RECENT SPEAKERS
Dr. Robin L. Garrell
President, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York
Dr. Robin L. Garrell became president of The Graduate Center, City University of New York on August 1, 2020. A distinguished scientist and academic leader committed to public higher education, Dr. Garrell continues the line from the Graduate Center’s first president, Mina Rees, another renowned STEM scholar.
Dr. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim
Former President of Mauritius
Dr. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim was the first female president of Mauritius, serving from 2015 to 2018. Prior to the presidency, she was the Managing Director of the Centre International de Développement Pharmaceutique (CIDP) Research and Innovation as well as Professor of Organic Chemistry with an endowed chair at the University of Mauritius. From 2001, she served successively as Dean of the Faculty of Science and Pro Vice Chancellor (2004-2010). She has also worked at the Mauritius Research Council as Manager for Research (1995-1997).
Kathryn Wylde
President & CEO, Partnership for New York City
Kathryn Wylde is President and CEO of the nonprofit Partnership for New York City, the city’s leading business organization. Its mission is to work with government, labor, and the civic sector to build a stronger New York, with a focus on education, infrastructure and the economy.
Dr. Witney Schneidman
Senior International Advisor for Africa Covington & Burling LLP, Washington, DC, United States
Dr. Witney Schneidman is a senior international advisor for Africa at Covington & Burling LLP, Washington, DC, where he has been since 2012. At Covington, Dr. Schneidman works with international and African companies to mitigate risk, resolve disputes and help companies align their commercial objectives with the economic development objectives of African countries. He also works with a number of NGOs on a pro-bono basis who are seeking to enhance their activities on the continent. Prior to joining Covington, for eleven years he was president of Schneidman & Associates International which did similar type of work.
Ambassador Charles A. Ray
Chair, Africa Program, Foreign Policy Research Institute, Philadelphia
Ambassador Charles A. Ray, a member of the Board of Trustees and Chair of the Africa Program at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, served as U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia and the Republic of Zimbabwe. In addition, he was the first U.S. Consul General to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, opening the Consulate General there in 1998.
Pradip Madan
Managing Partner, Great North Ventures Silicon Valley, California, United States
Pradip Madan is a Silicon Valley tech executive with a long history of success at both Fortune 100 companies and startups, and has been part of several seminal moments of tech and venture history.
Dr. Lourdes S. Casanova
Academic Director, Emerging Markets Institute Cornell University, New York, United States
Dr. Lourdes S. Casanova is an academic, author and currently a Senior Lecturer of Management at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management and Gail and Roberto Cañizares Director of the Emerging Markets Institute. Before her appointment to Johnson School, Dr. Casanova was a lecturer in the Strategy Department at INSEAD. She specializes in international business with a focus on Latin America and multinationals from emerging markets. In 2014 and 2015, Dr. Casanova was appointed as one of the 50 most influential Iberoamerican intellectuals by Esglobal. Also, she is member of the Boyce Thompson Institute.
Dr. Mima S. Nedelcovych
Founder and Chairman, AfricaGlobal Schaffer
Dr. Nedelcovych is the Founder and Chairman of AfricaGlobal Schaffer (AfGS), 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. AfGS is a project developer and boutique consulting firm that provides advisory services to a number of corporations with interests in agro-industry, renewable power, oil and gas, and major infrastructure investments. AfGS has also provided advisory and consulting services to a number of African governments, US government agencies, and international financial institutions. Dr. Nedelcovych has a long and illustrious career sitting on the Boards of several commercial banks in Africa, including previously on Afriland Bank Cameroon, and presently the Vista Bank Group in Gambia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Burkina Faso, and Vista Bank Guinea. He has been on the Board of Moodai International Bank (in formation) since inception.
Ambassador Johanna Svanikier
Founder & President, Heritage and Cultural Society of Africa Foundation, Accra, Ghana
Ambassador Johanna Svanikier is Founder, President and CEO of the Heritage and Cultural Society of Africa Foundation, HACSA-USA and HACSA-Caribbean. The HACSA Foundation is an NGO, non-profit, social enterprise with a mission to preserve, advocate for and promote the use of African heritage and culture for social and economic progress and community development in Africa and the Diaspora. In March 2017, Ambassador Svanikier organised the hugely influential African Diaspora Homecoming Conference to celebrate Ghana’s 60th independence anniversary in a memorable and meaningful way. This seminal event inspired “the Year of Return” and was followed by the HACSA Sankofa Summit 2019, which symbolically commemorated 400 years since the transatlantic slave trade began.
Eric A. Clement
SVP, Fund Manager, Social Impact & Sustainability Investments, RXR, New York
Eric A. Clement oversees the social impact and sustainability portfolios at RXR. He is principally responsible for defining the portfolio’s strategic vision and investment strategy, delivering against the dual mandate of attractive returns and tangible ESG outcomes.
Dr. David Luke
Coordinator, African Trade Policy Centre, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
Dr. Luke has over thirty years’ substantive experience in trade policy, regional economic integration, and private sector response – from an extensive career at field, country, regional, and global levels; and in university teaching and research.
Wale Shonibare
Director, Energy Financial Solutions, Policy and Regulation, African Development Bank, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
Wale Shonibare has over three decades experience spanning Asia, Europe, Middle East and Africa in Investment Banking and Consulting. Wale joined the African Development Bank in 2017 as the inaugural Director of Energy Financial Solutions, Policy and Regulation. This team has established itself as a leading transactions team across Africa, having undertaken several Mandated Lead Arranger roles and launched well-acclaimed flagship initiatives to improve the enabling environment for private sector investment in the energy sector.
Wayne Keast
Co-founder and Managing Partner, Inspired Evolution, Cape Town, South Africa
Wayne Keast is co-founder and Managing Partner at Inspired Evolution, where he is responsible for guiding the firm’s strategic vision and strategy. He brings more than 30 years of finance and business building experience and more than 20 years of international private equity with a demonstrated track record on both renewable infrastructure projects and technology-based growth equity companies.
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