Case Studies - Perbi Executive Leadership Education

BILL GEORGE – Authentic Leader of Leaders

INTRODUCTION

A number of the inspiring living leaders being profiled in this series are actually recommendations of Bill George, who in his life as a business leader and academic alike has become a cultivator of leaders and curator of leadership, a leader of leaders par excellence. As an internationally-recognized author, speaker, and teacher—after three decades of walking the talk as a C-level leader in Corporate America himself—this octogenarian not only keeps abreast with the daily news but skillfully brings out the leadership lessons and infringements therein, often publicly holding the feet of leaders to the fire like he recently did Meta’s founder Mark Zuckerberg.^[1] Perhaps this Harvard-taught and Harvard-teaching leader’s most endearing legacy will be fathering the whole field of Authentic Leadership.

GROWTH

Early Formation

Born William W. George in Muskegon, Michigan in the Midwestern United States of America (USA) on September 14, 1942. He grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan but saw opportunities elsewhere. George’s parents supported any career he wanted to pursue^[2] “even though his father, a Michigan business consultant, pressed his (frustrated) dreams of corporate leadership onto their only child.”^[3] Bill gained his values from his mother.^[4] He would later graduate with a Bachelor in Industrial and Systems Engineering (BSIE) with high honors from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1964.^[5] At Georgia Tech, George was a member of the Beta Psi chapter of the fraternity Sigma Chi. A couple of years later, as a Baker Scholar William George received a Master of Business Administration with high distinction from Harvard University, in 1966,^[6] way before most people had gotten wind of what an MBA was and an MBA-craze had begun.

Turn Outs and Turn Downs

Young George actually started out his work life serving in the U.S. Department of Defense, where he was Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)^[7]in Washington D.C. and later as Special Civilian Assistant to the Secretary of the Navy.^[8] William George began in government but would soon end up in the private sector, specifically in the corporate world.

Bill held a series of senior executive positions in Litton Industries (1970-78), primarily as president of Litton Microwave Cooking. In 1969, Litton Microwave Cooking Products, a division of Litton Industries, had hired George at age 27 as president and Chief Operating Officer (COO). He quickly got a jolt as he was packing his bags to move to Minneapolis. Over the radio he heard a warning. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration declared microwave ovens “might be hazardous to your health.” That crisis formed him as a leader, the kind of leader he has become. “I was not an expert in any aspect of the business, but in this crisis everyone looked to me for survival,” he wrote in Authentic Leadership: Rediscovering the Secrets to Creating Lasting Value. “My skill was to pull together the right people and empower them to solve the problems, one at a time.”^[9]

As senior executive at Honeywell (1978-1989), Bill was President of Honeywell’s Space & Aviation Systems and President of Honeywell Europe. By the late 1980s, Bill George was a successful executive at Honeywell International. He was on the shortlist to be the next CEO. But he was miserable. George disliked the focus on turnarounds. Squeezing out expected quarterly numbers wore on him, too.^[10] “I really wanted to be working closely with customers and employees, but had prioritized impressing my bosses and Wall Street,” says George.^[11] Not only did Honeywell get the cold shoulder from George, he turned down offers to join medical device maker Medtronic three times. But the company, which was founded barely seven years after George’s own birth, both in the Midwest, did not give up. He accepted the fourth invitation to become President and COO in 1989, then became Chief Executive Officer (CEO) from 1991 to 2001; and finally bowed out as board chair (1996-2002).

Sometimes, how you start out is not how you turn out; starting this way or the other does not mean that’s how you’ll end. From hard core business about tough things like defense, microwave technology and space/aviation hardware, who could’ve predicted that where Bill will flourish most and earn a household name and global fame would be in the softer business of health, especially of the heart? “It was the best decision of my professional life,” he says of finally joining Medtronic. “I was excited to go to work with a group of talented people who were dedicated to the mission of alleviating pain, restoring health and extending life.”^[12] Bill was looking for purpose; and he had found it, now heading in the direction of his own True North.

My bet is that no one saw a life of academia coming after that ‘meteoric Medtronic’ adventure, becoming a professor at Harvard Business School in 2004. For what it’s worth, Bill’s 30 years in senior executive leadership in corporate America seems to have been spread over three ten-year blocks each at Litton, Honeywell and Medtronic, more or less.

SUCCESS

Bill George became a household name through health leadership, as a non-medic who clearly had a heart for human flourishing thus applied that passion and his smarts and endearing values to prospering the Minnesota-born company he led. Mr. George is “best known in Minnesota for his leadership role in the evolution of Medtronic, piloting the medical technology company through 13 years of outstanding growth as President and Chief Operating Officer (1989-91), Chief Executive Officer (1991-2001), and Chairman of the Board (1996-2002).”^[13] Under his leadership, Medtronic’s market capitalization grew from $1.1 billion to $60 billion, averaging 35% a year,^[14] all the while posting a “strong reputation by demonstrating ethical leadership and integrity.”^[15]

Having always been a stickler for purpose and long-term success, Bill is clear that even the whooping successful numbers above stemmed from staying true to purpose rather than an attempt to chase after profit or shareholder value. In a recent interview, he was noted as saying:

I went to Medtronic because it offered me a chance to restore people to full life. When I got there, it was a mid-size company with $750 million in revenue; now it’s $32 billion. But the important thing was not the size but how we helped people. Our metric was how many seconds go by before another person is restored by a Medtronic product. When I started, that number was 100 seconds. When I left, it was seven seconds. Today, it’s two per second. Now, that’s a metric everyone can relate to. They can’t relate to $2.61 a share. Shareholder value is an outcome. If we create great value for our customers, we will increase market share, we will enter new markets, and we will expand our business and business models. But workers on Medtronic’s heart-valve line want to ensure every product is perfect because they know human life is at stake.^[16]

Bill George is revered in the American Midwest for taking “a homegrown Minnesota company, Medtronic, and shepherd[ing] its rise through a remarkable decade of growth.”^[17] In his own books, Bill humbly but assertively speaks of strategic mergers in the 1990s he spearheaded that provided not only for global expansion of the company, but also a corresponding boom of innovation in medical devices, services and therapies that served to benefit more than 1.5 million patients per year suffering from cardiac disease and other serious illness.^[18]

Bill and the Academy

Growing up on a university campus as the son and grandson of professors, I used to marvel at how many professors in the business school had no business teaching business because they had never operated any businesses themselves. Bill George is the very antithesis of that aberration, having become a professor at Harvard Business School in 2004, after three solid decades of executive leadership actually doing business. During 2002-03, Mr. George was Professor of Leadership and Governance at IMD International and Ecole Polytechnique in Lausanne, Switzerland, and Executive-in-Residence at Yale School of Management.^[19] William W. George, “an American businessman and academic” as he’s largely described in a nutshell now, was a Professor of Management Practice, and a Henry B. Arthur Fellow of Ethics at Harvard Business School^[20] until 2016. He has since been a Senior Fellow and now Executive Fellow at Harvard.
Bill believes, “We need to develop moral leaders who are authentic, compassionate, and driven by a sense of purpose.” He continues, “I have been critical of some business schools for training too many managers and not enough leaders and not talking about the values that matter. Do you have the courage to do the right thing?”^[21] There is a difference between management and leadership, Mr. George seems desirous of reminding us. In the famous words of the father and founder of modern Management, Peter Drucker, “Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” Bill George is prophetic in the academy.

Literary Leadership

Behold Bill’s bibliography: Authentic Leadership: Rediscovering the Secrets to Creating Lasting Value (2003), True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership (2007), True North Groups: A Powerful Path to Personal and Leadership Development (2008), Finding Your True North: A Personal Guide (2008), and 7 Lessons for Leading in Crisis (2009). In August 2015, George published the work that has been most defining of my own leadership in this decade, Discover Your True North, along with its companion workbook, The Discover Your True North Fieldbook: A Personal Guide to Becoming an Authentic Leader. ^[22]His latest, seven years later, is a variant of the last, tailored to emerging leaders, True North: Leading Authentically in Today’s Workplace, Emerging Leader Edition published by John Wiley & Sons (August 2022). Later that same fall, in November, Bill George came out with True North Fieldbook, Emerging Leader Edition: The Emerging Leader’s Guide to Leading Authentically in Today’s Workplace.^[23]

Family Man

Bill George is big on family, as seen from his various social media posts as he does life with his spouse, and wider family, and has espoused in his book True North (2015), especially the chapter on “the integrated life.” He has been married to Penny Pilgram George, a psychologist-philanthropist, for half-a-century and they have two adult sons, Jeff and Jonathan. Together with their own wives, Renee Will and Jeannette Lager, the four children and their power parents constitute the board at the George Family Foundation, which we shall touch on in a subsequent next section. Today, the couple, who met in the nation’s capital while both were working for the Pentagon, have been married for 54 years and are exemplary champions of philanthropy.

SIGNIFICANCE

Awards, Honours and Impact Platforms

Bill has received a truckload of awards and recognitions. These include “Alumni Achievement Award” (Harvard Business School, 1997), “Executive of the Year” by the American Academy of Management in 2001, “Director of the Year” (National Association of Corporate Directors, 2001-02), “Legend in Leadership” by Yale University in 2002, “Lifetime Achievement Award” (Minnesota High Tech Association, 2003), and “25 Most Influential Business People of the Last 25 Years” (PBS Nightly Business News, 2004).^[24]

Bill George was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2012 for applying engineering principles to manufacturing to advance health care. In April 2014, the Franklin Institute awarded him the Bower Award for Business Leadership. Bill received the Larry Foster Award for Integrity in Public Communication at the second annual Arthur W. Page Center Awards (2018) in New York City.^[25] Mr. George is a CNBC contributor and has made frequent appearances on television and radio. He has a string of honorary PhDs from Georgia Tech, Mayo Medical School, University of St. Thomas, Augsburg College and Bryant University.^[26]

Leadership in Governance

Giving back to society, for Bill, isn’t an afterthought or a post-retirement thing. Even “in the midst of his meteoric Medtronic years and continuing today, Bill George has maintained a focus on community service and philanthropy.”^[27] He has served on dozens of corporate, health care, and nonprofit boards in the state and nation, among them Minnesota Business Partnership, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Global Center for Leadership and Business Ethics, and the National Association of Corporate Directors. Mr. George has served as a director on the boards of Goldman Sachs, The Mayo Clinic, ExxonMobil, Novartis, Target Corporation and

Minnesota’s Destination Medical Center Corporation. He is currently a trustee of World Economic Forum USA, and has served as board chair for Allina Health System, Abbott-Northwestern Hospital, United Way of the Greater Twin Cities, and Advamed.^[28] He more recently joined the Advisory Council of CFK Africa.^[29]

Family Foundation

In 1994 Bill and Penny founded the George Family Foundation whose mission is to “foster wholeness in mind, body, spirit, and community by developing authentic leaders and supporting transformative programs serving the common good.”^[30] Their guiding philosophy is “We believe in sharing the blessings we have received and in celebrating the spiritual reciprocity that exists between donors and receivers working collaboratively to make the world a better place.”^[31] They fund causes pertaining to whole-person health and well-being (integrative medicine), education, authentic leadership development, social justice in community, spirituality and inner life, environment, and youth/nextgen development. For their inspiration, George cites a line from Winston Churchill: “We make a living by what we earn, we make a life by what we give.”^[32]

Gaining Authentic Traction

In academic literature, “authentic leadership” has found its own niche among other significant approaches and theories of leadership like servant leadership, transformational leadership, adaptive leadership, among others. And it is all traced back to George’s groundbreaking book in 2003 and his follow-up one with Peter Sims in 2007. As leadership guru Peter Northouse so succinctly states the case for this authentic leadership genre,

“In recent times, upheavals in society have energized a tremendous demand for authentic leadership.
The destruction on 9/11, corporate scandals at companies like WorldCom and Enron, “fake news,” and fears of foreign influence in presidential elections have all created anxiety and uncertainty. People feel apprehensive and insecure about what is going on around them, and as a result, they long for bona fide leadership they can trust and for leaders who are honest and good. People’s demands for trustworthy leadership make the study of authentic leadership timely and worthwhile.”^[33]

Even the February 2007 Harvard Business Review would also admit, in consonance with the Northouse notice above, that “The ongoing problems in business leadership over the past five years have underscored the need for a new kind of leader in the twenty-first century: the authentic leader.”^[34] Based on his three decade-long experience as a corporate executive and thorough interviews with an array of 125 successful C-level leaders from different racial, religious, national, and socioeconomic backgrounds to understand how leaders become and remain authentic,^[35] George discovered that authentic leaders know themselves, feel free to lead from their sense of purpose and core values and genuinely desire to serve others. Specifically, authentic leaders demonstrate these five basic characteristics: 1. Passion (Strong sense of purpose), 2. Behavior (strong values about the right thing to do), 3. Connectedness (trusting relationships with others), 4. Consistency (self-discipline and act on their values), and 5. Compassion (sensitive and empathetic to the plight of others).^[36]

This is purported to be “the largest leadership development study ever undertaken.”^[37] But Bill outdid himself when for the 2015 work, he and his team interviewed 220 leaders (nearly double) in business and nonprofits, and learned that people’s life stories—their crucibles—help them understand who they are. “People have to know who they are before they can make a difference in their professions,” George tells McKinsey in a podcast interview. ^[38]

Annually, Merriam-Webster determines the word of the year. We might as well say 2023 was Bill’s year for the word of the year 2023 was “authentic.” In an article that prescribed six reasons why it pays to be authentic, Inc. magazine first reminded all and sundry that “authentic” is “an overused buzzword that has lost its meaning, sure, but considering the current era of artificial intelligence and misinformation, where the distinction between what’s real and what’s fake has become increasingly ambiguous, it’s not a bad choice.”^[39]

The Authentic Leadership movement has included raising emerging leaders with that ethos. In the fall of 2022, George co-authored and published a new book, “True North: Leading Authentically in Today’s Workplace, Emerging Leader Edition” with Zach Clayton, a younger leader. The book, among others, identifies five different archetypes of bosses that you never want to become or work for, because they’ve lost their “true north” in some way.^[40]

In Others’ Words

From presidents of countries to presidents of companies, everyone has high praise for Bill’s life and leadership. Former US president Jimmy Carter once said of him, “Bill George reminds us that compassion and understanding are as important qualities for business leaders as dedication and resolve.”^[41] According to Kate Rubin of the Minnesota High Tech Association also, Mr. Bill George is “laser-beam focused. He exemplifies the leadership philosophy he teaches: to be guided by an inner compass, to know your strengths, to make it your business to be of service.”^[42]

While it is quite American to blow one’s own horn, what is exceptional is for Europeans to chip in in genuine praise, especially a Swiss: “Bill George may be as close as American executive ranks have come to producing a moral philosopher.” Those powerful words came from Rolf Dobelli, founder and curator of Zurich minds, a community of Switzerland’s distinguished thinkers, scientists, artists and entrepreneurs.^[43]

At PELÉ

During an interaction on LinkedIn a couple of years ago, Bill’s encouragement to me was: “Thank you Yaw, keep being the authentic leader that you are.” That went a long way to encourage our young firm and authentic leadership brand at Perbi Executive Leadership Education (PELÉ), where we pursue authentic and customised relationships and resources for C-level executives to grow personally, succeed professionally, and become significant societally. Whether in America or across the Atlantic in Africa, together with others of the Authentic Leadership tribe of Bill George, we hope to hone current C-level leadership as well as incubate a host of emerging C-suite executives.

CONCLUSION

Born, bred and blossoming in the American Midwest, this Midwest thoroughbred with two first names, or is it two last names rather?, also lives in the Twin cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul. William George has shone his light far beyond continental America through to Europe to the ends of the earth, literally. In fact, he is a strong proponent of Global Intelligence Quotient (GQ), in addition to the IQ one is born with and all the EQ one can get. That disposition alone puts him way past the average American who seems to think that America is at the centre of the universe.

Bill has walked the talk in corporate America and triumphed; now he’s talking the walk on the platform of the academy, especially championing Authentic Leadership with vision, understanding, courage, and adaptability (or VUCA 2.0) even in a volatile, ambiguous, complex and uncertain (VUCA) world. And with his scholarship, as he teaches the world at Harvard’s global campus and brings the nations thought leadership through his research and writing, even in his twilight years this Midwestern son shines bright and strong. He travels widely for speaking engagements related to his “True North” leadership initiatives. Meet the authentic leader of leaders, William (Bill) George, Executive Fellow at Harvard Business School, Former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Medtronic, Bestselling Author and originator-thought leader in Authentic Leadership. Hail the cultivator of leaders and curator of leadership, an authentic leader of leaders par excellence.

^[1] Annika Kim Constantino. “Mark Zuckerberg is ‘continuing to derail’ Facebook, says Harvard expert: ‘He’s really lost his way’.” CNBC. September 12, 2022. Last retrieved March 1, 2024.

I also personally witnessed him do this, and participated, in a real time discussion on his LinkedIn feed.

^[2] Investor’s Business Daily. “Legendary CEO Bill George Now Helps Others Find Their True North”. (2022-11-10) Investor’s Business Daily. Retrieved March 1, 2024.

^[3] Rohan Preston. Power couple Penny and Bill George believe in doing ‘a force of good in the world.’ Star Tribune. November 27, 2023. Last retrieved March 1, 2024.

^[4] Ibid.

^[5] “Official website biography”. Archived from the original on 2017-04-04. Retrieved March 1, 2024.

^[6] Ibid.

^[7] Investor’s Business Daily. “Legendary CEO Bill George Now Helps Others Find Their True North”. (2022-11-10) Investor’s Business Daily. Retrieved March 1, 2024.

^[8] He shares this in his books I’ve read. Also public knowledge on his official website and others like Harvard’s.

^[9] Investor’s Business Daily. “Legendary CEO Bill George Now Helps Others Find Their True North”. (2022-11-10) Investor’s Business Daily. Retrieved March 1, 2024.

^[10] Ibid.

^[11] Ibid.

^[12] Ibid.

^[13] Minnesota Science & Technology Hall of Fame. How has he Transformed the Scene? Minnesota Science & Technology Hall of Fame. (Last retrieved February 29, 2024)

^[14] Charlie Rose biography Archived October 10, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 1, 2024.

^[15] Jonathan McVerry. Page Center honoring George, Ifill and Onoda at annual awards dinner”. Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, PennState. January 4, 2018. Last retrieved March 1, 2024.

^[16] Carolyn Dewar. “Leading with authenticity: A Conversation with Bill George. McKinsey & Company. www.mckinsey.com. Last retrieved March 1, 2024.

^[17] Minnesota Science & Technology Hall of Fame. How has he Transformed the Scene? Minnesota Science & Technology Hall of Fame. (Last retrieved February 29, 2024)

^[18] See his books: Authentic Leadership: Rediscovering the Secrets to Creating Lasting Value (2003), True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership (2007), Finding Your True North: A Personal Guide (2008) etc.

^[19] “Official website biography”. Archived from the original on 2017-04-04. Retrieved March 1, 2024.

^[20] “Harvard Business School faculty page”. Archived from the original on 2007-12-06. Retrieved March 1, 2024.

^[21] Carolyn Dewar. “Leading with authenticity: A Conversation with Bill George.” McKinsey & Company. www.mckinsey.com. Last retrieved March 1, 2024.

^[22] “Official website biography”. Archived from the original on 2017-04-04. Retrieved March 1, 2024.

^[23] Wikipedia. Bill George (Businessman). Last retrieved March 1, 2024.

^[24] Minnesota Science & Technology Hall of Fame. How has he Transformed the Scene? Minnesota Science & Technology Hall of Fame. (Last retrieved February 29, 2024)

^[25] Jonathan McVerry. Page Center honoring George, Ifill and Onoda at annual awards dinner”. Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, PennState. January 4, 2018. Last retrieved March 1, 2024.

^[26] Minnesota Science & Technology Hall of Fame. How has he Transformed the Scene? Minnesota Science & Technology Hall of Fame. Last retrieved February 29, 2024.

^[27] Ibid.

^[28] Ibid.

^[29] Meet Our Team | Staff, Board, and Advisory Council”. CFK Africa. Retrieved March 1, 2024.

^[30] George Family Foundation. Mission & Guiding Philosophy. (last accessed February 29, 2024)

^[31] Ibid.

^[32] Ibid.

^[33] Peter Northouse. 2019. Leadership: Theory and Practice (8th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 197.

^[34] Bill George, Peter Sims, Andrew N McLean, and Diana Mayer. Discovering Your Authentic Leadership. Harvard Business Review. February 2007. Last retrieved March 1, 2024.

^[35] Ibid.

^[36] Bill George. 2003. Authentic Leadership: Rediscovering the secrets to Creating Lasting Value. John Wiley & Sons.

^[37] Bill George, Peter Sims, Andrew N McLean, and Diana Mayer. Discovering Your Authentic Leadership. Harvard Business Review. February 2007. Last retrieved March 1, 2024.

^[38] Carolyn Dewar. “Leading with authenticity: A Conversation with Bill George. McKinsey & Company. www.mckinsey.com. Last retrieved March 1, 2024.

^[39] Marcel Schwantes. Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Year Is the Best So Far for Improving Your Leadership. Inc. Nov 29, 2023 (last accessed February 29, 2023)

^[40] Anna Kim Constantino. “Harvard expert: The 5 types of bosses you never want to work for—or become.” CNBC. September 9, 2022. Last retrieved March 1, 2024.

^[41] Jimmy Carter’s commendation of Bill George’s True North book. See Audible.com.

^[42] Minnesota Science & Technology Hall of Fame. How has he Transformed the Scene? Minnesota Science & Technology Hall of Fame. (Last retrieved February 29, 2024)

^[43] Ibid.

50 Inspiring Living Leaders

This 50 Inspiring Living Leaders series highlights current influencers who are succeeding in leadership, integrity, family or entrepreneurship in whatever field and exhibit most, if not all, of our values of PELÉ. We value people, growth, particularity, excellence, success, authenticity and significance. These stories are largely written in terms of growth, success and significance in leadership, integrity, family and entrepreneurship. While we do our best to receive personal references about each leader, most of our research and writing is based on literature review of publicly-available information. As authorities in leadership, we are fully aware that there is no such thing as a perfect leader, and leaders may have their flaws, but we choose to celebrate these inspiring living leaders for their achievements outlined in our series. Having said that, should you happen to have any incontrovertible evidence that any of our featured leaders does not fit our bill of an authentic leader, please write to us at info@perbiexecutive.com. Our vision at PELÉ is a flourishing global ecosystem of authentic leaders characterised by healthy growth, holistic success and lasting significance.

Know more

BERNARD AVLE – The Relevant Voice of Reason.

INTRODUCTION

Affectionately just called “Bernard,” even two decades ago Bernardino Avle was already an inspiring emerging African leader. Bernard is “a passionate Ghanaian who believes in Africa”^[1] and is desirous “to use multimedia tools and platforms to tell African stories.”^[2] Those who have just come to know him in the last ten or so years as a no-nonsense, no holds barred, say-it-as-it-is, voice of reason on Accra’s Citi 97.3 Mhz frequency amidst the cacophony of patronising personalities and parochial politics can be aptly described as only “latter day saints.” Welcome then, to the man of the hour, the relevant voice of reason.

Way back in 2005, Bernard was one of 15 Inspiring Young People this author penned about and published in his first (and only) volume with that title. At the time, Bernard was “the youngest of all breakfast show presenters in the nation.”^[3] Bizarrely, nearly two decades later, he still is among the youngest and arguably the best. While some of the other 15 ‘inspiring young people’ have not lived up to the promising trajectory displayed in their youth, Bernard, au contraire, has even surpassed expectations. No doubt.

Today, Mr. Bernard Avle is a broadcast journalist on both radio and TV, General Manager at Citi FM and Citi TV of Omni Media, public speaker, event MC and international conference facilitator par excellence. And for most people, it is his ability to speak truth to power, ask hard questions of leaders, analyze trending issues deeply, reason in real time and keep the feet of authorities to the fire that make him stand head and shoulders above the rest. No one, no matter how great, mighty or connected, has Bernard in their back pocket.

GROWTH

Christened Bernardino Koku Avle by a certain erstwhile Chief Research Analyst with the Community Health Department of the University of Ghana Medical School and his then postmistress wife, Koku had been born to them on a quiet Wednesday morning, 20^th May, 1981. Bernard(ino) is the seventh of eight children, some half siblings.^[4]

Legon Thoroughbred

Until his graduate education in the UK (2008-2009) as a Chevening Scholar^[5] at the Warwick Business School, where he obtained his MBA in Marketing, all of Bernard’s education had been in Legon; specifically in or around the University of Ghana (UG). His father’s employment with UG explains how he commenced his basic education at the University Primary & Junior Secondary School (JSS), on the Legon campus of UG. After his JSS graduation, young Master Avle went on to study General Arts, a combination of Elective Mathematics, Economics and Geography, barely a couple of miles down the street from UG, right next door at Presec (Presbyterian Boys’ Secondary). He would then return to the UG campus in June 2001 till June 2004, as a student in the revered (or is it feared?) Departments of Economics.

First Class, A++ Student

Goals are key to any achievement in life. Bernardino set himself a goal to get a First Class at UG. And he did! On 12^th March 2005, Bernard Avle was one of the few who graduated from UG with a First Class honours B.A. degree in Economics (and a Geography minor).^[6] Remember, it’s ‘dreaded’ Economics we’re talking about here. Bernardino typifies what this author has called an “A++” tertiary education for the last two decades. The “A+” is for academics, and the extra and/or co-curricular activities comprise the extra plus. Bernard made his A+, a First Class in no less a subject than Economics, and had the extra plus in leadership, broadcasting, politics, spiritual matters etc. “The chain of awards Legon Hall feted him with in the 2003/4 academic year alone included Student Personality of the Year, Award for Exceptional Contribution to the Hall and Academic Excellence Award.”^[7]

Interestingly, Bernard reveals the secret underpinning this First Class as an intentionally formed goal “specifically to prove to skeptics and even critics who believed that anybody involved in as many extra-curricular activities (as he was) on campus would automatically have mediocre academic grades. He was bent on demystifying an almost entrenched and calcified myth.”^[8]

“Born to Lead,” Indeed

Bernard Avle, “who seems quiet from a distance, has consistently displayed such a high leadership acumen in several spheres of life: broadcasting, politics, academia and the spiritual.”^[9] Even two decades ago, this leadership skill was duly recognized with a certificate in Leadership and Liberty by the Institute of Economic Affairs, Ghana.

As a leader-broadcaster with the university FM station on campus, Radio Univers, he even acted as News editor from May to August 2003, a leadership role which involved managing a newsroom crew of over 15 student volunteer journalists, overseeing news search, editing, reporting and casting. He was also a trainer of nouveau fresher volunteer broadcasters. In the 2003/4 academic year, Bernard was actually the Student Coordinator for Radio Univers.^[10] These, on hindset, were apt preparatory simulations for his role today as a broadcast journalist cum General Manager at one of Ghana’s most influential radio stations, Citi FM.

Politically, Bernard served as Junior Common Room Secretary of Legon Hall (2002/3) and was a member of the Student Representative Council’s General Assembly the following academic year.^[11] It is noted in 15 Inspiring Young People Volume 1 how “as an academic leader he was Class Representative for his Economics Class in Level 300, during which same period he was a spiritual leader of the Legon Pentecostals Union (General Secretary) and served on the University of Ghana’s Chaplaincy Board.”^[12] So whichever way you look at it, Bernard was born, it seems, to lead…and in every field of endeavour he finds himself in.

SUCCESS

In 2017, Bernard Avle became Ghana;s Journalist of the Year, an award conferred by the Ghana Journalism Association (GJA). This was a well-deserved recognition of Mr. Avle’s commitment to personal excellence in broadcast journalism as well as solid leadership in that space. Since the Law of Consistency is a prerequisite to the Law of Success, it isn’t any wonder that for consistently being on radio since 2001, from the university’s Univers to the city’s Citi, Bernard had done his proverbial 10,000 hours and had become a broadcasting genius.^[13]

Broadcast Bloom to Boom

Bernard joined Radio Univers, the University of Ghana’s FM station, as a freshman and stayed the course throughout his entire four-year sojourn on Legon Campus, while many moved in and out.^[14] “For the entire period in question he hosted Exposition (a Christian talk show), Campus Exclusive (a student magazine programme) and was an ombudsman News Reporter. From 2003, Bernard also took up the challenge of hosting View Point, a current affairs programme.^[15] Now he’s graduated to host the riveting Point of View on Citi TV too, unveiling a ‘baby face’ he used to hide behind radio. Even for his final year project work he was thinking about broadcasting: A Cost Benefit Analysis of an Expansion of Radio Univers.^[16]

Bernardino is an all-rounder but has laser acuity “on issues on technology, business & economics, good governance and social development, with his distinctive mark of a well-researched approach to any area of discussion, which translates into the piercing and relevant questions that he treats his guests to.”^[17]

One-Eyed Focus

After discovering and falling in love with the media, Bernard has looked nowhere else. He knew he was leaving campus radio to continue a career in radio at Citi FM. There was virtually no hiatus and certainly no doubt. He started out with the Citi FM news crew from July to December, 2004 and got the break to serve his first Citi breakfast on air that December as a 23-year old youth!^[18] The rest, as they say, is history.

“What do you love about broadcasting in general and the breakfast show in particular?” this writer inquired. According to Sir Bernardino, “Broadcasting has placed a privileged onus on me to play a leading part in the ongoing democratic experience, which is being spearheaded by an increasingly robust, probing, and pluralistic media. Hosting the Citi Breakfast Show has given me the unique opportunity to be part of the mornings of many Ghanaians to ask relevant questions on the behalf of a perceptive audience.”^[19] Within four years of producing and presenting the Citi Breakfast Show, Mr. Avle had grown the audience base by over 500 per cent!^[20]

A typical day for Bernard begins at dawn: 4 am! By 6 am the Citi Breakfast Show commences and lasts for four hectic hours. Bernard not only has planning and production for the next day to think about, but also managerial and leadership duties as General Manager. Then there’s TV—Point of View—that ends deep at night. Factor in Accra traffic, to and fro, and you can do his sleep math.

Family Fortunes

Bernard even found love, again, on the University of Ghana premises. Bernard met Justine at a YouthPower! Conference organized by The HuD Group at the Great Hall of UG in October 2005. Bernard and Justine grew very fond of each other and tied the knot in 2011. Sadly, Justine, who really manned the domestic front to release Bernard to soar for God and country, kicked the bucket one fateful August evening in 2022.^[21] Their union was blessed with five children, four boys and a girl.^[22]

The Cost of Success

It hasn’t been all rosy. Well, even roses have thorns. Beyond the wicked blow of being a relatively young widower, Bernardino has his critics. We might even say there are those who loathe him to the same extent people love him. When he lost his wife, some of the most egregious comments that surfaced were stupefying. But Bernard isn’t a target just because he stands tall today; even before he would rise, the attacks came in fast and ferociously.

In a section of the 15 Inspiring Young People that was titled ‘Choking on Breakfast,’ Mr. Avle shared how when he set off in the commercial world of radio, “The bad reviews I initially got from industry analysts were almost crushing. Sometimes their expectations of me were rather high and in my opinion unfair. These were coupled with criticisms that sometimes left me feeling inadequate.”^[23] He admitted, “Hosting a breakfast show requires one to be eclectic in outlook, intense in commitment and consistent in delivery. Developing these traits come at a cost. My spiritual relationship with the Lord suffered initially. How I got through? He was patient with me.”^[24]

SIGNIFICANCE

Awards and honors

The awards Bernard and his Citi Breakfast show have garnered include BBC Africa Radio Awards Interactive/Talk Show of the Year (2007) and two other continental awards, Chartered Institute of Marketing Ghana (CIMG) Radio Programme of the Year for both 2013 and 2015, Ghana Journalists Association Journalist of the Year (2017), Ghana Journalists Association Best Radio Morning Show (2017 and 2018) and the Ghana Journalists Association Best (English) Radio Station (2018).

During his tenure as Operations Manager at Citi/Omni Media (Nov 2009-Nov 2013), Citi Eyewitness News was adjudged CIMG Radio Programme of the year (2011) while Citi FM’s newsroom won the Innovative Newsroom Award at the 16th Telkom Highway Africa Media Awards in South Africa (2012).

Bernardino Koku Avle has been a Fellow of The African Leadership Initiative West Africa (ALI) and the Aspen Global Leadership Network (AGLN) since 2015. Being Ghana’s journalist of the year is probably the one award that most consolidated the young man’s towering presence on the Ghanaian media landscape, cementing the influence of this voice of reason. It is no accident that this 2017 award followed impressive feats moderating the 2016 Presidential Encounter (presidential debate) and the one four years prior which was history-making with the first ever appearance of a sitting Ghanaian president.^[25]

Growing Other Leaders

Mr. Avle is also a member of the governing council of the Global Marketing Network in Ghana. As a founding director of iJourno Africa, he trains and creates opportunities for participants to practise citizen journalism and equip them with tools to cover local issues. Almost as a way of paying back his indebtedness to The HuD Group for facilitating his finding of a virtuous wife, Bernard serves on the Ghana board, inspiring and empowering holistic emerging leadership development in Africa (and beyond). He likes to tell the youth, who he regularly mentors on various speaking platforms in Ghana, “Think like a man of action. Act like a man of thought.”^[26]

As a man who seeks to multiply himself, Bernard conceptually developed and successfully implemented a $90,000 project to recruit, train and deploy up to 200 Citizen Journalists to cover Ghana’s 2016 Presidential and Parliamentary elections. Two years prior, he had done similarly with a $80,000 one to train 30 Citizen Journalists from 10 regions in Ghana.^[27] Other innovative social impact projects to raise emerging media leaders have included a UNICEF “Voices of the Future” one.

Gallantry against Galamsey and other Gains

Illegal small scale mining in Ghana has gotten out of hand, making nonsense of both the law and law enforcement in addition to wrecking havoc on Ghana’s water bodies, flora and fauna. In 2017, Bernard Avle together with Citi FM launched a gallant campaign against galamsey^[28] for which the Ghana Chamber of Mines awarded him and his show “for vigorously promoting environmentally responsible mining in Ghana through objective and analytical reportage.”^[29] The citation further read, “Your relentless campaign against the upsurge of illegal mining and its consequent destruction of major water bodies in Ghana is admirable and worth emulating.”

He is also “currently spearheading national campaign against lawlessness on our roads, dubbed “War against Indiscipline.”^[30] Between last year and now, Bernardino has been campaigning to raise money to support the Lower Volta flood victims of the Akosombo dam spillage, not only offering immediate relief and timely health interventions but also building permanent shelters for the displaced.^[31] Bernard serves on the board of the Citi FM Foundation.

At PELÉ

“Our problems are becoming bigger and our [leaders] are becoming smaller. It’s a tragedy,”^[32] says Mr. Avle. At Perbi Executive Leadership Education (PELÉ), where authentic and customised relationships and resources are offered to C-level executives to grow personally, succeed professionally, and become significant societally, we have conscripted this relevant voice of reason as a consultant in media and general leadership development at PELÉ. Together we hope to hone current C-level leadership as well as incubate a host of emerging C-suite executives.

CONCLUSION

Bernardino Koku Avle was born to broadcast; he landed in 1981 to lead. From being a First Class graduate to serving first class food for thought as breakfast on air, consistency has been Mr. Avle’s forte right into his forties. Come next year, Deo volente, Bernard would have been running the same Citi Breakfast Show for twenty years, two decades! Apart from the Law of Consistency at work in his story, is also the Law of Process. Bernard did not just appear on the national scene in a day; he had been preparing himself daily for years on campus. From campus radio to city radio, and now Citi TV as well, Bernard has succeeded at both working in and on media, a feat few broadcast journalists are able to achieve. For many prominent figures on air, an elevation to managerial or leadership roles has meant, unfortunately, being promoted to fail. Even one of his nation and generation’s finest, Bernard Avle, gets his (un)fair share of criticism and takes it in his stride. Ghana’s presidential debate moderator and national award-winning journalist, together with his cutting-edge Citi/Omni media tribe, are reshaping the African narrative, in word and by deed. A relevant voice of reason indeed.

^[1] CitiTVonline. Bernard Avle. Retrieved February 16, 2024.

^[2] Bernadino Koku Avle. Curriculum Vitae shared with the author on January 25, 2024.

^[3] Yaw Perbi. 2005. 15 Inspiring Young People. Volume 1. First Edition. Accra. Ghana: NEOpublishing, pg. 55.

^[4] Ibid, pg. 55.

^[5] “Launch of Chevening Alumni Ghana Association – News articles – GOV.UK”. Government of United Kingdom. Retrieved February 7, 2024.

^[6] Yaw Perbi. 2005. 15 Inspiring Young People. Volume 1. First Edition. Accra. Ghana: NEOpublishing, pg. 57.

^[7] Ibid.

^[8] Ibd.

^[9] Ibid, 56.

^[10] Ibid.

^[11] Ibid.

^[12] Ibid.

^[13] A notion from Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers that 10,000 hours of practice is what it takes to become a genius in a field

^[14] Ibid, 57.

^[15] Ibid.

^[16] Ibid.

^[17] “20 under 40: Bernardino Koku Avle – Business World Ghana”. Business World Ghana. 9 March 2015. Last retrieved February 9, 2024.

^[18] Yaw Perbi. 2005. 15 Inspiring Young People. Volume 1. First Edition. Accra. Ghana: NEOpublishing, pg. 58.

^[19] Ibid.

^[20] Bernadino Koku Avle. Curriculum Vitae shared with the author on January 25, 2024.

^[21] “Bernard Avle Loses Wife Justine Avle | AmeyawDebrah.com”. 2022-08-04. Retrieved Feb 16, 2024.

^[22] MyNewsGH (2022-08-04). “BREAKING News: Citi FM’s Bernard Avle loses wife Justine Avle”. MyNewsGh. Retrieved February 16, 2024.

^[23] Yaw Perbi. 2005. 15 Inspiring Young People. Volume 1. First Edition. Accra. Ghana: NEOpublishing, pg. 60.

^[24] Ibid.

^[25] Bernadino Koku Avle. Curriculum Vitae shared with the author on January 25, 2024.

^[26] Yaw Perbi. 2005. 15 Inspiring Young People. Volume 1. First Edition. Accra. Ghana: NEOpublishing, pg. 60.

^[27] Bernadino Koku Avle. Curriculum Vitae shared with the author on January 25, 2024.

^[28] “Citi FM launches #StopGalamseyNow campaign”. Citi 97.3 FM – Relevant Radio. Always. 2017-04-03. Retrieved February 16, 2024.

^[29] Allotey, Godwin Akweiteh (2016-11-26). “Citi Breakfast Show honoured at Ghana Mining Awards”. Ghana News. Retrieved February 16, 2024.

^[30] Bernadino Koku Avle. Curriculum Vitae shared with the author on January 25, 2024.

^[31] Abigail Arthur. #Relief4LowerVolta: Citi FM/Citi TV supports flood victims, organizes health screening in affected areas. www.citinewsroom.com. Last retrieved February 17, 2024.

^[32] Modern Ghana. Modern Ghana vignette of quotes. www.modernghana.com. Last retrieved February 16, 2024.

50 Inspiring Living Leaders

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INDRA NOOYI – The Business Leader and Strategic Thinker Who Transformed PepsiCo

“No business can ever truly succeed in a society that fails.” ― Indra Nooyi

INTRODUCTION

Indra Nooyi shattered the glass ceiling with her rise to become the first woman of colour and immigrant to run a Fortune 50 company.^[1] Her achievements at PepsiCo have marked her out as an outstanding strategist and leader. She spent twenty-four years at PepsiCo and is credited with growing the American multinational food and beverages company’s net revenue by more than eighty percent during her tenure as CEO. Her initiatives strengthened PepsiCo’s commitment to environment sustainability and improved the healthiness of its food offerings. In June 2023, Forbes estimated Nooyi’s net worth at $350 million.^[2]

Nooyi’s amazing journey from Madras in southern India to the zenith of the corporate world in the United States is one that inspires many.

GROWTH

Roots in India

Indira K. Nooyi was born on 28^th October 1955 in Madras (now called Chennai) in the south of India to a close and devout Hindu family. She has an elder sister and a younger brother. Indra describes her family as a ‘traditional family living in a multigenerational home’ and although they were not wealthy, they lived comfortably and had invaluable stability^[3]. Her family was ‘supremely focused on education’ and so were keen on educating the women in the family, something that was uncommon in mid-twentieth century India.

Her mother, Shantha, instilled in Indra and her elder sister, Chandrika, respect for their teachers, admonishing them to revere their teachers as ‘gods’. Indra recounts that often at the dinner table, Shantha “would ask us to write a speech about what we would do if we were president, chief minister, or prime minister – every day would be a different world leader she’d ask us to play”. ³

Indra had her secondary education at Holy Angels Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School, a few kilometres from her home and then proceeded to Madras Christian College (MCC) from where she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics in 1974. She played guitar in an all-girl rock band and was an avid cricket player too. After a tough admission process, Indra began an MBA at the Indian Institute of Management in Calcutta (IIM Calcutta) in August 1974. She was pushed towards IIM Calcutta partly by her sister, Chandrika, who having spent her days at Holy Angels and MCC with Indra did not want Indra following her to Indian Institute of Management – Ahmedabad (IIM Ahmedabad). “I need a break from you – don’t you dare apply to IIM Ahmedabad!” Chandrinka had warned Indra.³

After graduating from IIM Calcutta, Indra worked with Mettur Beardsell, a textile firm owned by a UK-based company, Tootal, and then subsequently with Johnson & Johnson’s Bombay (Mumbai) office. At Johnson & Johnson, she took on the difficult challenge of marketing Johnson and Johnson’s Stayfree brand of sanitary pads. This was particularly difficult in the late 1970s India when such a product was not advertised and many retailers were reluctant to stock them.^[4]

A Shade of Difference

When her sister, Chandrika, decided to leave Madras for IIM – Ahmedabad, their parents had been reluctant to allow an unmarried woman to travel that far for studies and were insistent on her marrying before leaving for college. Their mother had declared that she would fast until death if Chandrika was allowed to leave for Ahmedabad. Their grandfather’s intervention saved the situation. In many ways Chandrika was a trailblazer for Indra – her attendance of the distant IIM Ahmedabad paved the way for less resistance to Indra’s decision to attend IIM Calcutta. In August 1978, at age 23, Indra was leaving unmarried to study in a place thousands of miles away. This was not an easy decision as she recalls in the Financial Times January 2004 edition: “It was unheard of for a good, conservative, south Indian Brahmin girl to do this. It would make her an absolutely unmarriageable commodity after that.” ⁴

After reading an article titled ‘A Shade of Difference’ in the September 1976 edition of the Newsweek magazine, Indra felt the article was speaking to her. She wanted a life in global business – a different shade of what she was doing at that moment. The article was about Yale University’s new business school. In 1978, Indra gained admission to Yale School of Management in the United States to pursue a Master’s degree in Public and Private Management.

After graduating from Yale in 1980, Nooyi worked with the Boston Consulting Group for six years managing international corporate strategy projects.^[5] From 1986 to 1990, she worked with telecommunications company Motorola, serving as Vice-President and Director of Corporate Strategy and Planning. She subsequently worked for power and automations company, A SEA Brown Boveri, as Senior Vice President for Strategy and Strategic Marketing.

SUCCESS

Leading PepsiCo

Nooyi sees the fundamental role of leaders as looking for ways to shape the decades ahead and helping others accept the discomfort of disruptions to the status quo.³ She demonstrated this leadership at PepsiCo.

Her journey with PepsiCo began in March 1994 as Senior Vice-President of Corporate Strategy and Planning overseeing major restructurings during her first years. She played a major role in PepsiCo’s acquisition of Tropicana Products in July 1998 and its merger with Quaker Oats Company in 2001.^[6]

She rose through the ranks at PepsiCo serving as Senior Vice-President, Corporate Strategy and Development; Senior Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer; President and Chief Financial Officer; Member, Board of Directors, responsible for Corporate functions. Indra Nooyi was appointed President and CEO in August 2006 and Chairman in 2007.

To reposition PepsiCo for success in the decades ahead, Nooyi introduced her guiding strategy, Performance with Purpose (PwP). She introduced PwP to rethink PepsiCo to provide consumers with healthier products and to promote environmental sustainability.^[7] PwP was aimed at delivering excellent financial performance and three important goals: Nourish humanity and communities, Replenish the environment and Cherish the people at PepsiCo (Nourish. Replenish. Cherish.).

PwP tested the resolve of Nooyi as she faced resistance from some of the shareholders of PepsiCo but she remained resolute and it defined her leadership of PepsiCo. PwP influenced major decisions as well as minor decisions. For example, to show that she cherished the workers at PepsiCo, she wrote hundreds of personalised letters and notes over ten years to the parents of senior executives thanking them for raising their children well to become excellent workers at PepsiCo. She sent similar ‘Thank You’ notes to the spouses of her direct reports.

PwP influenced major decisions such as redirecting the company from junk foods to more healthier foods.^[8] PepsiCo reduced the sugar content in its products and also ended the use of trans fats. It introduced recyclable packaging and new processes to reduce water consumption.^[9] In 2012, PepsiCo won the Stockholm Industry Water Award for conserving nearly 16 billion litres of water in 2011.^[10]

Nooyi is renowned for her strategic thinking and is credited with growing the revenue of PepsiCo’s from $35 billion in 2006, when she became CEO, to $63.5 billion by 2017.^[11] The market capitalisation of PepsiCo rose by $57 billion dollars between 2006 and 2018, when she stepped down. She is also praised for mainstreaming design thinking at PepsiCo to drive innovation in the company^[12].

The many initiatives implemented by Nooyi at PepsiCo were hugely successful and the company continues to benefit from them years after her exit – she shaped the decades ahead. Her achievements have made her a celebrated business leader.

In an interview with Morgan Stanley in 2023, Nooyi advised business leaders that “You don’t inherit leadership. You earn the stripes to be a leader. Leaders have to inspire everyone in the organisation to follow them.”^[13] Indra earned the stripes with her achievements at PepsiCo and has a global following.

The Value of Family

Nooyi sees family as a powerful source of human strength and has often touted the family she created with her husband, Raj Nooyi, as her proudest achievement. Indra was introduced to Raj by an Indian friend and after a few weeks of dating, they decided to get married. After four decades of marriage, Raj and Nooyi still debate who broached the subject of marriage. Raj and Indra have two daughters, Preetha and Tara.

Before joining PepsiCo in 1994, Nooyi had in direct conversations with Jack Welch rejected job offers from GE (General Electric) because the offers were going to require her to move away from her family. She rejected an offer from the agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology giant, Monsanto, for the same reason. Nooyi chose to join PepsiCo in part because its headquarters was close to her home and it would take her fifteen minutes to drive to her home, and to her children’s school, from the office.

Indra in her autobiography – My Life in Full: Work, Family, and Our Future – recounts an occasion where her mother reminded her of the paramountcy of family and her role in it. She had just been informed of the decision to appoint her as President of PepsiCo and she drove home eager to tell her family. She was however met on arrival by her mother ordering her to go out and get milk. When upon her return she complained about her mother not being interested in hearing about her appointment as President of PepsiCo, her mother replied, “You may be the president or whatever of PepsiCo, but when you come home, you are a wife and a mother and a daughter. Nobody can take your place. So, you leave that crown in the garage.” ³

The importance of family and providing the right conditions for work-life balance underpinned many of the major decisions she took as CEO. It also drives her efforts to find solutions to the work-life conundrum. The family support structure – mother, uncles, aunts and in-laws – she had around her allowed her to work full-time. These family members supported with the care of her daughters.^[14]

SIGNIFICANCE

Achieving Work-Life Balance

As a trail blazer for women at the very top, Indra has been a strong advocate for the creation of the right work environment to promote women’s financial independence and security.^[15] She has been rallying businesses and governments to provide conditions that allow families to thrive.^[16] In her view, companies need to see child care and elder care as business issues.^[17] In order to create a healthy work-life balance, she has proposed a three-pronged approach focusing on paid leave, flexibility and predictability, and care.^[18]

She has campaigned for a minimum twelve weeks paid maternity leave for mothers (primary caregivers) and eight weeks paid paternity leave to be made available across the United States. She has been pushing for the extension of paid leave to workers caring for sick family members. Indra is a beneficiary of these paid leaves. In January 1983, she was granted a 6-month paid leave by the Boston Consulting Group to enable her return to India to care for her ailing father. She ended up taking only three months but credits the gesture as saving her career as she did not have to choose between family and career. In her own words, “In many ways, it’s only when you have experienced this benefit yourself that you can truly realise its critical importance.” ³

The second prong focuses on providing workers with work flexibility—including opportunities to work remotely—and predictability in work schedules, especially for shift workers.

The third prong concerns the provision of quality, safe and affordable care infrastructure for children and the elderly. Again, Indra exemplified this at PepsiCo by resisting scepticism to spend $2 million to retrofit a floor at PepsiCo’s headquarters into a childcare facility, PepStart.^[19]

Community Service

Since Nooyi’s retirement from PepsiCo‘s board in 2019, she has been focusing her efforts and attention on community service. For her it is no longer about “achieving anything. It’s about giving back—as so much was given to me—to my community, the state, the country.” ¹

In 2019, Nooyi was appointed co-director of Connecticut Economic Resource Centre to help improve the state’s economic development strategy. Nooyi and fellow Yale graduate Dr. Albert Ko were chosen to represent Connecticut on a six-state body in the U.S. tasked with designing a plan for the easing of Covid-19 restrictions.^[20] In 2021, Indra and her husband Raj Nooyi donated $3 million dollars to Yale School of Public Health (YSPH) to establish the Raj and Indra Nooyi Professor of Public Health to help position YSPH as an international leader in public health science.^[21] She has made several donations to Yale and is one of her alma mater’s largest alumni donors.

She was the co-chair of AdvanceCT, a Connecticut based non-profit organisation, from 2019 to 2021.^[22] She joined the board of Amazon in 2019.^[23] Nooyi also joined the Board of the International Cricket Council as its first independent female director in June 2018.^[24]

Recognition and Awards

Indra Nooyi has received numerous awards and recognitions over the years. She was elected to the Fellowship of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2008^[25] and was elected chairperson of the U.S. – India Business Council in January 2008. In 2009, she was named CEO of the Year by the Global Supply Chain Leaders Group and was named every year from 2008 to 2017 on Forbes’ list of The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women.^[26] She was winner of Academy of International Business (AIB)’s The International Executive of the Year award in 2016.^[27] In 2021, she was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in the U.S.^[28] In 2019, Indra was honoured with a portrait at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery.^[29]

She has received honorary doctorate degrees from many universities including her alma mater (Yale University),^[30] New York University ^[31], Duke University ^[32] and University of Warwick ^[33].

CONCLUSION

Indra Nooyi’s journey to the pinnacle of corporate America and her accomplishments at the top is one of the most remarkable stories about overcoming challenges with hard work and determination, no matter one’s origins. It is one that motivates many to strive for success in work and family life. When Nooyi stepped down as CEO of PepsiCo in 2018, after 24 years, she shared with staff some of the lessons that had guided her throughout her career. These lessons are worth repeating and are summarised below:^[34]

Always have a clear, compelling vision for what you want to accomplish
Focus on the short-term and the long-term
Bring people along with you
Be a good listener
Be a lifelong student
Think hard about time–make the most of your days.

[1] https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-on-books/author-talks-indra-nooyi-on-leadership-life-and-crafting-a-better-future retrieved 29th January 2024

[2] https://www.forbes.com/profile/indra-nooyi/?sh=66b9d4be5d6f retrieved 29th January 2024

[3] Nooyi, Indra. My Life in Full: Work, Family, and Our Future. New York, Penguin, 2021

[4] Encyclopedia of World Biography “Indra Nooyi Biography’’ https://www.notablebiographies.com/newsmakers2/2004-Ko-Pr/Nooyi-Indra.html retrieved 29th January 2024

[5] https://www.weforum.org/people/indra-nooyi/ retrieved 29th January 2024

[6] Tempest Lynsey “ How Indra Nooyi changed the face of PepsiCo” World Finance https://www.worldfinance.com/special-reports/how-indra-nooyi-changed-the-face-of-pepsico retrieved 30th January 2024

[7] https://www.bcg.com/publications/2010/indra-nooyi-performance-purpose retrieved 29th January 2024

[8] Novak, David (September 12, 2018). “Follow Indra Nooyi’s example: Be a leader people want to follow”. www.cnbc.com. Retrieved January 30, 2024.

[9] https://insights.som.yale.edu/insights/departing-pepsico-ceo-indra-nooyi-did-it-her-way retrieved 29th January 2024

[10] https://siwi.org/latest/pepsico-receives-the-2012-stockholm-industry-water-award/ retrieved 30th January 2024

[11] https://www.ismworld.org/events/conferences-and-events/annual-conference/indra-nooyi/ retrieved 29th January 2024

[12] https://hbr.org/2015/09/how-indra-nooyi-turned-design-thinking-into-strategy retrieved 29th January 2024

[13] https://www.morganstanley.com/articles/indra-nooyi-next-generation-leaders retrieved 29th January 2024

[14] Burke, Louise. “How I made $290 million while raising two children” The Telegraph 3^rd October 2021

[15] Indra Nooyi: The Indian executive who broke the glass ceiling in corporate America”. The Economic Times. August 7, 2018

[16] https://www.rolandberger.com/en/Insights/Publications/Indra-Nooyi-on-having-a-career-and-a-family.html retrieved 29th January 2024

[17] https://www.fuqua.duke.edu/duke-fuqua-insights/indra-nooyi-former-pepsico-ceo-says-families-should-be-central-designing-future retrieved 30th January 2024

[18] https://www.marketplace.org/2021/09/28/former-pepsico-ceo-indra-nooyi-on-the-work-and-family-conundrum/ retrieved 30th January 2024

[19] https://graziadaily.co.uk/life/in-the-news/ex-pepsi-ceo-indra-nooyi-childcare/ retrieved 30th January 2024

[20] https://ctmirror.org/2020/04/13/cuomo-says-ne-governors-to-cautiously-ease-covid-19-restrictions/ retrieved 30th January 2024

[21] https://ysph.yale.edu/about-school-of-public-health/charitable-opportunities/donors-make-a-difference/the-raj-and-indra-nooyi-professor-of-public-health/ retrieved 30th January 2024

[22] https://www.hartfordbusiness.com/article/nooyi-smith-stepping-down-as-co-chairs-of-advancect-successors-named retrieved 30th January 2024

[23] https://ir.aboutamazon.com/officers-and-directors/person-details/default.aspx?ItemId=e5f7858e-89c5-4615-9236-295b354ef354 retrieved 30th January 2024

[24] https://highereducationplus.com/indira-nooyi-to-be-the-first-female-director-of-icc/ retrieved on 30th January 2024

[25] https://www.amacad.org/person/indra-nooyi retrieved 28th January 2024

[26] https://www.forbes.com/profile/indra-nooyi/?sh=45e404ce5d6f retrieved on 30th January 2024

[27] “International Executive of the Year Award”. Academy of International Business (AIB). Retrieved 30^th January 2024

[28] https://www.womenofthehall.org/inductee/indra-nooyi-2/ retrieved 31^st January 2024

[29] https://npg.si.edu/object/npg_NPG.2019.4 retrieved 31st January 2024

[30] https://som.yale.edu/news/2019/05/indra-nooyi-80-presented-with-honorary-doctorate-at-yale-commencement retrieved on 30th January 2024

[31] https://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2008/may/indra_krishnamurthy_nooyi.html retrieved on 28th January 2024

[32] https://today.duke.edu/2009/01/honorary.html retrieved on 30th January 2024

[33] https://warwick.ac.uk/newsandevents/pressreleases/olympics_weirdstones_pepsi/ retrieved on 28th January 2024

[34] https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/10/parting-words-as-i-step-down-as-ceo/ retrieved on 30th January 2024

50 Inspiring Living Leaders

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JOYCE R. ARYEE – A Nation’s Aunt.

After about five decades of public service and private sector leadership, it is intriguing to find a wide social spectrum—from those young enough to be her grandchildren to those old enough to be her parents—all call her “Auntie Joyce.” Everybody’s aunt. Here may be why.

INTRODUCTION

Long before ‘women in leadership’ was a global mantra and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) became a do or die affair, there was Joyce Aryee. Auntie Joyce. Having blazed the trail for women in leadership in the first and last twenty years of the twenty-first and twentieth centuries respectively as a public servant and politician, business and executive leader and minister of the gospel, Rev. Dr. Joyce R. Aryee has earned herself a distinguished place in the African leadership hall of fame, with a global afterglow.

GROWTH

Joyce Rosalind Arye was born on 27 March, 1946 to a Fante mother from Elmina and a Ga father hailing from Anorhor in the Ghanaian capital region of Greater Accra. As the second of four children (two girls and two boys), little Joyce was raised in Ghana’s second largest city, Kumasi. In the suburb of North Suntreso where she grew up with her middle class family, Joyce would begin her early years of education at the Methodist Primary and Methodist Middle schools in the area. Joyce lost her father early—when she was barely seven years old—thus “as a single parent, her mum had to go through hell in bringing her and her siblings.”^[1] Her educationist mum desperately desired to endow all her children with quality education and so she had to complement her salary with baking and trading her sizzling handiworks in order to make sure that her children successfully went through school.^[2]

Soon, Ms. Aryee the tween would relocate to Accra, Ghana’s capital, to attend the prestigious Achimota School (founded as the Prince of Wales College in 1927), all seven years of secondary school, from Form One till graduation from Upper Six, with her A-Level certificate. Her life, from then onwards, would be largely an Accraian kind as she proceeded to the University of Ghana, barely 5km away in northeasterly direction, graduating in 1969 with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in English.^[3]

Auntie Joyce also wields a Post-graduate Certificate in Public Administration from GIMPA, the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration. GIMPA was set up to offer training for Civil and Public Servants in Public Administration and Management hence its name. Dr. Joyce Aryee recalls, “It was a compulsory three months training in Public Administration for a Public Servant. Civil Servants (those working in the Ministries) received a Post-graduate Diploma; they were required to do a six-month training.”^[4]

SUCCESS

A String of Female Firsts and Fellowships

Madam Aryee is the Republic of Ghana’s first ever female Minister of Information in its approximately sixty-seven-year history—and there’ve been only three such females so far—with her serving the longest as well, by far. Joyce is also the first ever female CEO of a Chamber of Mines in Ghana and even across Africa. She has a strand of Fellowships adorning her Curriculum Vitae like a well-strung necklace: FIPR (Fellow of the Institute of Public Relations), FGIM (Fellow of the Ghana Institute of Marketing), FGHIE (Fellow of the Ghana Institute of Engineers, March 2010), FCIA (Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Financial and Investment Analysts, September 2011), Fellow of the Graduate School of Governance and Leadership (October 2011) and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Supply Chain Management (April 2021).

Political Office and Public Service

“Joyce Aryee” was a household name in Ghana in the 1980s when I was growing up in bustling Accra, Ghana. While nearly everyone was antsy during the heady days of the military revolution in Ghana, “Auntie Joyce” was a sight for sore eyes and dare I say a somewhat calming balm amidst a sea of macho military men and braggadocious cadres of the bloody 1981 Revolution that brought Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings to power. Rumours were rife about a supposed amorous relationship between Joyce and the thirty-something military leader of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) military junta but she kept her eye on the road, pursuing her tasks. For a dozen years she was an appointee in the PNDC government. The PNDC was the Ghanaian military government after the elected People’s National Party government was overthrown by Jerry Rawlings, the former head of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council, in a coup d’état on 31 December 1981. He remained in power for a dozen years—with Joyce Aryee serving alongside all those years-–until 7 January 1993, after which he metamorphosed into a civilian to run the country as a two-term president for another eight years.

As quadruple Minister of State (called “Secretary” back then, like the United States still does today), Ms. Aryee was Minister of Information (1982-1985), Minister of Education (1985-1987), Minister of Local Government (1987-1988) and Minister of Democracy, a non-cabinet ministerial role at the National Commission for Democracy. The latter role meant she was front and centre in the democratisation process that restored multiparty democracy in Ghana, a midwife of Ghana’s Fourth Republic. From 1993 to 2001 Joyce Aryee was a Member of the National Defence Council.^[5]

With the Ministry of Information being the principal organ responsible for the dissemination of Government’s development communication, Joyce’s role was to facilitate free flow of adequate, timely and reliable information and feedback between the government and the public for socioeconomic empowerment and enhanced democratic citizenship.^[6] At the time, that PNDC portfolio was designated “Secretary of Information.”^[7]

Joyce prides herself that in support of human capital and national development she was formulating and coordinating education policies, setting standards and monitoring and evaluating their implementation to ensure accessible quality education for all Ghanaians as Minister of Education during that volatile period of Ghana’s history where the education of the ordinary Ghanaian young person could have easily gone awry.

Ms. Aryee’s public service did not start with the politics of the military government, for prior to her appointment she had been Public Relations Officer (PRO) of both the Ghana Standards Board and the Environmental Protection Council. She had also been an Education Officer with the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board and Test Development and Research Officer (TEDRO) with the West African Examinations Council in the 1970s as well. At the time she was co opted into the PNDC military government she was at the Ghana Standards Board.

Business and Executive Leadership

Joyce Aryee led the Ghana Chamber of Mines for a decade (2001-2011) as Chief Executive Officer, managing a process of “integrating social responsibility and dialogue with Government to promote sustainable mining for national development.”^[8] The Chamber is the main minerals industry association in Ghana “representing the collective interest of companies involved in mineral exploration, production and processing in Ghana.”^[9] With that wealth of experience under her belt, Madam Aryee founded a leadership, management and communication consultancy and training outfit christened after her household name: Joyce Aryee Consult (JAC). JAC has consulted for mining companies including Keegan Resources and Pelangio Explorations.

The years of corporate leadership experience and public leadership experience, coupled with her education at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), has made her a governance attraction for many companies, local and foreign. She has served on umpteen boards including those of AEL Mining Services, International Cyanide Management Institute (ICMI), Stanbic Bank, Volta River Authority, Central University (as Pro Chancellor), Databank Ark Fund (Chair), Global Media Alliance (Chair), Newmont Gold Ghana and Newmont Golden Ridge Limited (Chair), The Roman Ridge School (Chair, Academic Board), Global Records Management Ltd. (Chair), L’ainee Services Ltd and Apex Health Limited.

Clergy and Ministry

Madam Joyce Aryee is the Founder and current Executive Director of Salt and Light Ministries, a ‘parachurch’ organisation established to raise disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ to be effective, fruitful and practical Christians.^[10] The objectives of Rev. Aryee’s Salt and Light Ministries are to motivate, inspire and encourage people to live effective and productive Christian lives, to assist Christians to discern God’s purpose and will for them and their generations, to aid Christians to discover, nurture and apply their spiritual gifts to everyday situations, to provide Biblical counselling, to raise and train people to be disciples of Jesus Christ in order to fulfil the Great Commission^[11] and, not surprisingly as a successful Christian in the marketplace herself, to motivate and inspire Christians to proactively bring Biblical principles and values to bear on social, political and economic activities.^[12]

Dr. Aryee is regularly on air and online with words of wisdom and scriptural admonitions for all who have ears to hear. She is “passionate about the Arts and serves as Executive Chairperson of Harmonious Chorale and patron to many other choirs.”^[13]

Family Hiccups

About the only thing Auntie Joyce has had to try more than once and still not hit gold is marriage. Joyce has been married twice; firstly to a medical doctor with whom she lived in Germany for a season and had a now-43-year-old son^[14] and secondly to her childhood neighbour Dr Charles Wereko-Brobby.^[15] Auntie Joyce is a biological grandmother of three.^[16]

Cathedral Controversy

Being the celebrated colossus of a leader with a proven track record spanning half a century and with the rare ability to successfully straddle being a politician and a pulpiter, it is no wonder the current President of the Republic of Ghana appointed her to the Council to execute his vision for a National Cathedral that has become embroiled in controversy. Rev. Dr. Joyce Aryee has been defending the project to the hilt,^[17] a situation that some of her admirers are understandably concerned might soil her legacy if sophisticated prudence is not brought to bear. This author, a keen advocate for authentic leadership and principal at PELÉ, is one of such admirers.^[18]

SIGNIFICANCE

Awards and Honours

The Nation’s Aunt has a truckload of awards recognizing not just her personal success but her societal significance, making her arguably the most decorated female leader in Ghana’s history. Madam Aryee is a recipient of the second highest national award in Ghana known as the Companion of the Order of the Volta (CV) conferred by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Ghana in 2006^[19] for her service to the nation in the public and private sectors. She has been named on the list of 100 Global Inspirational Women in Mining in the world.^[20]

Achimota School, her alma mater, named their seventeenth dormitory ‘Rev. Dr. Joyce R. Aryee House’ after her, in honour of her selfless service to the nation as well as her commitment and contribution to her former secondary school. Such dormitory naming, ranging from prominent leaders like the school’s triune co-founders (Governor Gordon Guggisberg, Dr. Kwegyir Aggrey and Rev. A.G. Fraser) to significant missionaries like David Livingston and Mary Slessor, is a “tradition of the school authorities to name dormitories after the sons and daughters of the school who [have] excelled in their fields of endeavour and had contributed immensely to the country.”^[21]

She is the recipient of several awards including the African Female Business Leader of the Year (2000) by the African Leadership Centre for Economic and Leadership Development and the CIMG Marketing Woman of the Year 2007. Auntie Joyce was honoured in the mining and public service category at the maiden edition of the Women in Excellence Awards in 2011. The American Biographical Institute (ABI) nominated her as the “2011 Woman of the Year.” Again, she won an award as the Public Relations Personality of the Year 2014 by the Institute of Public Relations Ghana. She also received the Inspirational Woman Award at the Ghana UK Based Achievement (GUBA) Awards 2015 for creating change, paving the way for women as well as being the first female to head an African Chamber of Mines.

Even as a near-octogenarian, like the Proverbs 31 woman, her good works still follow her. His Royal Majesty Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Life Patron of the Millennium Excellence Foundation, conferred upon Auntie Joyce, the “Millennium Prize for Leadership and Contribution to National Development” in recognition of her meritorious work in the areas of Motivation and Outstanding Clergy Policies in Ghana (July 2021). That same year, she was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Ghana CEO Awards. She is an Honorary Council Member of the Ghana Association of Restructuring and Insolvency Advisors.^[22] Even her love for music has not gone unrewarded. Over a decade ago she received the Honorary Award of the Year( 2012) at the Adom FM Ghana Gospel Industry Awards (GGIA) (2nd Edition).^[23]

Honorary Doctorates

Dr. Joyce Aryee wields two honorary doctorates, a Doctor of Communication Arts degree from the Central University (Honoris Causa, May 2021) to recognise her contributions in the area of communication and leadership and the other from the University of Mines and Technology (July 2009) in recognition of her immense contributions to the growth of the mining industry.

Substantial Humanitarian Boards

Apart from corporate boards, Dr. Aryee has provided deep wisdom from her gracious heart to bolster the governance of significant nonprofits like the George Benneh Foundation, Finatrade Foundation, Energy Foundation, Compassion International, Prisons Ministry of Ghana, Bible Society of Ghana (Chairman and President), The HuD Group (I’ve seen her in action there for myself), and Harmonious Chorale, a multiple award-winning non-denominational choral organisation she founded to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ through chorale music. Auntie Joyce loves chorale music and it was always electrifying to see her interactions with my late grandfather, Emeritus Prof. J.H. Kwabena Nketia. In fact, Harmonious Chorale, in 2016, staged a whole night’s performance on the celebrated Ghanaian ethnomusicologist’s compositions for voice and instruments.

Growing Other Leaders

Auntie Joyce does not just stand tall like one huge Baobab tree towering over everyone else and sucking in all the air in the room. In both her personal and professional capacities, in formal, semi-formal and informal ways, she has been raising cohort after cohort of leaders for the private and public sector alike. Being a Fellow of the African Leadership Initiative (ALI) myself, I’ve personally encountered her as a Senior Mentor of ALI, a leadership formation programme birthed to develop the next generation of values-based and community-minded leaders of Africa to transition from success to significance. Beginning from Ghana and Nigeria in West Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda in East Africa and in Southern Africa, Mozambique and South Africa, ALI is part of the Aspen Global Leadership Network (AGLN). Rev. Aryee has “resourced several leadership and skills development programmes, both locally and internationally.”^[24]

Written Words and Said Speeches

Joyce Aryee co-authored the book The Transformed Mind with Samuel Koranteng-Pipim in 2012. They describe it as a “ provocative and inspiring volume” which speaks to issues facing Africa by Africans. “The stage is set,” the introduction audaciously declares, “The world is our audience, Africa our aisle, and Ghana our pulpit. We speak as citizens of a world to come. And we’re passionate about the issues we address, in the hope that you will be challenged to change your world.”^[25] A sought-after and most eloquent public speaker, Rev. Dr. Joyce Aryee addressing a graduating class at the Ghana Technology University College (GTUC) once said, “Great leaders care about the well-being of those in their charge. They do not use people simply as a means to an end. They genuinely want others to develop to their full potential.”^[26] She lives this out, that’s why she’s everybody’s “Auntie Joyce.”

Mama Mining

No single female leader has influenced the mining industry in Ghana, and perhaps in Africa, like Auntie Joyce. She is “passionate about sustainable mining and has advocated strongly for responsible mining for sustainable development. She has delivered several papers in sustainable mining in various mining conferences across the globe.”^[27] In 2022, she was appointed by the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources of the Ghanaian government as chairperson of a five-member committee to oversee the management of funds in support of victims of the Appiatse explosion.^[28] Dr. Joyce Aryee is also the First Patron Extraordinaire of AMN, Accra Mining Network, the largest amorphous extractive industry professional organisation in the world.^[29] She has also participated in several mining conferences in South Africa and Canada, and as a guest speaker at the “Women in Mining Conference” in Australia.^[30] Joyce is widely, very widely, travelled.

PELÉ

“Great leaders are needed now than ever in all sectors of the economy,”^[31] Dr. Joyce Aryee believes, and one of the ways she does this is to serve as a consultant in general leadership development at PELÉ where authentic and customised relationships and resources are offered to C-level executives to grow personally, succeed professionally, and become significant societally.

CONCLUSION

Whether as Minister of the Government or Minister of the Gospel, the doubly-doctored Rev. Dr. Joyce Aryee has distinguished herself, serving God and Ghana for nearly half-a-century in both the public domain and the private sector. A nation’s aunt, who was a voice of reason in Ghana’s military government days and midwifed the birth of the Fourth Republic of Ghana, it is no wonder that from those young enough to be her grandchildren to those old enough to be her parents, all call her “Auntie Joyce,” really a sign of endearment. She’s everybody’s aunt, all the people she’s served or have only heard of her—from politics to the pulpit—for nearly 50 years. Hail the colossus of women in leadership par excellence, by all standards. Give Auntie Joyce her due.

^[1] “Dr. Joyce Rosalind Aryee – First CEO of Ghana Chamber of Mines – Today Newspaper”. Ghana Today. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 15 January, 2024.

^[2] Ibid.

^[3] Attah-Mensah, Samuel. “Footprints on Citi TV with Dr. Joyce Aryee”. Citi Tube. Citi Tube. Last retrieved 17 January, 2024.

^[4] Personal correspondence between Rev. Dr. Joyce Aryee and the author, Dr. Yaw Perbi, via WhatsApp on 23 January, 2024.

^[5] Christensen, Martin K.I. (31 May 2010). “Ghana Ministers”. Worldwide Guide to Women in Leadership. Martin K. I. Christensen. Last retrieved 23 January, 2024.

^[6] Joyce R. Aryee. (2024). Profile: Rev. Dr. Joyce Rosalind Aryee. Sent to the author by Joyce Aryee on 18 January 2024. Last retrieved on 23 January, 2024.

^[7] Eribo, Festus & William Jong-Ebot, Press Freedom and Communication in Africa, 1997, p. 20.

^[8] Joyce R. Aryee, Joyce R. (2024). Profile: Rev. Dr. Joyce Rosalind Aryee. Sent to the author by Joyce Aryee on 18 January 2024. Last retrieved on 23 January, 2024.

^[9] Ibid.

^[10] Salt & Light Ministries. About Us. https://saltandlightministriesgh.org/about-us/ Last retrieved 23 January, 2024.

^[11] Matthew 28:18-20

^[12] Ibid.

^[13] Aryee, Joyce R. (2024). Profile: Rev. Dr. Joyce Rosalind Aryee. Sent to the author by Joyce Aryee on 18 January 2024. Last retrieved on 23 January, 2024.

^[14] “Dr. Joyce Rosalind Aryee – First CEO of Ghana Chamber of Mines – Today Newspaper”. Ghana Today. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Last retrieved 23 January, 2024.

^[15] Sackitey, Gideon. Personalities | Dr. Charles Wereko-Brobby. Ghanadot. Retrieved 23 January, 2024.

^[16] Personal correspondence between Rev. Dr. Joyce Aryee and the author, Dr. Yaw Perbi, via WhatsApp on 24 January, 2024.

^[17] Anim-Appau, Felix (October 2023). National Cathedral; Project not stalled, keep contributing towards completion – Joyce Aryee urges public. Onua Online. Retrieved 23 January, 2024.

^[18] Boakye, Edna Agnes (21 January, 2023). Halt National Cathedral project and audit expenditure – Dr. Perbi to gov’t. Citi News Room. Retrieved 23 January, 2024.

^[19] Ghana Web. Ghana Famous People | Politics | Joyce Aryee. Last retrieved 23 January, 2024.

^[20] Aryee, Joyce R. (2024). Profile: Rev. Dr. Joyce Rosalind Aryee. Sent to the author by Joyce Aryee on 18 January 2024. Last retrieved on 23 January, 2024.

^[21] Boateng, Dennis Agyei. “Achimota School names girls’ dormitory after Rev. Joyce Aryee – Graphic Online | Ghana News”. Graphic Online. Retrieved 23 January 2024.

^[22] “Governing Council”. GARIA. Retrieved 23 January 2024.

^[23] MyJoyOnline (24 June 2012). Selina Boateng wins Artiste of the Year at Ghana Gospel Industry Awards”. MyJoyOnline. Retrieved 24 January, 2024.

^[24] Aryee, Joyce R. (2024). Profile: Rev. Dr. Joyce Rosalind Aryee. Sent to the author by Joyce Aryee on 18 January 2024. Last retrieved on 23 January, 2024.

^[25] Koranteng-Pipim, Samuel & Joyce R. Aryee (2012). The Transformed Mind. Eagle Online Books. Amazon.

^[26] Ghana News Agency. 28 July, 2014. “Great leaders don’t use people as a means to an end.” Citionline. Last retrieved on January 21, 2024.

^[27] Aryee, Joyce R. (2024). Profile: Rev. Dr. Joyce Rosalind Aryee. Sent to the author by Joyce Aryee on 18 January 2024.Last retrieved on 23 January, 2024.

^[28] Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources. June 28, 2022. “Government Launches Apiate Support Fund.” MLNR. Last retrieved 23 January, 2024.

^[29] Accra Mining Network (AMN), Since 2015 (27 July 2015). “Joyce Aryee, AMN Patron Extraordinaire”. Accra Mining. Retrieved 23 January, 2024.

^[30] “Dr. Joyce Rosalind Aryee – First CEO of Ghana Chamber of Mines – Today Newspaper”. Ghana Today. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Last retrieved 23 January, 2024.

^[31] Ghana News Agency (28 July, 2014). “Great leaders don’t use people as a means to an end.” Citionline. Last retrieved on January 21, 2024.

50 Inspiring Living Leaders

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Dr. Yaw Perbi17 January 2024Biographical Business Case Studies Growth Leader Development Leadership Leadership--Character Leadership, Potential Leading Legacy Management Mastermind Mentoring Ministry National Development News Organizational Dynamics

STRIVE MASIYIWA – Strife. Success. Significance.

The stirring story of an affluent, all-round African who began the burgeoning of Black British billionaires. From a southern African refugee status to a global tech giant stature, Strive Masiyiwa’s life story is loaded with life lessons.

INTRODUCTION

Strive Masiyiwa is a household name in the world of Information Communication Technology (ICT) on every continent of the world. Zimbabwe-born and London-based, the nearly-63-year-old African billionaire businessman and philanthropist worth 1.9 billion USD (2024)^[1], a little ahead of Apple’s Tim Cook in the same industry,^[2] has caught our eye at PELÉ for several reasons. Our interest has been in how well he straddles the worlds of leadership and entrepreneurship, politics and philanthropy, family and faith. Strive is the Founder and Executive Chairman of Econet Group, the international technology conglomerate comprising Econet Wireless Global and Cassava Technologies.

GROWTH

Early Years

Born to entrepreneurial parents on January 29, 1961 in then Rhodesia, later to become Zimbabwe post-independence, Strive Masiyiwa’s family left the country after the government of Prime Minister Ian Smith‘s Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom.^[3] Their refugee family settled in a copper mines area in Zambia where Strive would attend primary school. By the age of 12, his parents could afford to invest in European education and sent him off to a private school in Edinburgh, Scotland as an international student.

Politics

In the wake of finishing high school in Scotland, in 1978, Master Masiyiwa returned to Africa to join the freedom fighters. However, “One of the senior officers told me,” he recalls, “’Look, we’re about to win anyway, and what we really need is people like you to help rebuild the country.'”^[4] With that he returned to Britain to study engineering, and would later lead “a new African revolution–in telecommunications.”^[5]

Strive would finally graduate from the University of Wales in 1983 with a degree in electrical engineering. After a stint in the computer industry in England he returned to Zimbabwe the next year hoping to aid the post universal franchise elections country recover from the Rhodesian Bush War.^[6]

Entrepreneurship

When Masiyiwa returned home to Zimbabwe after a 17-year hiatus, he initially worked briefly as a telecoms engineer for the state-owned telephone company before quitting to start up his own electrical engineering business using his monthly salary savings and a Barclays bank loan.

Later he would grow large in his entrepreneurial expedition and diversify into telecoms, with the emergence of mobile cellular telephony, eventually establishing Econet Wireless after much strife with the Zimbabwean government which initially refused to give him a licence to operate. That was a five-year legal battle (1993-1998) which went all the way to the highest court of the land and reportedly took him to the brink of bankruptcy. Strive’s strife was against a crippling cocktail of corruption and cronyism. In the end, his victory was not for himself alone, for it led to the removal of the state monopoly in telecommunications, and is regarded as one of the key milestones in opening the African telecommunications sector to private capital.^[7]

Dual Blessing of Southern and South Africa

In 2000 Masiyiwa left Zimbabwe with his family to go to South Africa for a season. “Part of the reason it would be unwise for him to return is almost certainly linked with a decision he took that same year to make a personal loan to the owners of Zimbabwe’s three independent newspapers, including the Daily News, which was later shut down by Mugabe’s regime.”^[8] While this was his second refuge in his native southern African region—having been once a refugee in Zambia as a young lad—Masiyiwa maintains that the real reason he moved to South Africa was to realise his dream of creating a truly multinational African business.^[9] Hear him: “This is the space we have been trying to fill, to pioneer the development of African companies that have a global outlook. South Africa was the only place where there was an outlook about building businesses that go to other countries.”^[10]

SUCCESS

Continental Leadership

Strive Masiyiwa’s company’s first cell phone subscriber was connected to the new network in 1998,^[11] the same year in which he listed Econet Wireless Zimbabwe on the local stock exchange as a gesture of thanks to reward the thousands of ordinary people who supported him during his long legal battles against the Zimbabwean government.^[12]

Today, Econet Wireless Zimbabwe has gone on to become a major business that dominates the Zimbabwean economy. Fifteen years into operation, in 2013, the Zimbabwe Investment Authority (ZIA) awarded Econet Wireless Zimbabwe with a Lifetime Award in the ICT sector, in recognition of the investment the company had made into the country. The said investment included a $1.2 billion injection, certainly responsible for the business outcome of rapidly moving Zimbabwe from low penetration levels of below 15% in 2009 to one of the fastest growing telecoms markets in the world with a penetration rate of almost 100%.^[13]

At the turn of the millennium, sub-Saharan Africa had just one phone line for every 70 people, in contrast to almost one per person in the U.S. and Europe.^[14] In just six years, between 1996 and 2002, Africa jumped from 2 million to 35 million mobile connections.^[15] Today, the number of smartphone subscriptions in sub-Saharan Africa is over 415 million and is expected to reach 689 million by 2028.^[16] Strive has been part of the leadership that has made the continent leapfrog the ‘landlines’ stage in development, with Africa even leading the world today in cell phone innovations in fintech like mobile money (MPESA in Kenya and MoMo in Ghana). Talk of vision, at the start of Econet when Strive had proposed a joint venture and reached out to the national telecoms company, his former employers, the cataractic bosses were adamant and categorically stated that there was no call for mobile telephones in Zimbabwe.^[17]

Global Impact

Econet Wireless International, Econet Global, Mascom Wireless Botswana, Econet Wireless Nigeria (now Airtel Nigeria), Econet Satellite Services, Lesotho Telecom, Econet Wireless Burundi, Rwanda Telecom, Econet Wireless South Africa, Solarway, and Transaction Processing Systems (TPS) are all key Strive Masiyiwa businesses established with partners. Mr. Masiyiwa’s operations and investments run across Africa and the United Kingdom, Europe, US, Latin America, and New Zealand, United Arab Emirates, and China.^[18]

Strive Masiyiwa’s entrepreneurial and leadership success has had its financial payoffs, even on a personal level. For instance, he owns two adjacent apartments atop the 29-storey Eldorado Tower at 300 Central Park in New York City, bought for US$24.5 million in 2016.^[19] On 7 July 2022, Masiyiwa became the first black billionaire to enter the Sunday Times Rich List with a net worth of £1.6 billion.^[20]

As a brand that values integrity, we cannot help but reproduce one of our favourite Masiyiwa quotes on the issue: “Integrity is better capital than money. You can accumulate it just like money, and you can use it just like money, but it goes further, and is enduring.”^[21] A related Masiyiwa quote is: “If we tackle corruption, no child would sleep hungry, there would be no injustice, every child would be in school. The most powerful force against corruption is one person saying “no”.” You may find these, along with eight other powerful quotes of his, in a brief Forbes article.

Family

If indeed “true success is when those who know you the best, love you the most” (John Maxwell) then Strive is successful on that count. Strive is married to a queen of philanthropy, Tsitsi, with whom he has six biological children: Elizabeth, Sarah, Vimbai, Moses (the only male), Joanna and Esther. Their oldest is now thirty-two. The family resides in London, England.

SIGNIFICANCE

At PELÉ, we are convinced that individual success must lead to societal significance. Well, the man once picked by Time magazine as one of its 15 “global influentials” has been mentioned in the same breadth as greats like Nelson Mandela and Kofi Annan, both of the African soil with global impact.

Philanthropy

Strive runs a non-profit organisation, Higherlife foundation, together with his wife, Tsitsi Masiyiwa. The Zimbabwean billionaire couple’s NGO empowers vulnerable children through education and creates opportunities for highly talented young people. They run one of the largest support programmes for feeding and educating orphans on the continent through this family foundation.^[22] As part of the The Giving Pledge, a commitment to philanthropy by the world’s wealthiest individuals, it appears Masiyiwa “spends nearly as much time and money giving back as he does growing Econet Wireless.”^[23]

As a down-to-earth man of the people for the people, Masiyiwa still maintains a public Facebook page through which he primarily mentors budding African entrepreneurs and all who have ears to hear what he has to say about success in life, leadership, integrity, family, faith and entrepreneurship. This page currently has 5.7 million followers.

Boards

Masiyiwa’s international appointments and board memberships over the years, both for profit and non-profit, include: Unilever (board member), Netflix (board member), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (trustee),^[24] the National Geographic Society (trustee), Bank of America (Global Advisory Council), UN Commission on Adaptation (former Commissioner), Generation Africa (co-founder), Pathways for Prosperity Commission on Technology and Inclusive Development (co-chair), The Rockefeller Foundation (former board member),^[25] and the US Council on Foreign Relations (former Global Advisory Board 2012-2023).

Mr. Strive Masiyiwa has also served the Asia Society (former board member), Stanford University (Global Advisory Board), the Africa Progress Panel, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (chair, now Chair Emeritus), The Micronutrient Initiative of Canada (former board member), Grow Africa, the African Union‘s Ebola Fund (co-founder), Morehouse College (former Trustee), the African Academy of Sciences (Honorary Fellow) and the Pan African Strategic Institute. A couple of years ago, Strive was involved in helping to organise the Global Africa Business Initiative launched in New York in 2022. He is the only African member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum‘s Committee on Conscience. Masiyiwa has also served on a couple of UN Advisory Panels.

Faith

Masiyiwa is a practising Christian.^[26] It was during the five-year legal strife with his home government that when his wife invited him to church he would realise that “I did not know Him [Jesus Christ]; I only knew of Him.” That moment changed everything for Strive. He borrowed a second-hand Bible, and read the entire book in two weeks, committing his life (and business) fully to Christ.^[27] “Christianity is a value system that calls on me to be compassionate, it calls on me to help the weak,” he says. “I generate a lot of money for me and my shareholders and people who have been associated with me, but that cannot be an end in itself.”^[28]

Strive is the co-founder of the Capernaum Trust, a Christian charity that sponsors the education of over 28,000 Zimbabwean orphans, and co-founded with Sir Richard Branson the environmental group the Carbon War Room. As noted above Mr. Masiyiwa sits on countless boards, from Grow Africa to organisations leading the charge against evils like HIV/AIDS, Ebola and genocide. He joined forces with Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, to tackle the 2014 Ebola epidemic in West Africa, raising $35 million to stem the tide and bolster the economies of affected countries.^[29]

CONCLUSION

Strive Masiyiwa has striven and succeeded, by all standards, be it in entrepreneurship, leadership, politics, philanthropy, family or faith. Britain’s first Black billionaire is a blessed Prince of Africa, for just like the Semitic patriarch who wrestled with a mysterious man until daybreak when he was eventually blessed by the divine, in prophetically naming him ‘Strive’ his Zimbabwean parents must have had a hunch that he too will strive with God and with humans, and win.^[30] He has. Hands down.

^[1] https://www.forbes.com/billionaires/

^[2] https://www.forbes.com/billionaires/

^[3] Out of Zimbabwe, a telecoms boss means serious business in Africa”. The Guardian. 30 July 2009. Retrieved January 11, 2023.

^[4] Robinson, Simon (2 December 2002). “Strive Masiyiwa: Founder of Econet Wireless”. Time.

^[5] Ibid.

^[6] Arlidge, John. “How Strive Masiyiwa became Britain’s first black billionaire”. Retrieved January 11, 2023.

^[7] Out of Zimbabwe, a telecoms boss means serious business in Africa”. The Guardian. 30 July 2009. Retrieved January 11, 2023.

^[8] Out of Zimbabwe, a telecoms boss means serious business in Africa”. The Guardian. 30 July 2009. Retrieved January 11, 2023.

^[9] Ibid.

^[10] Ibid.

^[11] Robinson, Simon (2 December 2002). “Strive Masiyiwa: Founder of Econet Wireless”. Time.

^[12] https://nehandaradio.com/2014/06/16/story-masiyiwa-story-raised-money-part-3/ (from Strive’s own blog). Retrieved January 11, 2023.

^[13] https://www.techzim.co.zw/2013/11/investment-zimbabwe-earns-econet-wireless-zia-lifetime-award/

^[14] Robinson, Simon (2 December 2002). “Strive Masiyiwa: Founder of Econet Wireless”. Time.

^[15] Ibid.

^[16] Taylor, Petroc (18 July, 2023). Smartphone subscriptions in Sub-Saharan Africa 2011-2028. Statista.

^[17] The Economist. (8 October, 1998). Judgment Day. This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the same headline. Last retrieved January 15, 2024.

^[18] Leach, Anna (18 August 2014). “Zimbabwe’s Econet Wireless and the making of Africa’s first cashless society”. The Guardian.

^[19] Ojekunle, Aderemi (1 April 2019). “A peek into the life and business empire of Strive Masiyiwa, Zimbabwe’s first billionaire”. Pulse Nigeria. Retrieved January 15, 2024.

^[20] Watts, Robert. “Strive Masiyiwa: the first black billionaire to make the Rich List. This is his story”. The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved January 15, 2024.

^[21] Nsehe, Mfonobong. (Jul 6, 2014). “10 Inspirational Quotes From Zimbabwe’s Richest Man, Strive Masiyiwa.” Forbes. Last retrieved January 16, 2024.

^[22] Ojekunle, Aderemi. (4 January, 2019). A peek into the life and business empire of Strive Masiyiwa, Zimbabwe’s first billionaire. Pulse Nigeria.

^[23] https://www.arrowleadership.org/blog/general-leadership/the-faith-of-strive-masiyiwa/ Last retrieved January 15, 2024

^[24] Kulish, Nicholas (26 January 2022). “Three New Faces to Help Steer the Gates Foundation”. The New York Times. Retrieved January 15, 2024.

^[25] “Rockefeller Foundation Board of Trustees-Strive-Masiyiwa”. Retrieved January 15, 2024.

^[26] https://www.arrowleadership.org/blog/general-leadership/the-faith-of-strive-masiyiwa/ Last retrieved January 15, 2024

^[27] Ibid

^[28] https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2009/jul/30/strive-masiwiya-zimbabwe-telecoms

^[29] Ojekunle, Aderemi. (4 January, 2019). A peek into the life and business empire of Strive Masiyiwa, Zimbabwe’s first billionaire. Pulse Nigeria.

^[30] The Holy Bible. Genesis 32:27-28

50 Inspiring Living Leaders

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Leading with Courage 1: Dealing with Difficult Discussions.

All is set for a life-saving operation. On the surgical table lies a man whose continued living depends on the amputation of a diabetic foot that is giving the rest of his body hell. The renowned surgeon dashes in, marks a leg, drapes it quickly and begins to swab it, disinfecting the operating area for action. Then a sudden realization hits his scrub nurse like a thunderbolt. That is not the limb to be amputated. Would she have the courage to bring up this crucial conversation for a timely intervention? No. She remains silent. The wrong leg is amputated.

At the invitation of The Association of International Certification Schools (ASICS) in Ghana, PELÉ delivered a Masterclass on Leading with Courage: Navigating Difficult Discussions. This was at the Airport View Hotel in Accra. This is the second time engaging this body of leaders–founders, proprietors and C-level executives–of private schools that run either the Cambridge or International Baccalaureate programmes. At their Revive annual retreat in the Volta Region last year, the PELÉ team delivered a two-hour workshop on Leading with Self-Awareness, which included sharing an analysis of the DISC personality assessment of each of the ASICS council members and the potential areas of synergy as well as conflict as a team.

Scenarios

Dealing with difficult discussions could produce humorous scenarios like the banter between two of the richest people on the planet, Mike Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, that just might end up in an entertaining duel. It will be a sight for sore eyes should they actually, eventually, get into that much-talked about cage fight. However, not navigating difficult discussions well (or at all) could end up in sheer disastrous situations, like the surgeon (above) who amputated the wrong leg just because his scrub nurse couldn’t bring herself to raising that ‘crucial conversation’ when she noticed the wrong leg was being marked and swabbed for surgery. The anticipated pain we fear and so keep silent turns out better than the actual disaster that occurs because of our silence. Yes, often there is no pain per se beyond the little discomfort; but even when there is, it is better than we thought. Much better. How many organizations are disastrously amputating wrong legs because the right mouths won’t speak?

Difficult discussions or ‘crucial conversations’ may range from high-level, multilateral Israeli-Palestinian issues to simpler organizational ones like delayed projects and presiding over a poor performance review to as personal as employee body odour or bad breath.

Hard Questions about Hard Situations
Since “thinking begins when you ask really difficult questions” (Slavoj Zizek), let’s ask a few Lencioni ones (from The Motive):

1. Do you organize “team-building” activities for your team that are fun but that largely ignore uncomfortable conversations about their collective behaviours?

2. Would you rather learn to live with a person’s difficult behaviours than endure an awkward, potentially emotional discussion with them?

3. Do you find yourself venting about your direct reports’ or other stakeholders’ behavioural issues rather than talking with them directly?

4. Do you find yourself saying about potential uncomfortable conversations, “I don’t have time for that” or “I can’t waste my energy on this”?

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of the above four questions, you are a candidate for the Dealing with Difficult Discussions workshop.

One of Five Things C-level leaders Suck at

In his no holds barred book, The Motive, Patrick Lencioni observes that reward-centered leaders find the following five responsibilities tedious, uncomfortable, plain hard: 1. Developing the Leadership Team, 2. Managing Subordinates (and making them manage theirs), 3. Having Difficult and Uncomfortable Conversations 4. Running Great Meetings 5. Communicating Constantly and Repetitively to Employees. Smack in the middle of the junk pile is abdicating dealing with difficult discussions.

So, while these ASICS leaders are already prone to shirking their responsibility to navigate uncomfortable and difficult conversations just by virtue of being C-level leaders too, the ones who are African have the odds stacked against them even more as “high-context nations prefer the avoiding and obliging conflict styles more than low-context nations” (Croucher et al, 2012).

What to do
So what leaders need is a mindset shift as well as a new skillset. The saving paradigm is this: “Effective team-building always involves emotional and uncomfortable conversations” (Lencioni). Every leader worth their salt knows ‘it comes with the territory’ and the response-able thing to do is to deal with it response-ably. There is no true success in life or leadership without having to deal with difficult discussions. Navigating difficult discussions has more to do with YOU than the issue(s) or the other person(s) involved: one’s motives (for leadership), personality style (assessable via the DISC) and values. This is why whenever we can, we would rather run the Leading with Self-Awareness masterclass or workshop first, since these are only three of eighteen factors we bring to the fore that leaders must be self-aware of.

Ín terms of skills, the new skillset involves a couple of tools. One of the tools to practice is known as Climbing the Ladder of Integrity. In our 150-minute workshops, we invest at least half-an-hour of practicing this skill and getting feedback. Not so much for confronting someone per se, but for first getting clear within yourself.

Concluding with Courage
Leading with courage, really, is leading with heart (don’t forget ‘heart’ is cœur). With this courage, which is not the absence of fear but the taking of action forward in spite of it. In the words of former U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt, “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear. Progress.” Remember the anticipated pain we fear and so keep silent? Even the Madiba, Nelson Mandela, confesses: “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” May we too, like him, learn this and lead with heart–courage, character, compassion, competence–navigating ‘crucial conversations’ and difficult discussions.

PELÉ’s vision is a global ecosystem of authentic leaders characterized by healthy growth, holistic success and lasting significance. Consequently, we are on a mission to offer authentic and customized relationships and resources to C-level executives to grow personally–including dealing with difficult discussions–to succeed professionally, and become significant societally.

REFERENCES
Patrick Lencioni (2020): The Motive: Why So Many Leaders Abdicate Their Most Important Responsibilities. The Table Group.

Stephen M. Croucher, Ann Bruno, Paul McGrath, Caroline Adams, Cassandra McGahan, Angela Suits & Ashleigh Huckins (2012): ‘Conflict Styles and High–Low Context Cultures: A Cross-Cultural Extension,’ Communication Research Reports, 29:1, 64-73. Link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08824096.2011.640093

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Dr. Yaw Perbi29 September 2023Biographical Business Case Studies Conference Entrepreneurship Growth Leader Development Leadership Science & Technology Significance Success Trendy Tribute

Meet Motivational Marcus Buckingham, Master of Strengths

British best-selling book-writer and arguably “the world’s most prominent researcher on strengths, leadership and high-performance at work,” Marcus Wilfrid Buckingham, is a remarkable individual. If you’ve ever heard of Strengthsfinder, or better still, taken the phenomenal assessment, behold the co-genius behind it! Renowned for his outstanding contributions to the world of work and the fields of technology, innovation, and philanthropy, Buckingham is a global researcher and New York Times best-selling author focused on unlocking strengths, increasing performance, and pioneering the future of how people work. He is the author of two of the best-selling business books of all time, First, Break All the Rules (1999), and Now, Discover Your Strengths (2001), and his tenth book, Love + Work (Harvard Business Review Press, 2022) is a Wall Street Journal bestseller and has been heralded by Forbes as one of the ten must-reads for career and leadership. Marcus’ 2019 Harvard Business Review (HBR) cover article, “The Feedback Fallacy,” was selected by HBR as one of the most influential articles of the last 100 years, and Marcus’ strengths assessments have been taken by over 10 million people worldwide.

Born 1966 in Buckinghamshire in Britain, Marcus displayed an innate curiosity and passion for technology from a young age. After completing his formal education at Cambridge in computer science, Marcus co-founded a startup in the late 1990s that revolutionized the way people interacted with online content. The company’s groundbreaking platform garnered widespread attention and accolades, propelling Marcus into the limelight as a visionary tech entrepreneur. Throughout his career, Marcus remained at the forefront of technological advancements, leading numerous successful ventures and launching groundbreaking products that transformed industries. His dedication to innovation and his ability to anticipate market trends earned him a reputation as one of the foremost technology pioneers of his time.

Beyond his professional accomplishments, Marcus Buckingham has always been deeply committed to making a positive impact on society. He is renowned for his philanthropic efforts, actively supporting various causes related to education, healthcare, and environmental sustainability. Marcus firmly believes in using his wealth and influence to drive positive change and has donated generously to charities and initiatives around the globe. In addition to his philanthropy, Marcus has been an advocate for promoting diversity and inclusivity within the tech industry.

In addition to the self-published short film series Trombone Player Wanted, Buckingham has made numerous television appearances on US television networks and cable channels including The View on ABC, I Want to Work for Diddy on VH1, The Oprah Winfrey Show on syndication, Good Morning America on ABC and The Jane Pauley Show. Marcus Wilfrid Buckingham the English research-based motivational speaker and business consultant is based in California, USA.

BUCKINGHAM LIVE AT MAXWELL’S LIVE2LEAD ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2023

Marcus Buckingham speaks at this year’s annual Live2Lead Ghana, a brainchild of Dr. John C. Maxwell. As Perbi Executive Leadership Education (PELE), we have been privileged to host Live2Lead on both sides of the Atlantic, in Montreal, Canada as well as in Accra, Ghana. We are absolutely convinced that leadership is taught; not just caught. Join John and the stellar faculty he’s put together for this year’s Live2Lead conference and up your leadership game.

This year, together with our partners in Ghana, we’ve chosen the theme, “Leading for Legacy.” Here’s a taste of Marcus Buckingham’s take on legacy: “Your strongest life is built through a continuous practice of designing moment by moment.” Legacy doesn’t just happen; it’s by intentional, intelligent design. Come and find out how, in-person at the Ecobank Ghana Headquarters in Accra, or online, wherever in the world you might be!

October 6 is Leader Day this year. Register now through this link. Impress upon your organization to join the Leadership Emphasis Day/Leader Day movement that will transform society by becoming a Patron of Live2Lead. A Patron company or individual is one that sends at least 10 leaders to Live2Lead. Together we can change our world for the better! Yes, we can!

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Dr. Yaw Perbi22 September 2023Biographical Case Studies Conference Integrity Leader Development Leadership Leading Legacy Management News Politics Public Leadership Science & Technology Significance Success Trendy Tribute

The Father of Open Heart Surgery Opens His Heart at Live2Lead 2023

Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng is an astute German-trained Ghanaian cardiothoracic surgeon and founder of the National Cardiothoracic Centre whose recent foray into Ghanaian politics nearly marred his otherwise stellar legacy. He is also the Founder and President of the Ghana Heart Foundation, erstwhile Chief Executive Officer of Ghana’s premier teaching hospital (the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, in Accra) and immediate past Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation for the Republic of Ghana (2017-2021). He has been a Fellow of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences since December 2002.

A STRING OF FIRSTS
The best leaders lead from the power of their life stories, positive and otherwise. Even before Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng would be born, his father Kofi Frimpong died from chest/heart injuries sustained from a road traffic accident. Kwabena was barely four months from birth. It comes as no surprise then that although his first love was engineering, due to his affinity for physics and mathematics while he attended Sekondi College in the Western Region of Ghana, he later would later go the doctor route at university. As if destiny was calling, after the University of Ghana Medical School and housemanship, he was offered a scholarship to study general, cardiothoracic and vascular surgery in Germany. As Frimpong-Boateng figured he could help people with heart situations like his late father, he took the opportunity to sharpen his craft and deepen his calling at the Hannover Medical University in Hannover.

So forty years ago, in 1983, Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng and his team of professors did their first heart transplant on a human being and then performed his first transplant as the lead surgeon in October 1985. This made him the first Black doctor to perform a heart transplant, earning him the nickname the “Black Pearl.”

At the time, he was recognized worldwide for this feat and as if that was not enough, in November 1988, three years later, he struck another first: the first heart-lung transplantation in Hannover. After finishing his post-graduate studies, despite being in very high demand in Europe, he chose to return to the land of his birth to practise as Ghana’s first locally based cardiothoracic surgeon. Frimpong-Boateng performed the first open-heart surgery in Ghana using the heart-lung-machine.

Even away from the hospital, as a farmer Frimpong-Boateng established the first ostrich farm in Ghana, in the village of Dedukope, in the Volta Region of Ghana.

SPEAKING OF LEGACY

Translating his personal success into societal significance, in 1989 he set up the National Cardiothoracic Centre at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital and was commissioned in 1992. There were no cardiothoracic surgery facilities in the country at the time and this was really avant garde for a country still struggling with primary health care issues such as mosquito-bourne Malaria and childhood vaccinations. Today, people head to the centre from all over the continent for cardiothoracic attention and is now recognised by the West African College of Surgeons to train heart surgeons, cardiologists, cardiac anaesthetists, operating room nurses, intensive care nurses, cardiac technicians, and other cardiothoracic technicians. As a practicing Christian, he has said that his work on the foundation of the National Cardiothoracic Centre was God’s purpose in his life.

One of the greatest way to pass on legacy is by teaching others. Frimpong-Boateng joined the University of Ghana Medical School as a lecturer in 2000 and was promoted associate professor the same year. He was made a full professor in 2002. He also served as the head of the Department of Surgery at the University of Ghana Medical School, prior to his appointment as the Chief Executive of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in 2002. The Ghana Heart Foundation, which he also founded, raises funds to pay for heart surgery for some indigent Ghanaians who cannot afford the cost of such specialized surgery.

Again, he has done well, in terms of passing on legacy, by authoring a couple of biographical books, Deep Down my Heart: A History of Cardiothoracic Surgery in Ghana and Taming the Monster, a treatise on managing Ghana’s behemothic premier teaching hospital.

In March 2006, Prof. Frimpong-Boateng unsuccessfully sought nomination as the candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for the December 2008 national presidential elections. Regardless of his results, he declared he was still concerned with political issues in relation to education and health problems and would later become a Minister of State. Yet he regrets that political corruption in Ghana is too much and opines that politicians are not taking social priorities into account, especially the need for technology. His foray into the deep and often turbulent waters of politics, especially as chairman of the inter-ministerial committee on illegal mining in the country, nearly marred his enviable legacy of pioneering and impactful lifework. In a recent interview with the Africa Watch magazine, he boldly declared, “Impunity rules in Ghana.”

The erudite professor has had several local and international awards over the last four decades, including two honorary doctorates. Frimpong-Boateng and his wife, Agnes, have five children, some of whom are doctors also.

PROF. FRIMPONG-BOATENG AT JOHN MAXWELL’S LIVE2LEAD ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2023

The good professor speaks at this year’s annual live2lead Ghana, a brainchild of Dr. John C. Maxwell. As Perbi Executive Leadership Education (PELE), we have been privileged to host Live2Lead on both sides of the Atlantic, in Montreal, Canada as well as in Accra, Ghana. We are absolutely convinced that leadership is taught; not just caught. Join John and the stellar faculty he’s put together for this year’s Live2Lead conference and up your leadership game.

This year, together with our partners in Ghana, we’ve chosen the theme, “Leading for Legacy.” Speaking of legacy, in the said interview with the Africa Watch magazine, Prof. Frimpong-Boateng said, “Life is not all about fame and money, but more importantly, what one can do to help others.” He also recently wrote An Open Letter to Anybody Who Wants to be President of Ghana in 2025. Among other things, words that bordered along legacy were the following: “…the success of true leadership is measured by what extent the people can be mobilized to lead independent lives: to feed, shelter, clothe, heal, and defend themselves, and also produce tools, implements, spare parts and machines they require for daily living, so that if for one reason or the other ships and airplanes are unable to access the country the citizens can stand on their own and survive.” Come and find out how to truly lead successfully, in-person at the Ecobank Ghana Headquarters in Accra, or online, wherever in the world you might be!

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Dr. Yaw Perbi20 September 2023Case Studies Education History Leadership National Development Politics Public Leadership Science & Technology Significance Success Trendy

Open Letter to Anybody Who Wants to be President of Ghana in January 2025 by Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng

Ghana has not done as well as it should have done since President Kwame Nkrumah was unconstitutionally ousted from office through a military coup by the National Liberation Council on February 24, 1966. Ghana has had three other interruptions of governments. The present 4th Republic, dominated by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has not brought the transformational change that will put the country on path of sustainable development and prosperity for its people.

I dare say that the fight ahead of Ghana is greater than the fight for political independence and its people cannot be won with leaders who lack the zeal, commitment, conviction to confront their own demons and other forces and headwinds that are against the development of the country.

It is always said that one cannot re-invent the wheel and I believe in that old adage. I present here examples of what happened elsewhere on this planet not too long ago. I personally believe that the country can make progress when we get leaders who exhibit the qualities in the examples that follow.

The first example of transformational leadership is from Singapore. When the government of Lee Kuan Yew took office in 1959 it set out to have a clean administration. The Prime Minister said that “we were sickened by the greed, corruption, and decadence of many Asian leaders” and “We had the deep sense of mission to establish a clean and effective government”. This was a solid commitment from the newly elected Prime Minister. With determination and a credible program committed to scientific and technological development, Lee Kuan Yew and his team were able to live up to their good intentions and Singapore, which in 1819 was a village with 120 fishermen without natural resources and hinterland, propelled itself from third world squalor to first world affluence in just 35 years. This was commitment and a sense of mission personified.

The second example is from China. The economic development taking place in China is the result of an initiative taken by four scientists. On the 3rd of March 1986, four of China’s top weapons scientists: WANG Daheng, WANG Ganchang, YANG Jiachi, and CHEN Fangyun, jointly sent a private letter to Deng Xiaoping, the leader of the country, with a warning that decades of relentless
focus on militarization had crippled the country’s civilian scientific establishment. They recommended that China must join the world’s “new technological revolution,” or it would be left behind. They called for an élite project devoted to technology ranging from biotech to space research. Mr. Deng Xiaoping agreed, and scribbled on the letter, “Action must be taken on this now.” This was China’s “Sputnik moment,” and the project was code-named the 863 Program, for the year and month of its birth. In the years that followed, the government pumped billions of dollars into labs and universities and enterprises, on projects ranging from cloning to underwater robots. The program initially focused on seven key technological fields: Biotechnology, Space technology, Information technology, Laser technology, Automation, Energy, and Advanced Material Sciences.

Two more fields were brought under the umbrella of the program: Telecommunications (1992) and Marine Technology (1996).

In 2006, Chinese leaders redoubled their commitment to new energy technology; they boosted funding for research and set targets for installing wind turbines, solar panels, hydroelectric dams, and other renewable sources of energy that were higher than goals in the United States. China doubled its wind-power capacity that year, and then doubled it again the next year, and the year
after. The country had virtually no solar industry in 2003; five years later, it was manufacturing more solar cells than any other country, winning customers from foreign companies that had invented the technology in the first place.

Korea transformed itself from a stagnant agrarian society into one of the most dynamic industrial economies of the world within 40 years. In the early 1960s when Korea first launched its industrialization efforts, it was a typical poor developing country with poor resources and production base and small domestic market. Korea’s Gross National Product (GNP) in 1961 was only $ 2.3 billion (in 1980 prices) or $87 per capita which came mainly from the primary sectors. The manufacturing sector’s share of GNP remained at a mere 15%. International trade was also at a very infant stage: in 1961, Korea’s export volume was only $55 million and imports $390 million. As late as 1970, the three top exports were textiles, plywood, and wigs. South Korea now has established world prominence in such technology areas as semi-conductors, Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), telecommunication equipment, automobiles, shipbuilding, and many more. Indeed, it has emerged as one of the key international players in the global economy and is considered the 13th largest economy and one of the major trading countries of the world.

The last example is from the United States of America. When the 56 signatories of the Declaration of American Independence met in the State House of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia on the 4th of July 1776 to append their signatures to the famous document on declaration of America’s Independence this is what they said: “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor”.

The signers of American Declaration of Independence, twenty-three lawyers, fifteen merchants, five plantation owners, four physicians, three scientists, two land speculators, one farmer, one military man, one lawyer/musician and one Minister, showed tremendous courage and bravery by willingly putting their names on that document. They knew full well that they were committing treason against England and they knew the penalty was death. Their commitment to the United States of America led to the creation of what is still the richest and most powerful country in the world. Ghana has not yet seen the type of closed, united, committed, focused, and dedicated leadership that is ready to sacrifice for future generations of Ghanaians. We have not had leaders who see beyond the next elections and plan for future generations. If a few leaders of this country, relying on the protection of divine providence, would mutually pledge their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor for the development of Ghana, there would be a palpable change within 2 years. May be there is no sacred honor or fortune to pledge on.

The political corruption that is gradually gaining root in Ghana is very disturbing. When it comes to choosing leaders to run the political parties and the nation it is no more a question of looking for selfless and competent individuals who have what it takes to move the nation forward. It is more of who is loyal to powerful individuals who want their interests to be served after the power
is won.

I expect anyone who wants to lead this country to tell the nation now how things are going to be done differently so that young people would begin to have hope and stake in this country.

Our leaders have devalued themselves to the extent that they think only foreigners can help us out of our misery. How can someone tell us that he is waiting for a loan from some other countries before roads, schools and other infrastructural projects can be executed?

Our leaders seem to know it all and can develop this country without Ghanaians. After all they do not need Ghanaians to travel around looking for loans, grants, and handouts. They do not need Ghanaians to build the infrastructural projects. As it is, those who give out the loans also provide the highly qualified and skillful workers from their country to get the work done.

Our leaders’ understanding of development seem to be only the provision of infrastructure. No country ever developed by borrowing to build infrastructure. ‘Something’ else must be built on the infrastructure. That something is the true development.

As far as I am concerned the many roads, interchanges, schools, hospitals, wells, electricity, and other infrastructural projects, erroneously called development projects, do not alone determine the success of a Government. Rather the success of true leadership is measured by what extent the people can be mobilized to lead independent lives: to feed, shelter, clothe, heal, and defend themselves, and also produce tools, implements, spare parts and machines they require for daily living, so that if for one reason or the other ships and airplanes are unable to access the country the citizens can stand on their own and survive.

We need attitudinal change. We should realize that the overall development of the nation, including the economic, social, cultural, and technological development is the responsibility of the Ghanaian. Mr. Future President, the men, and women to solve the myriads of problems facing us are here at home and in the diaspora. They have to be found and encouraged to perform. The task of political
leadership is to unearth the actors needed to transform the nation. If we say we have the men, let us use the men and not the boys.

We should exorcise the ‘beggar mentality’ from our lives and accept that our poverty is self-inflicted and it is absolutely unnecessary.

We pride ourselves as having been endowed with abundant natural resources. That is true but it is also important to know that natural resources have no natural owners. The real owners are those that have the technology, skills, and the financial power to exploit those resources. They are the ones that take 90% of the mineral and other resources and leave a mere 10% for the host country.

It really beats my understanding that our leaders do not seem to realize that the real difference between the developed countries of America, Europe, Asia and the Far East and the underdeveloped countries of Africa lies in their technological capability. This capability has been defined as the extent to which countries access, utilize, and create science and technology for the solution of socio – economic problems. Technology has the track record of solving developmental problems. Our modern world is driven by technology. Energy, agriculture, medicine and health, clean air and water, transportation, sanitation, management, utilization, and conservation of natural resources — all are based ultimately in science and technology. So, it is obvious that to be a part of that world, there must be science and technology elements in the development process.

Despite efforts to alleviate poverty, Ghana still exhibits chronic inability to alleviate poverty. Poverty alleviation means, for many people, being able to afford nutritious food, access to clean water and sanitation, energy, safe shelter, education, and a healthy environment. Since science and technology have a historical record in providing solutions to poverty problems, any efforts to alleviate poverty will not succeed without innovations in food production, water, energy, and health provision and in general economic growth. We must understand that Science, Engineering and Technology will give us the capacity to manufacture machines, develop processes and materials and exploit our abundant natural resources for national development. If we do not develop the capacity to manufacture machines that will work for us, we should as well forget about any dream of developing the Nation. No country ever developed without the capacity to manufacture machines. If we characterize Ghana as an agricultural nation, we do so by default because we cannot do anything else. We will continue to run the Adam and Eve, Cain, and Abel economy: planting yams and rearing animals. We have not advanced to Noah’s economy. He built a sophisticated ship that saved humanity and other forms of life. About 2200 years ago, the Chinese built the over 6300km Great Wall of China, without any assistance from the World Bank but we in the 21st Century have closed our minds to technology and need assistance to construct everything, including toilets. We need to constantly remind ourselves that the POVERTY GAP is a TECHNOLOGY GAP.

Again, our development should be driven by our ability to understand, interpret, select, adapt, use, transmit, diffuse, produce, and commercialize scientific and technological knowledge in ways appropriate to our culture, aspirations, and level of development.

Ghana needs a new brand of leadership. It is unacceptable that about 80% of inputs into agriculture, education and health are from foreign sources. It is a shame that a major thrust of our economic policy is to try as much as we can to attract foreign investors. Good as foreign investments are we just cannot sit down and think that without confronting our problems ourselves we can still be prosperous.

To my mind Ghana is unable to attract significant Foreign Direct Investments (FDI). Any country that does not take the development of her human capital seriously finds is difficult to attract Foreign Direct Investments (FDI). The high-income developed countries with well-developed human capital are not only the major source of direct investment, but they are also the major recipients. China and the United States of America are the major recipients of FDIs in the world.

There is ample evidence that multinationals are more active primarily between similar, high-income countries and that outward direct investment in particular is associated with skilled-labor abundance. Even when a multinational decides to invest in a developing country with low human capital base the type of investment is the vertical one in which the production process is geographically fragmented by stages, the capital-intensive intermediates being produced in the home country of the multinational and the labor-intensive stage produced in the host country. This is in contrast to the horizontal investments in which the multinational carries on basically the same activity in the host country as at home, for example, German investors producing the same cars in the United States of America as they do in Germany. This type of investment is almost non-existent in Ghana.

Finally Mr. Future President, I believe that the greatest asset of a nation is the trust and confidence of its people. This should, however, not be taken for granted. Leadership must also fight for this great asset by working hard with even-handedness for the people in all honesty. This asset has been and still is being squandered through misgovernment and corruption to the extent that leaders are not trusted and citizens do not see that they have a stake in their country and its future.

Most Ghanaians do not see any virtue in working for the future of their country. Our leaders have not been able to invoke in the citizens the spirit of nation building. Mr. Future President how are you going to rectify this situation?

God bless our homeland Ghana and make our nation great and strong.

A PELE Note

Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng is an astute German-trained Ghanaian cardiothoracic surgeon and founder of the National Cardiothoracic Centre whose recent foray into Ghanaian politics nearly marred his otherwise stellar legacy. This Open Letter was written by the good professor on 31st August, 2023. Perbi Executive Leadership Education (PELE) contacted him for his original typed up version on September 20, 2023 to republish here in toto, unedited whatsoever. He is scheduled to speak in-person at the John Maxwell Live2Lead Conference in Ghana on Friday October 6, dubbed Leader Day.

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Behold Kendra Scott–Builder of a Billion Dollar Legacy from a $500 Budget!

Kendra Scott (born March 27, 1974) is an American fashion designer, founder,former CEO, executive chairwoman, and philanthropist. Kendra Scott, née Baumgartner, started her company (named after her) in 2002, just three months after her first son was born, with only $500. Going door-to-door to Austin, Texas, boutiques armed only with a tea box full of her jewelry, Kendra captivated businesses and customers with her vibrant personality and unique eye for design. Known for her dynamic use of color and genuine materials, Kendra’s commitment to innovation, quality and detail has brought her from a small start-up to a billion-dollar business and has won over loyal fans, media and celebrities alike.

With over 2,000 employees, Kendra Scott boasts of a thriving web business and over 100 standalone stores and has expanded beyond fashion jewelry into the categories of fine jewelry, home decor, and beauty. Today, her company continues to operate out of Austin, TX, with their state-of-the-art corporate office complete with design lab and an industry-leading distribution center both catering to her employees’ career goals and family-life balance.

With Family and Fashion as two core pillars of her business, Kendra maintains a focus on her other core pillar of Philanthropy in all she does. Since 2010, the company has given back over $40 million to local, national and international causes. In 2018 alone, the company gave over $5 million in monetary donations, almost $10 million in in-kind donations, over 2,000 volunteer hours to philanthropic organizations, and partnered with more than 8,000 philanthropic organizations nationwide.

Kendra has been awarded with the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2017 National Award; the Breakthrough Award from the Accessories Council Excellence Awards; named Outstanding Mother of the Year by the Mother’s Day Council; awarded Texas Businesswoman of the Year by the Women’s Chamber of Commerce; listed by Forbes as one of America’s Richest Self-Made Women; Top 100 Entrepreneurs of the Year by Upstart Business Journal; Best CEO by Austin Business Journal; and Honorary Celebrity Chair for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Texas. She is a member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America and maintains her position as Executive Chairwoman of the Board of Kendra Scott, LLC, the 1-billion-dollar company she founded and was CEO of until she passed on the baton. In 2019, Madam Scott became only the 12th woman in her state to be inducted into the 40-year old Texas Business Hall of Fame. Kendra has a 2022 book entitled, “Born to Shine: do good, find your joy, and build a life you love.”

KENDRA SCOTT AT JOHN MAXWELL’S LIVE2LEAD ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2023

Kendra Scott speaks at this year’s annual live2lead Ghana, a brainchild of Dr. John C. Maxwell. As Perbi Executive Leadership Education (PELE), we have been privileged to host it on both sides of the Atlantic, in Montreal, Canada as well as in Accra, Ghana. We are absolutely convinced that leadership is taught; not just caught. Join John and the stellar faculty he’s put together for this year’s Live2Lead conference and up your leadership game.

This year, together with our partners in Ghana, we’ve chosen the theme, “Leading for Legacy.” Here’s Kendra’s take: “Focus on what lights a fire inside of you and use that passion to fill a white space. Don’t be afraid of the challenges, the missteps, and the setbacks along the way. What matters is that you keep going.” Come and find out how, in-person at the Ecobank Ghana Headquarters in Accra or online, wherever in the world you might be!

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