Afghanistan and including the entire African continent. He had served in this position since November 2002.

Before joining ITT Defense & Information Solutions, he was a career officer in the U.S. Army. He served in a variety of infantry command and staff positions in Germany and the United States and entered the Army’s Foreign Area Officer program in 1982.
After completing Arabic language training and a master’s degree in national security affairs from the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, Calif., Dunn served in a variety of positions in the Middle East. Key subsequent assignments include service as the U.S. Army attaché in Jordan from 1992 to 1994, Defense and Army attaché in Syria from 1997 to 2000, and Defense and Army attaché to Saudi Arabia from June 2000 until June 2002.

Bryan David Hunt (Acting DAS, East Africa and the Sudans at U.S. Department of State)

Bryan David Hunt

Acting DAS, East Africa and the Sudans at U.S. Department of State

Bryan David Hunt assumed duties as Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Africa and the Sudans on January 12, 2021. Prior to this, he served as Office Director for South Sudan and Sudan in the State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs from August 2019 to January 2021. Mr. Hunt has also served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the American Embassy in Maputo, Mozambique from August 2016 to July 2019; Deputy Chief of Mission at the American Embassy in Georgetown, Guyana from August 2013 to July 2016, where in addition to bilateral responsibilities he was accredited to the Caribbean Community; and as Deputy Chief of Mission at the American Embassy in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea from July 2011 to July 2013, handling bilateral relations with the countries of Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu.

A career member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Counselor, Mr. Hunt’s previous overseas assignments include Counselor for Political Affairs at the American Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan (July 2009 – October 2010); Principal Officer at the American Consulate in Lahore, Pakistan (July 2006 – July 2009); Political Officer at the American Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan (August 2004 – July 2006); Political Officer at the American Embassy in Maputo, Mozambique (August 2000 – August 2002); Consular and Commercial Officer at the American Embassy in Gaborone, Botswana (September 1998 – August 2000); and Political, Economic, and Consular Officer at the American Embassy in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau (September 1996 – June 1998).

Mr. Hunt’s additional domestic assignments include as Deputy Director for Regional and Security Affairs in the State Department’s Africa Bureau (October 2010 to July 2011) and as Desk Officer for Angola in the State Department’s Africa Bureau (September 2002 – August 2004).

A native of Newport News, Virginia, Mr. Hunt holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Studies from the American University School of International Service. He was doing graduate work in international development at the Elliot School of Foreign Affairs at George Washington University at the time when he joined the Foreign Service. Mr. Hunt speaks Portuguese, as well as limited German and Urdu. He has received the State Department’s Superior Honor Award, Meritorious Honor Award, and Franklin Award and the U.S. Coast Guard’s Meritorious Public Service Award.

Dr. Mima Nedelcovych (Chairman at AfricaGlobal-Schaffer)

Dr. Mima Nedelcovych

Chairman at AfricaGlobal-Schaffer

Dr. Nedelcovych is the Founder and Chairman of AfricaGlobal Partners, a strategic consulting firm focused on project development, project finance, trade facilitation, and public-private partnerships in developing countries, with a particular focus on Africa. AfricaGlobal Partners is a boutique consulting firm closely allied to Schaffer International, where Dr. Nedelcovych also serves as Chairman. Dr. Nedelcovych provides advisory services to a number of corporations with interests in agro-industry, renewable power, oil and gas, and major infrastructure investments. He has also provided advisory services to a number of African governments, US government agencies, and international financial institutions.

Dr. Nedelcovych has an extensive background working in the field and sitting on the Boards of several commercial banks in Africa. He was named President Emeritus of the Initiative for Global Development, served on the President Bush’s administration as the U.S. Executive Director to the African Bank in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, and was a Partner at the Schaffer Global Group where he became Chairman of Schaffer International.

He received a BA in Political Science from Yale University, an MA in International Relations from George Washington University, and a PhD in Comparative Political and Economic Development from Florida State University (in conjunction with Mohamed V University in Morocco). He speaks French, Spanish, Italian and Serbian fluently, and has a working knowledge of Portuguese.

H.E. Dr. Nureldin Satti (Ambassador Embassy of the Republic of Sudan to the U.S.)

H.E. Dr. Nureldin Satti

Ambassador Embassy of the Republic of Sudan to the U.S.

Ambassador Nureldin M. H. Satti is a seasoned diplomat and a retired UN senior official from Sudan. He served as the Principal Deputy SRSG at the United Nations political and peacekeeping missions to Burundi, UNOB and then ONUB, from 2002 to 2006.

He also served as ambassador of Sudan to France, Portugal, Switzerland and the Vatican as well as Permanent Delegate to UNESCO (1992-1996); and as Minister Plenipotentiary in the embassies of Sudan to Belgium and Chad (Was Sudan Chargé to Chad in 1989).

He has a longstanding experience in mediation, conflict resolution, peacekeeping, peacebuilding and culture of peace through his work on a number of conflict situations in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, including Burundi, Chad, the DRC, Libya, Iraq, Rwanda, the Philippines (Mindanao), Somalia, South Sudan, and his own country, Sudan, as well as the broader Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes Regions where he represented UNESCO on culture of peace programs and where he worked on mediation and conflict resolution issues, particularly in support of the AU and IGAD.

Ambassador Satti was a Global Fellow of the Woodrow Wilson Center of Washington DC, where he was a Senior Fellow and Distinguished African Scholar (2008-2009) and was also co-chair of the Sudans Working Group at the Center. He also served as Special Advisor with the Humanitarian Dialogue Centre (HD) of Geneva on Sudan issues with particular focus of the National Dialogue in Sudan and humanitarian dialogue in Darfur and with the SPLM-North. He also worked as Senior Regional Advisor to the Conflict Management Initiative (CMI) of Helsinki, working on issues of Iraq, the Red-Sea-Horn of Africa and the Lake Chad Basin and providing support to the AU and IGAD on mediation issues.

Ambassador Satti served as member of the High Council for Peace in the Sudan.

Ambassador Satti was awarded the National Order of the Légion d’Honneur by the French Republic and the Medal of Saint Gregory by the Vatican.

Ambassador Satti was appointed as ambassador of Sudan to the United States in May 2020.

HE authored a number of articles on issues of Sudan identity, as well as social and political issues related to Sudan and Africa in general. He authored books in Arabic language on the failures of the Sudanese elite, on his experience in conflict resolution and peacekeeping as well as on the role of youth in social change in Sudan. The first part of his memoirs in Arabic has been published recently, the English and French versions are to be published soon.

Ambassador Satti graduated from the Faculty of Arts of the University of Khartoum in 1969 and holds a Master’s degree from the university of Lyon in France and a Doctorate in Literature from the University of Paris-Sorbonne in 1974.

He is fluent in Arabic, English and French.

Dr. Moustafa Abdalla El Hassan (CEO of Bank of Khartoum)

Dr. Moustafa Abdalla El Hassan

CEO of Bank of Khartoum

Dr. Mustafa El Hassan’s Banking career goes back to 1997 when he joined Credit Suisse Financial Products in London as a Risk Management Quantitative Analyst. In 2001, he moved to the Front Office with Bear Stearns International Ltd in London as an Equities and Equity Derivatives structurer. In 2005, he was named Co-Head of Structuring for Europe and the Middle East and in December 2007, he was promoted to Senior Managing Director (SMD). Following the take-over of Bear Stearns by JP Morgan in 2008, Dr.El Hassan moved to work with Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) as Global Head of Equity Structuring where he helped build a Structured Equity business from scratch. After three successful years in Hong Kong, Mustafa relocated to the UAE in late 2011/2012 and was named Regional Head of Structuring (Cross Asset) for the MENA region in the Financial Markets Division of Standard Chartered Bank, UAE (DIFC); the role was further expanded to cover Africa and the Middle East in 2015. In addition to his day-day business responsibilities, Dr El Hassan was a key member of the regional Financial Markets Management Team in Standard Chartered Bank (DIFC)

Dr. El Hassan holds a First Class Bachelor’s Degree (BA; 1991) and a PhD (1995) in Engineering from the University of Cambridge where he also worked as a College Research Fellow between (1994 and 1997). He is a CFA Charter-holder.

Dominik Reus (Managing Director of AGCO Corporation)

Dominik Reus

Managing Director of AGCO Corporation

A pragmatic professional, Dr Dominik Reus invested his early years in studying Agricultural Sciences and Business Management with a great focus on the economical evaluation of bioenergy cropping systems.

His academic foundation in research led to a career as a business sales consultant in agricultural manufacturing, designing shorter production lead times and stream-lining product development for his clients.

In 2013 Dominik joined global agricultural machinery manufacturer, Claas, tasked with analysing market potential and product requirements in new markets; namely Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

His market and product strategies got the attention of AGCO Corporation and he joined the company in 2016, overseeing the marketing of Balers and Windrowers in the Europe-Middle East region. In this role, he worked closely with the Fendt and Massey Ferguson sales and marketing teams, supporting the brands with specific product and industry knowledge. He was also charged with setting-up a competitive product price range in the market, while managing the sales and operations planning process for Balers and Windrowers cross-brands.

Dominik joined the Africa team in October 2018 tasked with giving strategic direction in the marketing and sale of whole goods. He soon emerged a dedicated leader within the organisation taking on the instrumental role of ensuring business continuity as AGCO, Africa advanced in a fresh direction to draw closer to customers and transition into a two-tier distribution model for the first time since the Africa office was established in 2012.

He was the natural choice to sit at the helms of the Africa office, offering renewed vision to the leadership structure as the Managing Director. Dominik’s responsibilities include growing top-line sales in Africa and export markets, increasing profitability, expanding the product line-up and strengthening the dealer network.

Ahmed Abdellatif (President at CTC Group)

Ahmed Abdellatif

President at CTC Group

Ahmed Abdellatif is the President of CTC Group, a Sudanese private limited group of companies, established in 1956 as The Central Trading Co. Ltd. [CTC]. CTC Group is a leading Sudanese private sector company in the agricultural sector. CTC Group companies are also market leaders in the fields of Consumer Electronics and Information and Communications Technology.

Over his 25+ year career with CTC, including 10 years as Group President, Ahmed Abdellatif has lead the transformation of CTC from a classical "family business" with less than 50 employees into one of the leading multi sector corporates in East Africa employing over 1,500 local and expatriate professionals. Ahmed Abdellatif has successfully worked towards raising Sudanese business standards to international levels, through the implementation of world class certified management systems, with a particular focus on the nurturing and development of local human resources.

Ahmed Abdellatif sits on the board of a number of public companies and is actively engaged in a number of civil society organisations.

Hassan Abdelhalim (General Manager, Araak Food Division at Araak Group)

Hassan Abdelhalim

General Manager, Araak Food Division at Araak Group

Hassan is a holder of CFA level one with an undergraduate degree in economics & finance from the University of Manchester. He has worked in the fields of finance, marketing, sales and is a founding partner of a multi-outlet QSR business.

Initially starting his career as a financial analyst at Kenana Engineering & Technical Services, Hassan’s career progressed to include several posts including Senior Financial Analyst, Project Manager, Business Development Manager, GM and his current role GM of Araak Food Division.

Araak is one of the largest commercial group of companies operating in Sudan employing over 3000 people. Established in the 1960s, Araak is a leader in Sudan’s Industrial, Construction and Food Industries namely the sole bottler and distributor for PepsiCo. Araak Food Division encompasses the beverage, food distribution and QSR businesses (KFC & Pizza Hut franchisee).
Based in Khartoum, Hassan is on the Board of Directors of Araak and represents them to the USSBC as Vice-Chair Business Development and a founding member.

Engr. Disougie M.B. Elwagie (General Manager at White Nile Sugar Company)

Engr. Disougie M.B. Elwagie

General Manager at White Nile Sugar Company

Disougie M. B. Elwagie is a Food Technology Engineer with 25 years of experience in international supply chain and operations management, and project/portfolio management, across multi business sectors, with focus on the agricultural sector and sugar industries.

He currently leads the White Nile Sugar Company as General Manager as well as managing the supply chain of Kenana Sugar Company.

He is a member of several boards of universities, oil and gas companies, charitable organizations and civil society movements.

Florizelle Liser (President and CEO of Corporate Council on Africa)

Florizelle Liser

President and CEO of Corporate Council on Africa