2023 Definitive List
Africa's Female-Factor
Teresa Clarke
Moderator; Chair and Executive Editor, Africa.com LLC
Patricia Lizarraga
Managing Partner, Hypatia Capital
Owen Omogiafo
Owen Omogiafo, President and Group CEO, Transcorp Nigeria
Vera Songwe
Vera Songwe, Senior Fellow, Africa Growth Initiative, Brookings Institution
Future CEOs Workshop
The Unspoken Rules of Standing Out
+ Making an Impact + Getting Promoted
Gorick Ng
Harvard Career Advisor, UC Berkeley Facutly, and Wall Street Journal Best Selling Author
Aminata Kane Ndiaye
Vice President, Mobile Financial Services, Orange Middle East and Africa
Feature Documentary & Producer's Talk-Back
"Where I Became"
Tandiwe Lumka Njobe
Executive Producer; Thinta Films; Head Relationship Banking Proposition – BCB SA, Standard Bank
Jane Dawson Shang
Executive Producer and Co-Founding Partner, Thinta Films
Verna Lalbeharie
Featured in Where I Became; Executive Director, EdTech Hub
Kholeka Mabuya
Featured in Where I Became; Finance Reporting Analyst, HSBC
Thilo Simadari
Featured in Where I Became; Lecturer, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences
Mora McLean
Mora McLean, President Emerita, Africa-America Institute (AAI)
Innovation for Food Security & Climate Change in Africa

Bill Gates
Co-Founder of Microsoft
Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Bill Gates is a technologist, business leader, and philanthropist. He grew up in Seattle, Washington, with an amazing and supportive family who encouraged his interest in computers at an early age. He dropped out of college to start Microsoft with his childhood friend Paul Allen. Today, Bill co-chairs the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with Melinda French Gates, where he works to give his wealth back to society.
Bill published his book How to Avoid a Climate Disaster, proposing a plan to prevent the worst effects of climate change in 2021.
Equity & Innovation for Africa's Recovery
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Award-Winning Novelist and Feminist Speaker
Melinda French Gates
Global Advocate for Women & Girls
Dr Shivon Byamukama
Managing Director at Babyl Health Rwanda
Dr Corine Karema
Global Health Leader and Malaria Expert
Janet Mbugua
Media Personality and Author
Memory Zonde-Kachambwa
Executive Director, FEMNET

Unspoken Rules for Women
Climbing the Public Service Ladder
Hon. Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila
Prime Minister of Namibia (March 2015 - Present)
Patricia Obozuwa
Vice President, Public Affairs, Communications & Sustainability, Africa, The Coca-Cola Company
Chris Stone
Professor of Practice of Public Integrity, The Blavatnik School of Government, Oxford University
Tejumola Abisoye
CEO & Executive Secretary, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund
Tejumola Abisoye
CEO & Executive Secretary, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund
Abena Annobea Asare
Head, Human Trafficking Secretariat, Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MOGCSP), Ghana
Elizabeth Obeng-Yeboah
Director, Recruitment, Training & Development/Reforms Coordinating Office, Head of Civil Service
Nomtandazo Thandi Moyo
Deputy Director General, Rural Development, Dept. of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development
Rose Wachuka Macharia
Chief of Staff to the Chief Justice and President of the Supreme Court of Kenya
Gloria Zayzay Dole
Head of Human Resources, Public Procurement & Concessions Commission
Dr. Yakama Manty Jones
Director of Research and Delivery, Ministry of Finance
Christine Tenneh Dono
Civil Service Agency Assistant Legal Officer, Department of Legal Affairs
Howaida Kamel
Director of Strategic Marketing, Information Technology Industry Development Agency

Top 6 Opportunities for Africa's Advancement
Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila
Prime Minister of Namibia (March 2015 - Present)
Joyce Banda
President of Malawi, (April 2012 to May 2014)
Ameenah Gurib-Fakim
President of Mauritius, (June 2015 - March 2018)
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
President of Liberia, (January 2006-2018)
Bruno Pietracci
President, Africa, The Coca-Cola Company
Kuseni Dlamini
Chairman, Aspen Pharmacare, Massmart Holdings Ltd.
Wanjira Mathai
Vice President & Regional Director, Africa, World Resources Institute
Hon. Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr
Mayor, Freetown, Sierra Leone
Dr. Akinwumi Adesina
President, African Development Bank
Vera Songwe
Executive Secretary, U.N. Economic Commission for Africa
Ruth L. Okediji
Professor of Law, Harvard Law School
Teresa Clarke
Chair & Executive Editor, Africa.com
What CEOs in Africa Need to Know About
Artificial Intelligence
Lillian Barnard
CEO, Microsoft South Africa
Amelia Beattie
Chief Executive, Liberty Two Degrees
Teresa Clarke
Chair & Executive Editor, Africa.com
Jason Crusan
VP Technology, Woodside Energy Former Director, NASA Advanced Exploration Systems
Aïda Diarra
Senior Vice President and Head of Sub-Saharan Africa, VISA
Hélène Echevin
CEO, CIEL Healthcare Ltd, CIEL Group
Kay Firth-Butterfield
Head of Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning, World Economic Forum
Michael Gomes
V.P. - Business Development, Topcon Agriculture
Dr. Rana el Kaliouby
AI Thought Leader, Machine Learning Scientist, Deputy CEO, Smart Eye
Wambui Kinya
Regional Managing Director, Elephant Ventures
Karim Lakhani
Professor, Harvard Business School
Brenda Mbathi
CEO, General Electric (GE) East Africa
Tsedal Neeley
Professor, Harvard Business School
Mausi Segun
Executive Director, Africa, Human Rights Watch
Meghna Sinha
VP of Artificial Intelligence, Verizon
Charese Smiley
Vice President, J.P. Morgan AI Research
The Women Leading Corporate Africa
Anne Aliker
Head of Investment Banking, Standard Bank Group
Aïda Diarra
Head of Sub-Saharan Africa, VISA Inc.
Juliet Ehimuan
Director West Africa, Google
Jane Karuku
Group Managing Director and CEO, East African Breweries, Ltd.
Susan C. Keating
CEO, Women Corporate Directors Foundation (WCD)
Mayowa Kuyoro
Associate Partner, McKinsey
Anthony Mayo
Senior Lecturer, Harvard Business School
Lerato Mbele
Presenter, BBC World News
Taelo Mojapelo
CEO, BP Southern Africa
Prabashini Moodley
Managing Director, Old Mutual Corporate
Nku Nyembezi
Chair, Johannesburg Stock Exchange
Temi Popoola, CFA
CEO, Nigerian Exchange Ltd.