AFLI will be seeking guidance, advice and support from this select group of successful, experienced leaders who share AFLI’s goals of a better future for Africa and all who live in it, and who believe, as AFLI does, that young emerging leaders have a key role in bringing about the transformation of Africa. The inaugural and remarkable advisory board below is truly global. It ensures AFLI is able to access the views of esteemed leaders from different parts of the world. This will help keep AFLI at the leading edge of developing and mobilizing the undoubted leadership talent that exists on the continent. 


 

Vivienne Cox PhD

VivienneCoxVivienne Cox (CBE) has wide experience of business gained in the energy, natural resources and publishing sectors. She also has a deep understanding of regulatory and government relationships. She worked for BP plc for 28 years, in Britain and continental Europe, in posts including Executive Vice President and Chief Executive of BP’s gas, power and renewable business and its alternative energy unit.  Vivienne was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to the UK Economy and Sustainability.  She previously served as a Non-Executive Director of BG Group plc and Rio Tinto plc and Lead Independent Director of the UK Government's Department for International Development and is currently Senior Independent Director of Pearson plc, a Non-Executive Director of Stena AB and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Vallourec, a supplier to the energy industry.  She is also a non-executive board member of GSK.  She holds an MA from Oxford University and an MBA from INSEAD.

Maureen Erasmus

MaureenErasmusMaureen Erasmus is a top executive with an international career spanning more than 30 years in management consultancy, investment banking and wealth management. She has experience in corporate strategy, organisational change, firm-wide risk management, acquisitions and corporate governance.  Based largely in London and New York, Maureen has led corporate growth strategies including geographic expansions for several global financial institutions whilst a partner at A.T. Kearney, as lead strategy advisor at Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch and as senior partner: Financial Services at Bain & Company.  Maureen is a non-executive board member of Credit Suisse and Maitland, a global advisory and fund administration firm.  She also serves on the boards of PSI and AFS, both non-profit organisations.  She grew up in Mutare, Zimbabwe and studied at the University of Cape Town, South Africa.

Oby Ezekwesili PhD

biageli Oby EzekwesiliDr Obiageli “Oby” Ezekwesili is currently Senior Economic Advisor for Africa Economic Development Policy Initiative (AEDPI), a programme of the Open Society Foundations. She is a co-founder of Transparency International and served as Nigeria’s Federal Minister of Solid Minerals and then as Federal Minister of Education. She was Vice-President of the World Bank's Africa division from 2007 to 2012.  She has served on the boards of Bharti Airtel, World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the School of Public Policy of Central European University and The Center for Global Leadership at Tufts University.  She is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Nigeria, Master’s in international law & Diplomacy from the University of Lagos and a Master’s in Public Policy & Administration from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.  She was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree by the University of Agriculture in Abeokuta, Nigeria and another by the University of Essex in the UK.

Donald Kaberuka PhD

Donald KaberukaDr. Kaberuka is the former President of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB). Before joining the AfDB, Dr. Kaberuka had a distinguished career in banking, international trade and development and government service. A national of Rwanda, he was the country’s Minister of Finance and Economic Planning between 1997 and 2005 Kaberuka was Finance Minister of Rwanda from 1997-2005 and in that capacity Governor for IMF and World Bank.  Dr. Kaberuka was educated at universities in Tanzania and Scotland. He holds a PhD in Economics from Glasgow University.  He currently serves on the boards of the Rockefeller Foundation, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation and the Centre for Global Development.  He is part of the African Union Reforms Advisory Committee responsible for driving the reforms of the AU. 

Prof. Carlos Lopes

CarlosLopes

Carlos Lopes is an Honorary Professor at Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance Faculty of Commerce University of Cape Town; a Visiting Professor at Sciences Po, Paris, and Associate Fellow at Chatham House, London and 2022 Fellow at Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford.

Has been associated with a number of high level boards, including the Global Commission for Economy and Climate, Global Commission for the Future of Work, Global Commission on the Geopolitics of Energy Transformation, the Kofi Annan Foundation and others such as the Graça Machel Trust and the board and Advisory Council of the African Climate Foundation. He is also a Member of the Nature Markets Task Force, Member of the United Nations High Level Expert group on Net-O Certification by Non-State Entities, Member of the United Nations Committee for Development Policy, as well as Foundation Fellow of the International Science Council, a Honorary Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences and Lifetime Member of the Lisbon Academy of Sciences. Cândido Mendes University, Brazil, Hawassa University, Ethiopia and the Polytechnic University of Mozambique have conferred professor Lopes Honorary Doctorates.  He is a past head of several institutions at the United Nations, including the United Nations Institute for Training and Research, UN System Staff College and UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Secretary, Economic Commission for Africa, (2012-2016).  He has occupied prominent positions such as UN Assistant Secretary-General and Political Director for Secretary-General Kofi Annan.  He was nominated as the the African Union High Representative for Partnerships with Europe in 2018 and member of the African Union Reform Team led by President Paul Kagame in 2016.

Prof. Ngaire Woods

NgaireWoodsProfessor Ngaire Woods is the inaugural Dean of the Blavatnik School of Government and Professor of Global Economic Governance at the University of Oxford. She is founder and Director of the Global Economic Governance Programme and co-founder of the Oxford-Princeton Global Leaders Fellowship Programme.  She has served as an Advisor to the IMF Board, to the UNDP’s Human Development Report, and to the Commonwealth Heads of Government. She has also served as a member of the IMF European Regional Advisory Group, and Chair of a World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council. She is currently Vice-Chair of the World Economic Forum’s Meta-Council on Global Governance and project leader of a report on leadership in international institutions. She is currently a Rhodes Trustee and also sits as a Non-Executive Director on the Board of ARUP, a global engineering and design company, and as a member of the Operating and Advisory Board of the Center for International Governance Innovation (Canada).  Her research focuses on global economic governance, the challenges of globalization, global development, and the role of international institutions.  She was educated at Auckland University (BA in economics, LLB Hons in law) before studying at Balliol College, Oxford (as a New Zealand Rhodes Scholar), completing an MPhil (with Distinction) and then DPhil (in 1992) in International Relations.

 

About AFLI

 

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The African Leadership Institute (AFLI) focuses on building the capacity and capability of visionary and strategic leadership across the continent. Developing exceptional leaders representing all spheres of society, the Institute’s flagship programme is the prestigious Archbishop Tutu Leadership Fellowship. Offering a multifaceted learning experience and run in partnership with Oxford University, it is awarded annually to 20-25 carefully chosen candidates, nominated from across Africa. Alumni of the African Leadership Institute form a dynamic network of Fellows passionately committed to the continent’s transformation, bridging the divide between nations and ensuring that Africa is set centre-stage in global affairs.