Advisory Board

JOHN CARMICHAEL

JOHN CARMICHAEL

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..

STEVEN GRAY

STEVEN GRAY

Mr. Steven Gray is Director of Wardour Africa and is currently the representative for UK Export Finance in West Africa based in Ghana. Mr. Gray has worked in Africa and the Middle East for the past 29 years in a variety of sectors including construction, mining, logistics, and infrastructure development.

He is Vice Chairman of the UK Ghana Chamber of Commerce and is a member of the Advisory Board of GUBA and Black Star International Film Festival. Mr. Gray holds an MBA from Heriot-Watt University and, in his spare time, is undertaking a doctorate to research the market failures during the project preparation phase of infrastructure projects in Sub-Saharan Africa.

JONATHAN HOWARD

JONATHAN HOWARD

Jonathan is currently CEO of the Business Council for Western and Southern Africa which allows occasional travel to Ghana. Born in Kisumu, Kenya, he spent the holidays between 1969 and 1971 in Ghana when his father was attached to the High Commission.

After completing a Geography degree at The University of Nottingham, he served 35 years in Army with staff and operational postings throughout the world but notably in Germany, Hong Kong, Australia, Bosnia, Kuwait, The Sultanate of Oman and culminating in 2004 in Ghana as the Defence Adviser to the British High Commissioner. He was also responsible for Togo and Cote d’Ivoire whilst travelling extensively through West Africa..

GEORGE TWUMASI

GEORGE TWUMASI

George Twumasi is the visionary force behind the ABN Holdings Limited (ABN) with the goal to create a viable African Satellite Broadcasting Network, straddling both DTH and DTT. ABN’s aim is to establish a commercially viable, turnkey digital ecosystem that will generate VAS revenues worth billions of dollars per annum.

ABN is committed to building an inspiring commercial vehicle via which a unique cultural content generation and an innovative DTH/DTT content distribution model can be achieved. The intent is to establish a compelling business case and defensible revenue model based on, which a rich media African content hub is established. ABN is currently working towards the development of a viable cloud solution based commercial framework that will drive the re-aggregation and monetization of content, initially spanning eighteen African countries

RODNEY HINDS

RODNEY HINDS

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

DR DOIREAN WILSON

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).

DOROTHY M. DAVIS

DOROTHY M. DAVIS

Dorothy M. Davis, President of Dorothy M. Davis Consulting, is an international development communications, public affairs and project management consulting firm. In this capacity, she is the founding UN-ECOSOC Designee ofthe Congressional Black CaucusInstitute (CBCI) responsible for shaping its Global African Diaspora Initiative since 2018 (cbcinstitute.org/IntheNews).

Born in Liberia to pioneer United States Foreign Service parents of U.S. and Caribbean descent, she was raised in Tunisia, Nigeria, Switzerland, and the U.S.A. Ms. Davisis widely recognized for her trailblazing professional accomplishments and humanitarian leadership.

She has worked extensively across Europe, the United States of America, Africa, the Caribbean, China and Japan (www.dorothymdavis.com). She leverages her diplomatic upbringing, international development experiences and communication skills to curate and promote her father’s 55,000 image and archival legacy through Griffith J. Davis Photographs and Archives (www.griffdavis.com). Griff Davis was a pioneer African American international photographer, journalist and U.S. Foreign Service Officer who documented world activities at the vortex of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement and Independence Movement in Africa.

Ms. Davis’ achievements include: creator and manager of UNDP’s Global Goodwill Ambassador Program as an offshoot of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan’s Celebrity Advocacy campaign for the UN; laying the foundation for Africa UNite, the Africa Regional component of UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon’s Campaign to End Violence Against Women; and as a founding member and chair of the International Board of Directors of the Sirleaf Market Women’s Fund of Liberia.

Ms. Davis is the recipient of numerous awards and accolades for her professional work and humanitarian efforts; including 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.

Dorothy Davis is a former member of the National Board of Directors of UN Women-USA. She received her M.S. degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and B.S. degree from Boston University College of Communications.

ERIC VINCENT GUICHARD

ERIC VINCENT GUICHARD

Eric is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Hamstrings. 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..

AFUAH HIRSCH

AFUAH HIRSCH

Afua Hirsch is an award-winning writer, broadcaster and former barrister known for her work on culture, social justice, identity and anti-racism.

Afua is the founder of Born in Me Productions, which creates scripted and non-scripted television, movies and podcasts, in partnership with Fremantle. She presents and produces non scripted TV documentaries, including African Renaissance, a BBC series on African art, and Enslaved, a 6-part series about the transatlantic slave trade with Samuel L Jackson, and a podcast series for Audible. She is creative chair of the 2022 Edinburgh TV Festival, the most prestigious TV event in the UK.

A journalist for more than twenty years, she has been a senior Guardian correspondent, Sky News editor, and freelance contributor to publications including the New York Times, Time Magazine and Vogue.

Afua’s bestselling book Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging is the winner of the Royal Society of Literature Jerwood Prize. Her other books include Equal To Everything, about the UK Supreme Court, and Empire: Look Again. She is currently the Wallis Annenberg Chair of Journalism at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, and holds a degree from Oxford University, honorary doctorates from London’s South Bank University and The University of Oxford Brookes in recognition of her contribution to the arts, and is a Master of the Bench at the Honourable Society of Middle Temple in recognition of her contribution to the law.

Afua is based between London, Accra and Los Angeles.

YVONNE ABBA-OPOKU

YVONNE ABBA-OPOKU

Yvonne Abba-Opoku ACG is a Chartered Governance Adviser and Consultant with more than 15 years post qualification experience. She is an Associate member at the Chartered Governance Institute UK, and attained Post Graduate qualification in Corporate Governance from London Southbank University.

Yvonne is also a Philanthropist and Director at Heartfelt Philanthropy Network, Trustee at GUBA (Grow Unite Build Africa) Foundation, Board member at NCVO Ghana and former Governor at a group of primary schools in London.

Yvonne specialises in providing governance advice, enhancing governance standards, managing brands and charitable funds as well as associated reputational risks. She also focuses on legal and regulatory compliance and guides leaders to deliver their vision.

For more than a decade, Yvonne has provided governance advice to His Majesty King Charles III (formerly The Prince of Wales), Trustees - Sir Ian Cheshire, Baroness Casey of Blackstock, Sir Ken Olisa (HM Lord Lieutenant of Greater London), The Hon. Mrs. Sarah Butler-Sloss, Dame Julie Moore and Kristen Rechberger, along with the Directors of Duchy Originals Limited, The Prince’s Countryside Fund, Countryside Fund Trading Limited and Ecologic Transilvania SRL.

She is also a member of the Waitrose Duchy Steering Committee where she provides valuable insight into corporate social responsibility, the good causes, and communities supported by the Waitrose Duchy Organic brand.

From 2018 to 2021, Yvonne provided governance advice to the Private Secretaries and Directors of four companies linked to The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (now Prince and Princess of Wales) as well as The Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Yvonne enjoys cooking, hosting and supporting her community in the UK and Ghana as well as keeping abreast with developments in governance and current affairs. She hopes to continue to use her platform and resources to empower and help disadvantaged people access opportunities and attain social mobility.