AKINWUMI ADESINA – Fostering, Feeding & Financing the Africa We Want
INTRODUCTION
The Nigerian economist Dr. Akinwumi “Akin” Adesina had barely cut his teeth in his new role as President of the African Development Bank (ADB) when he was named among the Top 100 most influential Africans in 2015.[1] And for good reason. This former Nigerian Minister of State and C-suite leader par excellence is often described as “Africa’s Optimist-in-Chief”. The now two-term ADB Group President (elected 2015 and 2020) is a visionary and passionate speerheader of Africa’s transformation into a prosperous, green and hi-tech continent.
AGENDA 2063 is Africa’s blueprint and master plan for transforming Africa into the global powerhouse of the future.[2] It is the continent’s strategic framework that aims to “deliver on its goal for inclusive and sustainable development and is a concrete manifestation of the pan-African drive for unity, self-determination, freedom, progress and collective prosperity pursued under Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance.”[3] If that is Africa’s agenda for its 2063 mission, then Akinwumi Adesina is the man at the forefront, fostering, feeding and financing it.
GROWTH
He was born to an Ibadan farmer in the southwestern Nigeria state of Oyo on 6th of February, 1960.[4] This child was given the powerful name “Akinwumi” which means “Bringer of pleasure, delight.” And that he would prophetically accomplish, from delighting his village school teachers to thrilling technocrats in the global halls of power.
All About Agric
‘A’ for Akinwumi. ‘A’ for Adesina. ‘A’ for Agriculture! From being born as the son of a tiller of the soil to studying Agricultural Economics at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels all the way to serving as Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and holding senior positions in agricultural bodies around the world, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina’s life has all been about agric.
From his village primary school, he also attended Baptist High School Ejigbo, Osun State,[5] excelling enough to gain a much-eyed place at the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) where he earned First Class Honors in his B.Sc. Agricultural Economics degree in 1981. And that was a first. Akin was the pioneer student to be awarded this distinction by the university,[6] in its then 21-year history.[7] Then the wonderful opportunity came to take full advantage of global education as an African international student in the United States of America’s midwest.
Thus, Akin pursued further studies at Purdue University, Indiana and briefly returned to Nigeria, in 1984, to get married.[8] The year after, he obtained his Master’s in Agricultural Economics [9] and bagged a Ph.D. in the same field in 1988, also from Purdue, where he won the outstanding Ph.D. thesis for his research work.[10] Dr Adesina won the prestigious Rockefeller Foundation Social Science Fellowship in 1988,[11] which launched him into his illustrious international career. He worked at the Rockefeller Foundation since winning the fellowship from the foundation as a senior scientist.
Idiosyncrasies
Akin is the bowtie man. There is hardly a public photo of him without his characteristic jacket and bowtie. Legend has it that his professor of Development Economics and Vice-Chancellor of his Nigerian alma mater during his undergraduate days, Prof Ojetunji Aboyade, “was always seen, moving from one class to the other, teaching, in his impeccable suit and bow tie”[12] and that “Akin must have, probably, borrowed his dress sense from Ojetunji Aboyade.”[13]
SUCCESS
Converting Books to Boots
There is an African saying of the Akan people of Ghana that translated says, “the real game of life is played on the ground.” And for Agriculture in particular, there’s no other way to play the game but on the ground. So having researched and theorised, how would the distinguished pursuits in the Ivory Tower roll out on the field? Dr. Adesina held senior leadership positions in some of the foremost agricultural institutions and bodies in the world.[14]
He was Principal Economist and Coordinator of the West Africa Rice Economics Task Force at the West Africa Rice Development Association (WARDA) in Bouaké, Côte d’Ivoire, from 1990 to 1995.[15] Dr. Adesina was also Assistant Principal Economist at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics. Then he took up the reins as Principal Economist and Social Science Coordinator for the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (1995-1998). Akin was Associate Director (Food Security) at the Rockefeller Foundation where he worked for a decade (1998-2008) in senior leadership positions, including as Regional Office Director and Representative for Southern Africa (199-2003) and Associate Director for Food Security (2003-2008).[16]
Until his appointment as the Honourable Minister of Agriculture in 2010, he was the Vice President for Policy and Partnerships for the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).[17] Established nearly two decades ago, AGRA is an African-led, Africa-based institution “transforming smallholder agriculture from a solitary struggle to survive into farming as a business that thrives.”[18]. AGRA’s vision is to contribute to a food system-inspired inclusive agricultural transformation across Africa, to reduce hunger, improve nutrition, and adapt to climate change.[19]
Politics
In 2010, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina dared to dive into the convoluted world of Nigerian politics at the invitation of President Goodluck Jonathan, taking on the bread basket portfolio as Nigeria‘s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.[20] Aptly described as “a bold reformer,”[21] there is ample evidence for that assertion since as Minister of Agriculture in Nigeria from 2010 to 2015 “Dr Adesina turned the agriculture sector of Nigeria around within four years.”[22] Under his tenure, Nigeria ended 40 years of corruption in the fertiliser sector by developing and implementing an innovative electronic wallet system, which directly provides farmers with subsidised farm inputs at scale using their mobile phones. Within the first four years of its launch, this electronic wallet system reached 15 million farmers, dramatically transforming their lives.[23] In other words, he introduced unrivalled transparency into the fertiliser supply chain.[24]
President of ADB
Dr. Akinwumi Adesina is the African Development Bank Group’s first ever Nigerian CEO [25] and twice-elected. He was first elected President of the ADB Group on 28th May 2015 and unanimously re-elected for a second five-year term on 27th August 2020.[26] The ADB, one of the world’s five biggest multilateral lenders, has been described as “an important but often unseen player in economic development.”[27]
With Dr Adesina at the helm, the African Development Bank Group achieved the highest capital increase since its establishment in 1964 when on 31st October 2019, shareholders from 80 member countries raised the general capital from $93 billion to a historic $208 billion.[28] The African Development Bank Group responded boldly and swiftly to the Covid-19 pandemic.[29] On 3rd April 2020, the premier development finance institution launched a landmark $3 billion Covid-19 Social Bond followed by a Crisis Response Facility of $10 billion.[30]
Fly in the Ointment
Success isn’t without struggle. While umpteen challenges could be cited in the illustrious career of Akin, perhaps the pinnacle of pain would be how his re-election as ADB President almost suffered a setback after some staff of the bank accused him of breaching twenty of the bank’s code of conduct, including “unethical conduct, private gain, an impediment to efficiency, preferential treatment, and involvement in political activities.” He denied the allegations and an investigation panel cleared him of all the allegations.[31]
SIGNIFICANCE
Family and Faith
As earlier intimated, in 1984, during his international education at Purdue, Akin had returned briefly to Nigeria to get married to Grace Oluyemisi Adesina. He and his wife, Grace, have three children, Rotimi, Emmanuel and Segun.[32] While at Purdue University, Adesina and his wife, along with another couple, started a Christian group called the African Student Fellowship.[33]
Recognition, Awards and Boards
From his PhD days till date, Dr Adesina has been decorated with numerous awards, recognizing not only his personal successes but his societal significance. In 2007 he was awarded the prestigious YARA Prize in Oslo, Norway for his leadership in pioneering innovative approaches for improving access of farmers in Africa to agricultural inputs.[34] Adesina was the President of the African Association of Agricultural Economists from 2008 to 2010. He was awarded the Borlaug CAST Award in 2010 by the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology,[35] USA, for his global leadership on agricultural science and technology. He received the Distinguished Alumni Award from both of his alma maters in America and Africa: Purdue University in 2008, and from the Obafemi Awolowo University in 2009.[36] He has published extensively and served on the editorial boards of several leading journals.[37]
In 2013, he was named as Forbes Africa Person of the Year.[38] In 2019, he was again named as the Forbes Africa Person of the Year.[39] The year before, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate degree by Afe Babalola University,[40] to be followed by a barrage of other honorific doctorates, literally every other year (and thrice in 2022 alone!): Honorary Doctor of Science by the Federal University Of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria (January 28, 2020),[41] Honorary Doctorate by the Federal University of Technology in Nigeria in recognition of his global leadership in agriculture, food security, development finance, and good governance (February 2, 2022),[42] Honorary Doctorate by Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, acknowledging his career achievements in agriculture, and the innovative High 5 development priorities for Africa, which he conceived shortly after his election as President of the African Development Bank Group in 2015 (May 8, 2022),[43] Honorary Doctorate by Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia, for his contributions to the field of economics (May 14, 2022),[44] Doctor of Science by Veritas University Abuja (2023),[45] and Honorary Degree of Doctor of Business Administration by Bayero University, Kano (March 2024).[46] Nearly a decade before this string of seven began, Dr. Adesina was first awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by Franklin and Marshall College, USA, in 2010, for his global leadership on agriculture and improving the lives and livelihoods of the poor.[47]
In November 2012, Dr. Adesina was named as one of the 100 most influential Africans by The New African Magazine.[48] Barely a couple of years into his political appointment as Minister of Agriculture, The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, conferred on him the second highest National Honor (Commander of the Order of Niger) for his outstanding service to his country over the last little while.[49] In 2019, he was awarded the Grand Officer of the National Order of Merit of Tunisia.[50]
In 2010, United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, appointed him as one of 17 global leaders, to spearhead the Millennium Development Goals.[4] Again in September 2016, Adesina was appointed by the same United Nations Secretary-General, to serve as member of the Lead Group of the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement.[16] On October 19, 2017, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina was conferred with the 2017 World Food Prize, [51]also nicknamed the “Nobel Prize for Agriculture”.[52] On 29 February 2020, he was named African of the Year 2019 by one million readers of the African Leadership Magazine. On 14 December 2020, the Academy of Public Health, the flagship body of the West African Institute of Public Health, announced Dr. Adesina as one of the winners of its 2020 Distinguished Fellowship Award for his successful efforts in helping Africa to curb the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.[53]
Societal Impact and Change
From food and youth to poverty and technology, Akinwumi Adesina fires on all cylinders. “He is a man on a mission to help Africa feed itself,” said the Forbes magazine of Adesina’s agricultural reforms while naming the agricultural economist and active Nigerian Minister of Agriculture “African Person of the Year” in 2013. “My goal,” said Dr. Adesina as he accepted the Forbes award, “is to make as many millionaires, maybe even billionaires, from agriculture as possible.
“We are not doing well enough for Africa’s 477 million youths. We are not harnessing their skills, talent and creativity,” Dr Adesina told members of the Nigerian University of Technology and Management Board who recently called on him at African Development Bank’s headquarters in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.[54]
And as for white elephants, he’s hunting them to extinction. White elephants refer to the useless luxury projects that are often financed using international aid and built by foreign businessmen, and reek of corruption.[55] Adesina calls for “intelligent infrastructure that is more productive, more competitive.”[56] ”Finish off the white elephants,”[57] is his war.
CONCLUSION
Farmer’s son. Economist par excellence. Bowtie Man. Continent Feeder. Bold Reformer. Millionaire Maker. Banking Boss. White elephant Killer. Optimist-in-Chief. Man of Faith. Afrotech Advocate. Name it. He’s it. Dr. Akinwumi Adesina’s initial academic PhD gave hope; his eight honorary doctorates confirm faith has become sight. He has delivered. No wonder Aristotle claims excellence is a habit, for Adesina has been consistent in excelling from his university days till date, and been regularly publicly recognized for these over a span of 50 years. For a man so passionate about Africa, who believes poverty has no place in the continent, he seems to have gotten the fundamentals right: feeding her people and financing her economy, all on the back of the strength of her youthful population and promise of innovative information technology. There’s an Africa Africans want; akin to Wakanda. And there’s an Akin with the head, heart and hands at the forefront to make that future come true—fostering, feeding and financing it.
[1] “Nigerians dominate New Africa’s 100 Most Influential Africans of 2015”. Vanguard News. 2015-11-24. Last retrieved April 2, 2024
[2] “Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want.” African Union. Last retrieved April 17, 2024.
[3] Ibid.
[4] “Akinwumi Adesina: from farmer’s son to Africa bank chief”. African Spotlight. 28 May 2015. Archived from the original on 2016-09-22. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
[5] “The Travails of Akinwumi Adesina.” Vanguard. June 13, 2020. Last retrieved April 17, 2024.
[6] “Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina”. High-Level Meeting on Drought National Policy. March 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-08-07. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
[7] “The Travails of Akinwumi Adesina.” Vanguard. June 13, 2020. Last retrieved April 17, 2024.
[8] Delmar Broersma. 2017. God’s Surprises Along the Journey. pp. 89–93.
[9] The President’s biography, African Development Bank, Last retrieved April 17, 2024.
[10] “Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina”. High-Level Meeting on Drought National Policy. March 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-08-07. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
[11] The President’s biography, African Development Bank, Last retrieved April 17, 2024.
[12] “The Travails of Akinwumi Adesina.” Vanguard. June 13, 2020. Last retrieved April 17, 2024.
[13] “The Travails of Akinwumi Adesina.” Vanguard. June 13, 2020. Last retrieved April 17, 2024.
[14] “Akinwumi Adesina: from farmer’s son to Africa bank chief”. African Spotlight. 28 May 2015. Archived from the original on 2016-09-22. Last retrieved April 17, 2024.
[15] “AfDB’s Akinwumi Adesina named 2017 World Food Prize Laureate”. CNBC Africa. 2017-06-26. Archived from the original on 2020-08-03. Last retrieved April 17, 2024.
[16] “Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina”. High-Level Meeting on Drought National Policy. March 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-08-07. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
[17] Ibid.
[18] Who We Are. Our Story. AGRA. Last retrieved April 17, 2024.
[19] Ibid.
[20] “Interview: Akinwumi Adesina, Minister of Agriculture, Nigeria”. This is Africa. 30 July 2013. Archived from the original on 2015-01-12. Retrieved April 17, 2024
[21] The President’s biography, African Development Bank, Last retrieved April 17, 2024.
[22] Ibid.
[23] Ibid.
[24] “Nigerian is ‘African of the year'”. BBC News. 2013-12-03. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
[25] “Biography”. African Development Bank – Building today, a better Africa tomorrow. 2019-04-04. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
[26] “Akinwunmi Adesina re-elected as AFDB president”. Sellbeta. 27 August 2020. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
[27] Ibid.
[28] The President’s biography, African Development Bank, Last retrieved April 17, 2024.
[29] Ibid.
[30] Ibid.
[31] “Akinwunmi Adesina re-elected as AFDB president”. Sellbeta. 27 August 2020. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
[32] Profile:Akinwuni Adesina, Ogala WordPress. 2011. Last retrieved April 17, 2024.
[33] Delmar Broersma. 2017. God’s Surprises Along the Journey. pp. 89–93.
[34] “Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina”. High-Level Meeting on Drought National Policy. March 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-08-07. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
[35] Ibid.
[36] Ibid.
[37] Ibid.
[38] “Nigeria’s Akinwumi Adesina named Forbes African of the Year”. BBC. December 3, 2013. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
[39] “African Of The Year”. Forbes Africa. 2019-12-18. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
[40] “Afe Babalola University Confers Honorary Doctorate Degree on African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina”. African Development Bank – Building today, a better Africa tomorrow. 2019-02-08. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
[41] “Afe Babalola University Confers Honorary Doctorate Degree on African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina”. African Development Bank – Building today, a better Africa tomorrow. 2019-02-08. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
[42] “Akinwumi Adesina. African Development Bank Group President.” Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet. Last retrieved April 17, 2024.
[43] Ibid.
[44] “AfDB President, Akinwumi Adesina, Receives Honorary Degree In Ethiopia”. METRO DAILY Ng. 2022-05-16. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
[45] “ADB Adopts Veritas as Centre of Excellence for Computer Coding.” Veritas University Abuja News. Last retireved April 17, 2024.
[46] “Top Nigerian University honours African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina” AfDB News. March 6, 2024. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
[47] “Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina”. High-Level Meeting on Drought National Policy. March 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-08-07. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
[48] Ibid.
[49] Ibid.
[50] “Akinwumi A. Adesina à Caïd Essebsi: La BAD disposée à soutenir la Tunisie dans divers domaines”. Last retrieved April 17, 2024.
[51] “AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina wins $250,000 World Food Prize”. africanews. 27 June 2017. Last retried April 17, 2024.
[52] The President’s biography, African Development Bank, Last retrieved April 17, 2024.
[53] Ibid.
[54] “Investing in the Next Generation: How Nigerian University of Technology and Management and African Development Bank are Pioneering Youth Skilling in Africa.” African Development Bank Group. 01 April, 2024. Last retrieved April 17, 2024.
[55] “Akinwumi Adesina: from farmer’s son to Africa bank chief”. African Spotlight. 28 May 2015. Archived from the original on 2016-09-22. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
[56] Ibid.
[57] 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.
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.
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, 20th 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 12th 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
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.
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 28th 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, ASEA 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 3rd 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 30th January 2024
[28] https://www.womenofthehall.org/inductee/indra-nooyi-2/ retrieved 31st 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
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.
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
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.
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!
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!
Register HERE, NOW.
It’s the Family, Stupid.
Most people who are abreast enough with current affairs and know that “It’s the family, stupid” is a play on the famous slogan for the 1992 Bill Clinton election campaign (“It’s the economy, stupid”) will not know that today, and every May 15, is the International Day of Families. In my world it has never gained the popularity of, say, International Women’s Day. If it was so-scheduled to leverage Mother’s Day then it’s had the reverse, untoward effect of drowning it instead.
The Day was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly exactly three decades ago, in 1993, with resolution A/RES/47/237. According to the U.N., it’s supposed to reflect the importance the international community attaches to families, provide an opportunity to promote awareness of issues relating to families and to increase knowledge of the social, economic and demographic processes affecting families.
At Perbi Executive Leadership Education (PELÉ), we celebrate everything LIFE–Leadership, Integrity, Family, Entrepreneurship–and even currently have an ongoing Flourishing Families Masterclass running for the entire month of May. Whether it’s the more intensive Family Foundations Mastermind or the shorter and lighter Flourishing Families Masterclass, the following six perspectives are offered as a foundation for why family is ultra important (these are extracts from an e-booklet I’ve put together for the mastermind and masterclass):
1. CREATOR PERSPECTIVE | God is Family
God is family. Father-Son-Spirit. Note the familiar family terms, father and son. Having created humankind in His image and likeness to reflect on Earth what it is in Heaven, human family is huge deal. At the core of cosmos is a love relationship—Lover, Loved and Love itself. Everything rises and falls on love, everything rises and falls on God, everything rises and falls on family.
Of course, we could go into how God created the first family after declaring “it is not good for man to be alone,” how throughout scripture and history God chooses a person and their family to work through, the many scriptures that seek to protect, preserve and promote family etc. Even when God decided to wrap Himself in human flesh and move into our human neighbourhood in the person of Jesus Christ, he chose to implant himself in a family—Mary and Joseph’s. Everything rises and falls on family.
2. Centres of Influence | Every sphere is filled, fuelled and influenced by home
What do all of society’s centres of influence–Arts & Entertainment, Business, Science & Technology, Education, Government, Media, Religion–have in common: human beings! Without family there will be no human beings at all to fill, fuel and influence all these other centres. The only sphere that produces human beings is family. Most schools of thought include family itself as one of the centres of influence in society but I wonder whether family should even be included in the centres at all or just made to underlie all of them.
Family is literally the pivot of centres, symbolizing how everything truly revolves around it. Every centre rises and falls on family.
3. CRADLE PERSPECTIVE | Parents Shape World Shakers
Have you ever heard the proverb, “The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world”? That is 1865 wisdom unleashed on the world through the refrain of a William Ross Wallace poem that praises parenthood as the preeminent force for change in the world. Of course, at the time it was written, nearly two centuries ago, the work of raising children was mainly seen as the role of the mother but we know all too well it takes two to tango. Both father and mother have a role in rocking the cradle.
Parents, and the wider family, shape the people who would shake and move the world, for good or ill. These two PhDs, Barbara Riggs and Cynthia Tweedell, don’t mince words in their Marriage and Family textbook: “The strongest influence in your life will stem from family.” Period. Everything rises and falls on family.
4. CELLULAR PERSPECTIVE | Family is the basic unit of humanity
So yes, “it is the hand the rocks the cradle that is the hand that rules the world” but alas! today, everyone wants to change the world; no one wants to start at home. The irony! Not only does everything rise and fall on family because the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world, but also the family is the basic unit of society and humanity just as the cell is the basic unit of biological life or the atom is for all matter.
Yet somehow, we think we can flourish in the corporate world, government and such without adequately addressing the lowest common denominator! If you think one cell gone bonkers is no big deal, think again about cancer. That’s all it is. Individual cells gone bonkers, multiplying unhealthily—and eventually fatally spreading that craziness to other parts of the body (metastasis). Sooner or later a whole monarch or president or parent dies, all because of a cell gone awry. Everything rises and falls on family, that one cell.
5. CALCULATION PERSPECTIVE | Hindsight is 20/20
Today’s C-level executive claims, “It’s not the quantity of time but quality that I spend with my family that matters.” This is a fallacy. Family costs what it costs, and it doesn’t go on sale! The question is if we are willing to pay the price.
Even for the richest and most popular of leaders, when they assess their lives, doing a calculation of all they’ve spent their talents and energies, time and finances on, the truth remains that, “There’s no one who on their deathbed has been heard to say, “I wish I had spent more time at work.”
6. COVID-19 PERSPECTIVE | The only place to be/go has been home
When our all-important selves on our all-important endeavours were brought to a screeching halt by the recent Coronavirus pandemic, where did we all head? Home! When literally every economy and society locked down, where did we stay put and be safe: with family! I’ve never seen so many advertisements on primetime television asking people to stay home in my life! Heroes, according to the World Health Organization, stay home! Ha! Who would’ve thought that day would ever come?!
Even high-flying pilots have been grounded, literally, at home. At the time of first writing this down for the initial Family Foundations Mastermind we run during the pandemic, I hadn’t flown in a year—and that was incredible, considering that there were times in the last few years when I did as many as 70 flights in the year!
My VIP airport lounge passes and platinum airline and hotel statuses have been rendered useless. The only thing that mattered most was the people many of us paid the least attention to prior to COVID-19: family.
Crucibles reveal what’s most important. Now that this pandemic is over, we would need insignia to remind us, lest we forget, that everything rises and falls on family.
CONCLUSION
These are my compelling six cases for why family is absolutely a big deal, in every nation and generation. I long for the day when marketplace leaders will recognize the prime place of family and ensure their work(place) empowers families rather than diminishes them. “It’s the family, stupid.” Everything rises and falls on family. Happy International Day (Month is better) of Families.
The Way Up is Down.
At Easter, I threw a challenge to the leaders in my network: lay down yourself for someone else’s uplifting. This challenge was triggered by inspiration I received when I had just returned from a college graduation the week before Holy Week. Although it had been a season of graduation ceremonies in Ghana across many tertiary institutions, this was a special one, a very special one.
About six years ago, our family travelled to Ghana from Canada on furlough. We had planned to stay the entire period at my parents-in-love’s residence in Accra. Being a reasonably big-sized big family (the children weren’t even seven yet!) we obviously needed some domestic assistance. We were glad to welcome a promising young lady, Benedicta, as our new house help after a couple of failed trials.
As we lived with her and observed her initiative, diligence, smartness, humility, kindness and care we took an extra interest in what her ultimate dream was. She had the potential to be like any one of us high income, high impact professionals and not necessarily having to be confined to a vocation of domestic assistance her entire life. We found out about her high school final grades and thought they could be improved. And so we (my wife and I, parents-in-love and other family members) decided to invest in her, everything from extra classes through re-sit examinations. Even when she was finally given a shot at college my mother-in-law would get her books and do mock interviews with her to prepare for the entrance interviews. Long story short, she made it into nursing college.Now, that is the graduation we went for that day.
Today, Benedicta is a nurse. She graduated from the Nurses & Midwives Training College in Teshie, Accra, Ghana. From house help to nurse; and that is what brought me to the Easter challenge because at Easter, we see the ultimate leader Himself laying down His life for the people He saw value in. At the risk of sounding holier-than-though, the previous family she left to serve ours was just about to invest in her to be a fried pork seller by the street.
JOHANNINE CHALLENGE
Everybody knows John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” But what a lot of people who are not schooled in Trinitarian theology don’t realize is that this scripture is basically saying that God so loved the world—God so saw value in you and me—that he gave Himself for us, because God is Father-Son-Spirit. The ultimate leader laid down Himself for our uplifting.
PAULINE CHALLENGE
This giving of Himself or laying down His life for us is spoken of by St. Paul’s to the Church in Philippi in such humble and humbling terms. He begins in Philippians 2:5 by exhorting that “your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.” Let’s take Eugene Peterson’s contemporary version:
5-8 Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.” [1]
Wow! God becoming a man was not just humbling, it was humiliating. Yet even when formed and found in appearance of a human, he could’ve been a very proud man but no! He was down-to-earth and mingled with tax collectors and ‘sinners’. In fact, it was on the night he was betrayed–during Holy Week–that He washed his own disciples’ dirty and stinky feet and wiped them with a towel around his waist.
The way up is down, for because of this humble attitude and action, “God lifted him high and honored him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth—even those long ago dead and buried—will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father.” [2] Even those who are not voluntarily honoring Jesus now will bow one day, compelled. All shall bow to the one who first bowed the lowest and is now raised the highest.
YOUR CHALLENGE
As a leader, I want to challenge you to choose one person, choose one thing to do this month (we’re still in the month of Easter) that involves laying down your preference, time, or money, sacrificing something, dying a little so that someone can live, graduate, have a better life etc. I challenge you to do that because that is the essence of ultimate leadership. Leadership is not about us, it is about those who take inspiration, follow, and learn from us who we get to empower and guide; those around us.
It’s sad to see so many places in the world, especially in Africa, where government official think it is all about them. Unfortunately, even in the church there are a myriad instances where pastors are doing extremely well socioeconomically and there are congregants who are not faring well, at all. Sometimes these leaders are literally fleecing the people, milking them dry till they bleed. That’s not leadership at all, and certainly not servant leadership. Leadership is laying down our lives, laying down our gifts so that others will be blessed. It is going down to pick the downtrodden and lifting them up.
Cecelia Chan poignantly put it this way: “Instead of laying a red carpet for yourself to walk on, lay a bridge and let the young people walk over to you.” This is my challenge to you, at Easter and beyond: lay down yourself for someone else’s uplifting. God bless and honour you too as you learn to lead like Jesus.
References
[1] Philippians 2:5-8, The Message
[2] Philippians 2:9-11, The Message
You may have my bag but not my friends.
An exhortation on not allowing circumstances and people who know no better rob you of the wealth of intercultural relationships in our diverse, complex and globalized world.
MYSTERY OF THE MISSING BAG–WHY ME?
I was the last one to walk out of the airport arrival hall at Gold Coast in Australia. I had all the customs and immigration officers to myself, nearly a dozen, yet I gave them absolutely nothing to do. I not only had nothing to declare, I had no bag! Apparently, my only checked-in bag on the three-and-a-half hour NZ 179 flight from Auckland, New Zealand to Gold Coast, Australia had never been loaded onto the plane in the first place. I had waited and waited in vain for it until when nearly everyone on this very full flight had left the baggage hall and Carousel 6 was literally bare, I approached the Baggage Counter to complain about my missing travel companion.
The chap at the Air New Zealand counter was very nice but his assumption that I was going to be in Gold Coast ‘forever’ fascinated me (I’m surprised I wasn’t annoyed).
“Oh sorry sir but your bag will be delivered to you at home tomorrow,” said he.
“Tomorrow? Who told you I’ll still be here tomorrow,” I quizzically retorted.
It was obvious he felt he was doing me a great favour by offering me special at-your-door delivery but I was not amused. Not only did I need the items in my bag today; I was not going to be in Gold Coast in the morrow. This was a 24-hour meet and greet and off to Adelaide, another two-and-a-half hour flight to the western half of the Australian subcontinent.
By now my mind had begun to formulate various plausible permutations why I alone (for I saw no one else approaching the Baggage Counter to lodge a complaint) had my bag delayed. Why me? What was so unique about me that my bag would be singled out for NOT delivery? The only other thing I knew made me different was that I was the only Black African on the flight. Did this have to do with anything?
Interestingly, as I passed through the Auckland airport earlier I had taken a photo in front of the All Blacks memorabilia shop and tweeted “I wonder why I feel so #welcome. #AllBlacks vs #WhitesOnly. How the times have changed–this one, for the better. #NewZealand rocking it!” Did someone spot that and nab me? Was I too quick to praise New Zealand for progressive race relations? Did this bag saga really have anything to do with my Black skin at all? It is easy to read racism into nearly everything once you’ve been a victim of that dehumanizing attitude and act, I must admit. I resist that. I resent that, even.
MYSTERY OF INTERCULTURAL RELATIONSHIPS–SO WORTH IT
All those thoughts and feelings totally dissipated once I set eyes on the last two people left in the welcome area: Julia and Billy-Jo, two of my special friends from the 1997 cohort of the World Vision Youth Ambassadors! Sooo worth the hustle! I had had the privilege of being a World Vision Youth Ambassador for Ghana in 1996 and had the additional honour of returning in Julia and Billy-Jo’s year as a staff intern, together with Claudia from Colombia.
Julia had represented Canada back then and for her, this was our third in-person meeting since 1997 (Prague 2015, Ottawa 2021 and now Gold Coast 2023). But Billy, I had not seen in-person at all since our teenage years! Billy-Jo (yes, she was the first lady I met called Billy–she was way ahead of the gender conversations today!) was the Youth Ambassador from New Zealand. Again, the first Pacific Aboriginal I had ever met, a beautiful Maori, inside and out. Billy’s since become a senior nurse, married to Matt (great guy!) with whom she has three children and migrated to Australia. Interestingly, both Julia and Billy-Jo’s husbands are called Matt. Julia’s Matt is American while Billy’s Western Samoan.
What an incredible day of food, fellowship and fun we had all day, at home and at the Burleigh Beach. The unadulterated love, the open-hearted learning, the deep laughter… What a precious gift we received from Dr. Jerry and Mama Ruth Chang of World Vision Taiwan a quarter-of-a-century ago, a gift that keeps giving, even today.
Now I’m glad our children are getting to know each other as well. The gift ripples on. Just before my family permanently headed to Ghana after a dozen years of being resident in Canada, Julia’s two girls and my brood had a whole day together at their home, right outside of Ottawa, Ontario. In fact, even in the midst of the jamboree we made a WhatsApp video call to Ghana for my older girls to say “hi” to their Canadian sisters. And now that I’ve met Bella and Asher, Billy’s last two (the oldest is away playing rugby and doing school in New Zealand), we have already started conversations about getting them to visit Ghana!
MYSTERY OF INTERDEPENDENCE
Friends, that’s how it ought to be. People are people, made in the image and likeness of their divine Creator, and made to link up with that source, live, love, learn, and lead, leaving a good legacy. Becoming a World Youth Vision Youth Ambassador was a life changing experience–50 young people from 50 different countries. That opened my mind a lot and opened the world to me. As I’ve said before, “My heart expanded and has never been able to shrink again.”
Back to the mystery of the missing bag. For sure I felt very special, having been singled out for some (or no) reason. For good or ill, that’s a conversation for another day. Suffice it to say, this has been a fascinating week, beginning on Monday March 6 in North America (Toronto, Canada and Houston, Texas, USA) with a celebration of the land of my birth’s Independence Day and her renaming from ‘Gold Coast’ to Ghana. I was now ending the week in another Gold Coast, of Australia. The same chaps christened and colonized both; on either side of the equator. What we really need in this world, from individuals to nations, is interdependence; not dependence or independence per se. We were made for this! And we all ought to live the way we were purposed to in order to flourish personally, as families and communities, in the corporate world and among the commity of nations.
In the mean time, you can have my bag but you won’t rob me of the richness of interdependent, intercultural relationships. Never!