Mike Milken, chairman of The Milken Institute, has been at the forefront of successful initiatives in medical research, education, public health and access to capital for more than four decades.

Benedikt Sobotka is Chief Executive Officer of Eurasian Resources Group, headquartered in Luxembourg, operating in 16 countries.

Jake has a Master in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School and an MBA from the Harvard Business School. He is also a graduate of the University of Notre Dame’s Honours Program.

Kevin Garrow joined Standard Chartered in 2008. He moved to SCB’s office in New York in 2010, and now heads Natural & Renewable Resources for Global Banking Americas. Prior to that Kevin was based in SCB South Africa, where he spent his time growing the corporate portfolio and building the team in the Johannesburg office.

Mr Mnyupe is a multidisciplinary financial professional with a background in accounting, asset management and wealth management. A graduate of UNAM and Rhodes University, Mr Mnyupe plied his trade in the private sector for over a decade auditing a wide variety of companies in all three sectors of the Namibian economy and undertook extensive research on listed securities on the local stock exchange.

International Professional with over 15 years of experience in the Transition Energy , Commodities and Infrastructure sectors. Extensive international experience, working in countries such as Spain, Denmark, Ireland, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirate.

Marisa Drew was appointed as the Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) for Standard Chartered Bank as of 1 July 2022. In this position, Marisa brings our Sustainability Strategy, Sustainable Finance and Netzero Delivery teams under one umbrella for the bank.

Liza is a Business Development Director in the Investment Banking Division, based in Johannesburg. Her financial services experience spans over 24 years having worked in a number of Corporate and Investment banking roles in both South Africa and Internationally.

Dr. Katie Geary, is the Senior Medical Consultant for the Government Services Division for International SOS, leading on the quality in Global Health Projects.

Tutsi serves as our Country Head for the South Africa chapter. Her vast experience in Africa makes her well suited for her current role, and she is passionate about development of the continent and ensuring members across the Invest Africa network achieve their business objectives.

Riham is a Senior M&A and Corporate Venture Leader with extensive transaction and business development experience. During her last five years at BP, she led and executed transactions with accumulated total value of $3bn.

Solomon Quaynor is the Vice President for Private Sector, Infrastructure & Industrialization at the African Development Bank (AfDB).  He joined AfDB in May 2020.  He has over 25 years’ experience in development finance and investment banking.   

Executive Head: Corporate Affairs and sustainability sub-Saharan Africa at DP World; Former Executive Vice President: Corporate Affairs and Investor Relations at JSE listed Imperial Logistics; World Economic Forum Young Global Leader 2022; member of Harvard Kennedy School’s Women Leadership Board; member of NBI.

Ms. Portia Derby is the current Group Chief Executive of Transnet SOC Ltd, appointed February 2020. She has occupied senior positions in the South African government during a period of major economic reform.

Vuyo was appointed Co-Managing Director in August 2020. Vuyo has more than two decades of investment experience and has been involved in private infrastructure investing in Africa since 2003.

Runa has 29 years of investment banking, emerging market entrepreneurship and private equity experience. Before founding Development Partners International in 2007, Runa was CEO of KZAM, a joint venture between Zephyr Management of New York and Kingdom Holding Company, which managed PAIP-PCAP, sponsored by the International Finance Corporation and the Commonwealth Secretariat.

René has worked in Pan-African banking for over 20 years. He recently joined the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), as Director, Client Relations in 2016. In his role, he leads the design and implementation of Afreximbank’s client-focused business strategies, including managing the delivery of all Bank products to the clientele and managing the operation of Afreximbank branch offices.

Robert specialises in mergers and acquisitions, project related and other transactional work and has advised a substantial number of South African and Asian-owned multinational companies in relation to their expansion into Africa.

Rivhatshinyi Mandavha is an investment manager for Norfund, the Norwegian investment fund for developing countries with a mission to create jobs and improve lives by investing in sustainable businesses, in their southern African regional offices overseeing investments into renewable energy.

Frank N. J. Braeken specialises in finance and in general management. From 1996 to 2013, he held various management functions in different countries for Unilever, including a position as President of Unilever China (Shanghai), President of ­Unilever Namca (Dubai), and President of Unilever Africa (Dubai / Durban). Subsequent to leaving Unilever, Frank N. J. Braeken has acted as investment advisor and investor for large scale agro and food enterprises on the African continent. He is also a non-executive board member of Buhler, the Swiss engineering group, Marie Stopes International. In 2016 he was elected Chairman of the Board of Feronia Inc, a Toronto listed palm oil producer on the African continent.