Luis Marin is the President and CEO of Europe, Middle East, and Africa for Avolta AG.  Responsible for overseeing all facets of the organization, Luis has held senior executive roles with Dufry AG as Global Chief Corporate Officer and Business Control Director where he oversaw its mergers and acquisitions.

A proven leader in the field of finance and accounting, Luis served as Head of Finance and Administration for Areas; a subsidiary member of the Elior group.  He was also the Financial Controller at Derbi Motocicletas Nacional Motor S.A. and Auditor at Coopers and Lybrand.

A graduate of the University of Barcelona, Luis earned his degrees in economics, sciences, and business administration.

Chichi Maponya is the Co-founder and Executive Chairperson of Africa Travel Retail, a leading travel retail distribution and advisory firm with experts on airports customer experience, sense of place, implementation, and non-aero-commercial advisory services based in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Chichi currently serves as a Board Chairperson of Maponya Group, a diversified family business established in 1952 by her late father, Dr. Richard Maponya.  She is a Trustee of former South African President Kgalema Motlanthe’s Foundation and of Dr. Richard Maponya Institute for Skills and Entrepreneurship.  She is also a Board Member of Consumer Goods Council of South Africa and actively serves as a member of the Middle East Africa Duty Free Association’s Advocacy Board Committee.

Chichi is a former Deputy Chairperson of South African Council on International Relations (SACOIR) tasked with advising the Minister on international relations; a former Chairperson of Brand South Africa – an agency tasked with marketing and promoting South Africa as a global investment destination.  She also served as a Board Member of South African Tourism and of 4 Africa Exchange (4AX) – alternative stock exchange.

With her vast experience and achievements as a business leader, Chichi has earned the coveted South African Businesswoman of the year award in 2008.

PRESENTATION

Antoine Clément is the Senior Director – Strategy for leading lobbying firm Penta based in Brussels.  With ten years in advocacy and strategy and a strong track record involving key stakeholders and decision makers, Antoine’s portfolio encompasses a wide range of projects in the private and public sector covering Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.  Since 2018, Antoine has been serving as an advisor for MEADFA with the association’s project in advocacy.

Pamela Djamson-Tettey is the Managing Director of Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL).  With over forty years of senior management experience, Pamela has a strong track record in various industries such as energy, mining, manufacturing, food and beverage and aviation.  She is also the recipient of the Head of State Award given by the President of the Republic of Ghana at an official ceremony in December 2022.

Before joining GACL, Pamela was the Communications & Outreach Director at the Millennium Development Authority from 2015 – 2022. She also provided consultancy services to Microsoft Ghana, YARA, and Pioneer Food Cannery.  Pamela also held executive positions in Ghana’s gold mining companies such as Ashanti Goldfields Company Ltd (1994 – 2001) and Gold Fields Ghana, Tarkwa and Damang (2010-2012).

From 2001 to 2009, Pamela served as the Executive Director and Director of Corporate Relations at Diageo Ghana-Guinness Ghana Breweries (GGBL) where she led a wide range of activities in public policy, corporate communications, stakeholder engagement, strategic planning, corporate brand reputation and sustainable development. During her time at GBBL, she initiated the “Sorghum Value Chain” project that successfully produced a steady supply of sorghum from northern Ghana in the production of Guinness foreign extra stout. This project created jobs for thousands of farmers and reduced the reliance on imported raw materials such as barley.  In addition, Pamela spearheaded the “Water of Life” project which led to infrastructure developments of boreholes in deprived areas resulting in clean water source to the local communities.

Pamela has a Bachelor of Arts (Cum Laude) degree in International Relations from the University of Herts. She holds post graduate degrees in political science, diplomacy, and international relations from the University of Kent at Canterbury in the UK.

With a natural curiosity and passion for compelling content, Michele is Conference Director responsible for developing and producing cutting-edge content for TFWA.

Previously, Michele spent several years with the think tanks East West Institute and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, in charge of organizing high-level diplomatic events around the world. From Washington DC to Moscow, Brussels to Beijing, Michele completed impossible missions of getting heads of foreign ministries and multinational corporations talking about how to make the world a safer place. She has contributed to the New York Times and also worked as a foreign affairs columnist for the International Tribune, an Asian-American newspaper published in the United States.

Michele is a proud New Yorker who is passionate about rock climbing, running marathons, and traveling (to do both). She is aiming to visit every country in the world and is halfway there.

Roberta Annan is the founder of Annan Capital and Africa Fashion Foundation. She is also an impact investor and a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).  Roberta has dedicated her career to the empowerment of women and to helping young African talent to develop their skills in entrepreneurship. A staunch advocate for Africa, she leads expansion projects for several multinational corporations and small to medium-sized enterprises in the continent.

In 2017 Roberta was appointed as Senior Market Liaison for Fieldstone Africa, the leading independent investment bank and financial services provider in energy and infrastructure. She continues to serve on numerous boards including The Frallain Group, Industrie Africa, Women’s Empowerment and Investment Group, Ghana France Business Club, The Rose of Sharon Foundation and the European Commission Devco Steering Committee for the International Colloquium for the Creative Economy. Her most ambitious project to date is IFFAC, the Impact Fund for African Creatives, launched in 2021 and on schedule to raise a €100 million fund to channel investment into small and medium-sized African creative and fashion enterprises. IFFAC has currently deployed €3 million into four businesses and an incubator.

Roberta is known as one of the most influential women in business in Africa. She has previously been named as one of the “20 under 40 Influential Business Leaders in Ghana” by Business World Ghana, the “40 under 40 Influential Business Leader in Consulting,” and the “100 Young Influential Africans.” She is the youngest African to be inducted into the African Leadership Hall of Fame. She is a member of the Trade and Investment Taskforce Committee for the B-20 (the private sector voice of the G20 nations), the British Fashion Trust and a lifetime member of The Invest Africa Club. She has been invited to be a member of the inaugural Advisory Council of Condé Nast College of Fashion & Design in London.

PRESENTATION