2015 | Policy Center for the New South

Nayé A. Bathily

Head, Global Parliamentary Relations, World Bank

Nayé A. Bathily is an international affairs expert at the World Bank. Since 2004, she has served as the Bank’s first full-time parliamentary staff member and now leads advocacy and outreach to parliamentarians for the institution.

Bathily has actively contributed to the creation of the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank and IMF, a unique platform for policy dialogue on key development issues. She organizes thematic workshops for parliamentarians on topics such as trade, climate change, Millennium Development Goals, governance, and natural resource management. She also leads partnership efforts on behalf of the World Bank, providing strategic input to heads of states for major development roundtables in Africa. She earned a master’s in public administration and was a Mason Fellow from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government in 2009.

Karim El Aynaoui

Managing Director, OCP Policy Center; Advisor to the CEO, OCP Group

Karim El Aynaoui is currently managing director of the OCP Policy Center and advisor to the CEO and chairman of OCP, a global leader in the phosphate sector. OCP Policy Center is an autonomous Moroccan think-tank created by OCP Foundation to further policy debate and analysis of key social, economic, and geopolitical issues that affect the future of the private sector and the country.

From 2005 to 2012, El Aynaoui worked at Bank Al-Maghrib, the central bank of Morocco. There he was the director of economics and international relations, providing strategic leadership in defining and supporting monetary policy analysis and strategy. Before joining Bank Al-Maghrib, he worked for eight years at the World Bank, both in its Middle Eastern and North Africa and Africa regions as an economist. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Bordeaux, where he also taught for three years.

Olufemi Abegunde

Board Member, Deloitte Africa

Olufemi Abegunde is a member of the board of Deloitte Africa and was formerly the chairman of the Deloitte West Africa Board.

He is also the industry leader of energy and resources in Deloitte West Africa. In his role, he leads and manages the Energy and Resources Unit. Abegunde is a graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife where he received his bachelor’s degree in management & accounting and a master’s degree in business administration. He is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (FCA) and an associate of the Chartered Institute of Taxation in Nigeria. He is also a graduate of the Pan Atlantic University (AMP) in Lagos.

Olukorede Adenowu

Managing Director and Co-Head of Financial Institutions, Standard Chartered Bank in Africa

Olukorede Adenowu is managing director and co-head of financial institutions for Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) in Africa.

Olukorede Adenowu is managing director and co-head of financial institutions for Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) in Africa. With 28 years of experience in banking and consulting, he has served as managing director for SCB West and Central Africa, deputy managing director of SCB Cameroon, and director in wholesale bank in SCB Nigeria. He was a founding staff member of SCB Nigeria and has held several positions in the SCB Group in the last 15 years. Adenowu has been a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria since 2000. He is an alumnus of Said Business School of Oxford University and holds an MBA from University of Navarra, Barcelona, Spain.

Yonov Frederick Agah

Deputy Director-General of the World Trade Organization, Nigeria

Yonov Frederick Agah was appointed as Nigeria’s deputy director-general to the World Trade Organization in 2005.

In that capacity, he served as the alternate chief negotiator for the Doha Round and head of Nigeria’s Trade Office in the WTO. Agah served as chair of the WTO’s General Council in 2011. He has previously worked as a lecturer at Kaduna Polytechnic, senior features writer/circulation manager with Benue Printing and Publishing Corporation, and sales manager with Benue Bottling Company Limited. Agah holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.

Rolake Akinkugbe

Head, Energy and Natural Resources, FBN Capital

Rolake Akinkugbe is an expert on global and African energy and natural resources, and has been a regular reviewer of global headlines on BBC World News TV since 2012.

She leads energy and natural resource origination and manages key sector relationships for Lagos-based FBN Capital, part of West Africa’s largest banking group, FBN Holdings. In May 2015, she was named Africa’s Best Oil and Gas Analyst by the Energy & Corporate Africa organization. Akinkugbe has worked for the private and public sector and is a member of the board of directors of the Business Council for Africa. She holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree from the London School of Economics.

Obed Akwa

Commandant and Executive Director, Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre

Major General Obed Akwa joined the Ghana Army in 1977 and has served as a brigade commander and the Ghanaian contingent commander with the United Nations mission in DR Congo; commander of the Ghana Military Academy, and was a military assistant to the president of Ghana/commander-in-chief of the Ghana Armed Forces.

He has had extensive experience in peacekeeping operations, having served as a deputy commanding officer with the UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia, a military observer with the UN Iraq–Kuwait Observation Mission, personnel officer with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, and platoon commander with UN Emergency Force II. He was also a member of the UN Military Liaison Team deployed to prepare grounds for the insertion of the UN Protection Force into former Yugoslavia in 1992.

Youssef Amrani

Minister Delegate, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Morocco

Youssef Amrani was appointed the minister delegate for foreign affairs and cooperation by His Majesty King Mohammed VI in October 2013. He was the head of office of the secretary of state for the Arab Maghreb Union from 1989-1992.

Afterwards, he was appointed as the consul general in Barcelona. Amrani has served as an ambassador to Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Chile, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Belize. From 2003-2008, he served as the ambassador and director general of bilateral relations. In November 2008, Amrani was appointed secretary general at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, a position he held until his election as secretary general of the Union for the Mediterranean, in July 2011. He has a degree in economics from the University Mohammed V in Rabat (1978) and graduated from the Institute of Management in Boston.

Neyla Arnas

Senior Research Fellow, Center for Applied Strategic Learning, National Defense University

Neyla Arnas is a senior research fellow at the Center for Applied Strategic Learning at the National Defense University in Washington, DC.

Her current focus is on education and training activities related to women, peace, and security. She coordinated the 2015 publication, Women on the Frontlines of Peace and Security. She is also the editor and author of Fighting Chance: Global Trends and Shocks in the National Security Environment. Arnas is a graduate of Louisiana State University and holds a master’s degree in political science. She has previously worked at the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Senate, the U.S. Government Accountability Office, and the European Parliament.

Ali Aslan

TV Host and Journalist

Ali Aslan is a seasoned journalist and television host who has worked for global news networks such as CNN, ABC News, and Channel News Asia.

Since 2012, he has been the host of the international talk show “Quadriga” on Deutsche Welle TV. In addition to his distinguished career in journalism, Aslan has also served for two terms as a policy and media advisor to the German government, including the Federal Foreign Office and the Federal Ministry of the Interior. Aslan holds a master’s of international affairs and a master’s of journalism from Columbia University. He received his bachelor’s in international politics from Georgetown University.

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