John Carmichael was educated at the Ridge Church School in Accra, Clifton College, Bristol and Oriel College, Oxford. His family has had connections with Ghana since World War II when his father first arrived on the Gold Coast with the Royal Air Force. In 1988, John followed in his father’s footsteps – and those of HRH the Prince of Wales – by being made an Honorary Chief.
John had worked extensively on film and television productions between Ghana and the United Kingdom and was Honorary Producer-in-Residence at the Ghana Film Industry Corporation. He was appointed International Co-coordinator for the Accra Centennial celebrations and went on to serve as Millennium Commissioner for Ghana, responsible for establishing the Meridian twinning link and development partnership between Greenwich and Ghana..
Investor at GUBA Group Holdings Inc.
Managing Partner & Chief Investment Officer, Black Star Fund
Kwame Anku is the Founding Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Black Star Fund, an early-stage venture capital fund focused on investing in exceptional Black-led innovation across the U.S. and Africa.
Kwame began his tech career after being personally recruited by the late music icon Prince to lead development of his mobile app, managing cross-continental teams across Africa, Asia, and the United States. Kwame holds an honours degree from Stanford University.
A recognized thought leader, Kwame has appeared as a subject matter expert on CNN, MSNBC, BBC Worldwide, NPR, and SiriusXM. His work has earned him two invitations to the Obama White House to advise on innovation and entrepreneurship. He has delivered keynote addresses and been featured at top institutions and global events, including Harvard Business School, Stanford Law School, the Aspen Ideas Festival, SXSW, TEDx Ghana, Google for Entrepreneurs' Black Wall Street Conference, and the inaugural Ghana Tech Summit.
Named the 2022 Entrepreneur of the Year by the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, Kwame is also one of just 21 recipients of the prestigious Aspen Ascend Fellowship from The Aspen Institute.
Kwame currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Sacramento Community Foundation, Actively Black, CEEK Metaverse, and Vurple. He is also a member of the Advisory Board for the Carlsen Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Sacramento State University.
Yvonne Abba-Opoku ACG is an award winning Director, Chartered Governance Advisor, Board Chair and Philanthropist with over 20 years of experience spanning commercial and non-profit sectors.
In 2024, Yvonne was honored with the prestigious GUBA Global Governance Leadership Award presented by the Mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan.
Yvonne’s expertise lies in providing governance and philanthropy advice, enhancing business operations and governance standards while managing brand and reputational risks. She has a proven track record of mentoring and advising high profile founders, entrepreneurs, c-suite executives, social media influencers and high level boards to deliver their vision and mission.
Yvonne is Director and Chairperson at GUBA Group Holdings Inc USA and Head of Governance and Operations at King Charles III Charitable Fund UK. Most recently, King Charles III recognized Yvonne’s profound contributions, acknowledging her pivotal role in expanding the reach of His Majesty’s Charitable Fund. Her dedication and influence have been instrumental in extending The King’s charitable initiatives to grassroots communities, ensuring meaningful support and lasting impact where it is needed most.
Yvonne’s professional affiliations include Associate at Governance Institute UK, Governance Advisor at KCCF Trading Limited and member of Waitrose Duchy Advisory Board (UK). Previously, Yvonne provided governance advice to intellectual property companies linked to The Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex.
Yvonne is a passionate about supporting disadvantaged communities, women and young people through her work at Heartfelt Philanthropy Network. She is also a former School Governor and an advocate for disadvantaged young people.
George Twumasi is a media strategist and entrepreneur with a deep commitment to transforming Africa’s media landscape. As the Founder and CEO of ABN Holdings Ltd, he is leading the development of a pan-African Satellite Broadcasting Network that combines Direct-to-Home (DTH) and Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) platforms. ABN’s vision is to build a scalable, cloud-based ecosystem for African content distribution supporting local creators, generating significant value-added revenues, and reaching audiences across the continent and the Diaspora.
George is also the Co-Founder of the Africa Public Interest Media Initiative (APIMI), a nonprofit dedicated to modernizing state-owned media across sub-Saharan Africa. APIMI’s goal is to transform traditional public broadcasters into a unified, digital-first consortium producing high-quality, culturally relevant content for global audiences.
A 2018 Fellow at the Shorenstein Center at Harvard Kennedy School, George developed the strategic framework for APIMI as part of his work on media development and public interest broadcasting. His expertise spans media policy, content monetization, and infrastructure strategy driven by a belief in the power of African storytelling to drive both economic and social transformation.
Dorothy M. Davis is President of Dorothy M. Davis Strategic Global Consulting, an international development communications, public affairs and special project management consulting firm. In this capacity, Ms. Davis is the inaugural UN-Representative of the Congressional Black Caucus Institute (CBCI) at the recommendation of U.S. Congresswoman Barbara Lee. Ms. Davis has been responsible for designing CBCI’s Global African Diaspora Initiative (CBCI-GADI) since its inception in 2018 after CBCI received its UN-ECOSOC Consultative Status in 2017.
Dorothy M. Davis is also President of Griffith J. Davis Photographs and Archives. Her father, Griff Davis was an internationally renowned pioneer photographer, journalist and Senior U.S. Foreign Service Officer whose 55,000 rare, historic and fine art photographs and archives document the Independence Movement of Africa and the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. Starting as the first Roving Editor for Ebony Magazine at the recommendation of Harlem Renaissance writer Langston Hughes, Griff Davis’ iconic photographs include the first meeting of Vice President Richard Nixon and Martin Luther King, Jr. at Ghana’s first Independence Day Celebration in March 1957, Ethiopia’s Emperor Haile Selassie, Prime Minister of Ghana Kwame Nkrumah, President of Liberia William V. S. Tubman and President of Tunisia Habib Bourguiba.
Born in Liberia to U. S. Foreign Service parents of U.S. and Caribbean descent, Ms. Davis was raised in Tunisia, Nigeria, Switzerland, and the U.S.A. She is a Member, Advisory Council on Racial Justice and Human Rights, The Carter Center; Co-Chair, African Women Leaders Network-Diaspora Chapter (AWLN-Diaspora), member, Advisory Board of GUBA Holding Enterprises in Ghana, former member of Boards of Directors of the African Women’s Development Fund-USA and the National Board of Directors of UN Women-USA, Founding Member and Former Chair, International Board of Directors, Sirleaf Market Women’s Fund of Liberia.
Ms. Davis received the 21 Leaders of the 21st Century 2015 Award from Womens eNews in the category of Seven Who Interrupt Legacy Narratives as a Transcontinental Developer of African Economic Justice.
Ms. Davis received her M.S. degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and B.S. degree from Boston University College of Communications.
For some, sports is a competitive career. For others it’s a likeable pastime. But for Rodney Hinds, currently the Sports & Features Editor of The Voice Newspaper, sports brings cohesion, pride and hope to millions of people worldwide. In 1999 Rodney was co-author of ‘Black Pearls – an A-Z of Black Footballers in the English Game’. In recent times Rodney has penned his second book ‘Black Lions – The Story of Black Footballers in England.’
His contribution to sports journalism was recognized when he won the Black Plus+ ‘Best Print Journalist’ and the Victoria Mutual ‘Services to Cricket’ awards. Having launched his television career on BBC Breakfast Time, Rodney has also contributed and appeared on various sporting documentaries ‘Black Flash – A Century of Black footballers in Britain’ (BBC3), ‘Daley Thompson’ (BBC2) and ‘Mike Tyson’ (C4).
Dr. Doirean Wilson is an HRM Senior Lecturer at Middlesex University Business School London. She specializes in Community Engagement and Diversity Practice and is a member of the university’s Leadership, Work & Organizations Academic department.
Doirean holds a doctorate in Professional Practice (D.Prof Practice), a Master Degree in HRM, and a Post Graduate Certificate in Further Education (PG Cert Ed FE). She is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce (FRSA), Senior Fellow Higher Education Academy (SFHEA), a Fellow of the European Institute of Spirituality in Economics and Society (SPES) Institute, and a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (FCIPD). Doirean who is reputedly the first female and person of color to lead an Executive MBA in the UK has published works in a range of diverse topics such as, equality & Inclusion, cross-cultural team-working, and gender disparity. She is also Chair of the university’s Race Religion and Beliefs Forum (MURRB).
Eric is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Homestrings. Eric was born in Brooklyn, NY to a Guinean father (West Africa) and an American mother. He spent 20 years growing up in poor rural Guinea, going to primary and secondary school in Fria and then Conakry, the capital.
Eric deeply understands that burning desire to make a difference, when you are so far away from loved ones, and the limitations of currently available investment options that really make an impact and are profitable. That understanding has led to Homestrings – a contraction of Homesick and Heartstrings. Eric is also currently the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GRAVITAS Capital Advisors, Inc..
