Member Directory

Gavin Newsom

California Governor.

Karen Ross

Secretary, California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA).

• Oversees the state's $50 billion agricultural economy, food-safety and market-promotion programs, and California's international agricultural trade partnerships.

Toks Omishakin

Secretary, California Department of Transportation.

• $30 billion yearly budget and 42,000 employees.
• Leads California's transportation policy and infrastructure investment at the cabinet level.

Willie Brown

Former Speaker, California State Assembly and former Mayor of San Francisco.

• One of California's most influential African American political figures of the past half-century, with deep ties across state government, business and civic institutions.

Curren D. Price Jr.

Los Angeles City Councilmember; served in the California State Assembly and California State Senate.

Matthew Haney

Assemblyman, California.

• Active supporter of Africa.

Dee Dee Myers

Director, California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz).

• GO-Biz oversees the state's Travel and Tourism Commission.

Caroline Beteta

President & CEO, Visit California, the state's official tourism marketing organization.

Rodney Scott

President, Alameda County Board of Supervisors, California.

• Direct regional-government tie-in for Bay Area trade initiatives.

Donald P. Wagner

Chairman, Orange County Board of Supervisors, California.

Karen Bass

Mayor of the City and County of Los Angeles.

• Former U.S. Congresswoman and California Assembly Speaker.

Barbara Lee

Mayor of the City of Oakland, California.

• Former longtime U.S. Congresswoman representing Oakland.

Lisa M. Gillmor

Mayor of the City of Santa Clara, California.

Daniel Lurie

Mayor of the City and County of San Francisco, California.

Webster Lincoln

Mayor of the City of East Palo Alto, California.

Matt Mahan

Mayor of the City of San Jose, California.

Raj Salwan

Mayor of the City of Fremont, California.

Vicki Veenker

Mayor of the City of Palo Alto, California.

Elihu Harris, Esq.

Former Mayor of Oakland and Chancellor of College System, Oakland.

• Leadership that led to $1.3 billion in upgrades to Oakland International Airport and the establishment of the Port of Oakland.

Eric D. Bates

Former Deputy Attorney General with the California Department of Justice.

• Attorney-litigator with decades of legal, trial, investigative and oversight experience.
• Served in the California Office of the Inspector General.

Bonny Nyaga, MSc., P.E.

International Policy Advisor, California State Transportation Agency ("CalSTA").

• Experienced in state-government transportation and international policy.

H.E. Evariste Ndayishimiye

President of Burundi and current President of the African Union.

H.E. Chief Olusegun Obasanjo

Former President of Nigeria and the African Union.

H.E. Jacob Zuma

Former ANC leader and President of South Africa.

• Directed many infrastructure opportunities to California as President.

H.E. John Dramani Mahama

President of Ghana.

H.E. Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema

President of Gabon.

H.E. Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue

Vice President of Equatorial Guinea.

King Clement Haastruk

Yoruba King, Nigeria.

H.E. Crisantos Obama Ondo

Ambassador of Equatorial Guinea to the United States of America.

H.E. Abdoul Wahab Haidara

Ambassador of Senegal to the United States of America.

H.E. Lateef Kayode Kolawole Are

Ambassador of Nigeria to the United States of America.

H.E. Agniola Ahouanmenou

Ambassador of Benin to the United States of America.

H.E. Victor Emmanuel Smith

Ambassador of the Republic of Ghana to the United States of America.

H.E. Fatoumata Kaba

Ambassador of Guinea (Conakry) to the United States of America.

H.E. Noël Nelson Messone

Ambassador of Gabon to the United States of America.

H.E. David K. Kerich

Ambassador of Kenya to the United States of America.

H.E. Ibrahima Touré

Ambassador of Côte d'Ivoire to the United States of America.

H.E. Jean Bosco Barege

Ambassador of Burundi to the United States of America.

H.E. Julien Paluku Kahongya

Minister of Foreign Trade, DR Congo.

Cyril Ndaba

Former Consul General, South Africa, Los Angeles.

Honorary Consul Rajen Ranchhod

Honorary Consul of Zambia, based in Sacramento.

Honorary Consul Mame Mbaye

Honorary Consul of Senegal, Los Angeles.

John Harman

Board of Directors, United States Chamber of Commerce, Washington, DC.

Charles DeBow

President, National Black Chamber of Commerce, Washington, DC.

Jay King

President, California Black Chamber of Commerce.

Rodney Fong

President, San Francisco Chamber of Commerce.

Helena Jones Kim

Chair, Board of Directors, San Francisco African American Chamber of Commerce.

Gene Hale

President, Greater Los Angeles African American Chamber of Commerce.

Zeke Patton

Executive Vice President, Black Business Association of Los Angeles.

Cathy Adams

President, Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce.

Algérie — Saida Neghza

Présidente, Confédération Générale des Entreprises Algériennes (CGEA).

Angola — Francisco Viana

Président, Confederação Empresarial de Angola (CEA).

Bénin — Eustache Kotigan

Président, Conseil National du Patronat du Bénin (CNP-BENIN).

Burkina Faso — Idrissa Nassa

Président, Confédération Générale des Entreprises du Faso (COGEF).

Cameroun — Célestin Tawamba

Président, Groupement des Entreprises du Cameroun (GECAM).

Congo-Brazzaville — Michel Djombo

Président, Union Patronale et Interprofessionnelle du Congo (UNICONGO).

Côte d'Ivoire — Ahmed Cissé

Président, Confédération Générale des Entreprises de Côte d'Ivoire (CGECI).

Égypte — Mohamed El Sewedy

Président, Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI).

Éthiopie — Sebsibe Abafira Abajobir

Président, Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Associations (ECCSA).

Gabon — Alain-Claude Kouakoua

Président, Fédération des Entreprises du Gabon (FEG).

Ghana — Dr. Kofi Nsiah-Poku

Président, Association of Ghana Industries (AGI).

Guinée — Ansoumane Kaba

Président, Confédération Générale des Entreprises de Guinée (CGE-GUI).

Kenya — Dr. Jas Bedi

Président, Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA).

Mali — Mossadeck Bally

Président, Conseil National du Patronat du Mali (CNPM).

Maroc — Mehdi Tazi

Président, Confédération Générale des Entreprises du Maroc (CGEM).

Mozambique — Álvaro Massingue

Président, Confederation of Economic Associations (CTA).

Namibie — Vetumbuavi Mungunda

Président, Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI).

Nigeria — Richard Ayibiowu

Président, Nigeria Employers' Consultative Association (NECA).

RD Congo — Robert Malumba Kalombo

Président, Fédération des Entreprises du Congo (FEC).

Rwanda — François Twagirumukiza

Président, Private Sector Federation (PSF).

Sénégal — Abdel Kader Ndiaye

Président, Confédération Nationale des Employeurs du Sénégal (CNES).

Sénégal — Baïdy Agne

Président, Conseil National du Patronat (CNP).

Afrique du Sud — Mxolisi Mgojo

Président, Business Unity South Africa (BUSA).

Tanzanie — Angelina Ngalula

Présidente par intérim, Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF).

Togo — Laurent Tamegnon

Président, Conseil National du Patronat du Togo (CNP-TOGO).

Tunisie — Samir Majoul

Président, Union Tunisienne de l'Industrie, du Commerce et de l'Artisanat (UTICA).

Ouganda — Humphrey Nzeyi

Président, Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU).

Zambie — Anthony Kabaghe

Président, Zambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ZACCI).

Zimbabwe — Zivanayi Rusike

Président, Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI).

Patricia Veringa-Gieskes

Vice President, East African Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (EACCIA).

• Regional Ambassador for Central Africa of the Alliance des Patronats Francophones.
• Board Member of the American Chamber of Commerce in DR Congo "AmCham DRC."
• Former Deputy-Acting Head of Mission, International Organization for Migration (IOM) in DRC.

Albert Yuma Mulimbi

Former President of the Fédération des Entreprises du Congo (FEC).

• Past President and Chairman of Gécamines in DRC, with leadership and board positions in international business organizations including CPCCAF and the International Organization of Employers.

Célestin Kibeya Kabemba

Director General of COMINIERE.

• DRC state-owned company with strategic interests in critical minerals, including lithium and other battery-related resources.

Kurt House

Founder & CEO, KoBold Metals.

• Mineral-exploration company pursuing over $1 billion in lithium and cobalt development in the DRC; an active operator in African critical-minerals investment.

Flavio Ammaral

Executive Vice President, Blue Quest Resources.

• Global trader of minerals with offices on six continents and headquarters in Switzerland.

Philip Father

Founder & CEO, Scepter, Inc.

• Former CEO of ProtoStar Ltd., a geostationary satellite operator; leads a San Francisco-based earth and atmospheric intelligence platform applicable to African mineral exploration and emissions monitoring.

Kassongo Bin Nassor

President of the "FEC" Chamber of Mines of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

• Represents the DRC mining sector in government negotiations, including recent talks on Congolese capital participation in mining companies.
• Former Vice President and Senior Advisor at Tenke Fungurume (TFM); former Chief of Staff to the President of the National Assembly.

H.E. Ambassadeur Ezéchiel Nibigira

Président of the ECCAS (Economic Community of Central African States) Commission (CEEAC).

Eric Monga Mumba

President of the High Business Council of the ECCAS; senior leader within the Fédération des Entreprises du Congo (FEC).

• Congolese business leader with extensive experience in trade, energy and economic development.

José Luis Cham Sabuera

President of the High Business Council of the ECCAS in Equatorial Guinea; CEO, Eagles Brothers Corporation Ltd (EBC).

TESLA

Founder & CEO Elon Musk.

OpenAI

CEO Sam Altman / Corporate Affairs.

NVIDIA

CEO Jensen Huang / Corporate Affairs.

Apple

CEO Tim Cook / Government Affairs.

Alphabet / Google

CEO Sundar Pichai / Google Government Affairs.

Meta Platforms

President/CEO Mark Zuckerberg / Public Policy.

Cisco Systems

CEO Chuck Robbins / Global Government Affairs.

Oracle

Chairman & CTO Larry Ellison / Government Affairs.

Salesforce

CEO Marc Benioff / Global Public Policy.

Intel

CEO Lip-Bu Tan / Government Affairs.

Adobe

Chair & CEO Shantanu Narayen / Government Relations.

Applied Materials

President & CEO Gary Dickerson / Government Affairs.

Deanna Tryon

Chief of Protocol of Silicon Valley.

• A leading protocol and international-relations professional.

Upali Karunaratna

President of Spire USA Inc.

• Focused on technology and financial solutions for innovative aquaculture and agricultural production systems.

John Thompson

Former Chairman of Microsoft.

• Venture partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners.
• Former Chairman/CEO for a decade, during which revenue grew from $632M to $6.2B.

Jonathan Mayes

Former SVP & Chief Diversity/Inclusion Officer, Albertsons Companies.

• One of California's largest grocery-retail employers.
• Corporate diversity and workforce-strategy expert.

James D. White

Former Chairman, President & CEO, Jamba Juice.

• Led the California-based smoothie chain and remains active in board and advisory work.

OUI Capital

OUI Capital investment team. African VC fund.

Launch Africa Ventures

Zachariah George & Janade du Plessis, Managing Partners.

Ajim Capital

Eunice Ajim, Founder & Managing Partner.

Rotimi Morohunfola

Chief Executive Officer of UBA America, New York.

Samuel A. Opoku

CEO & Chairman, African Financial Bridge Limited.

• Manager, Bank of America — administration, corporate credit and mortgage banking.

Myles Stevens, AIA, RILA

President, Stevens + Associates; San Francisco-based architect, urban planner and landscape architect.

• More than 200 architecture, transportation, infrastructure and urban-development projects in California and internationally, including BART and SFO International Airport.

Allan Dones

General contractor and leading African American developer; Oakland Port and 7th Street BART Transit Station.

• Work in Africa includes an energy grid between Ghana and several other countries.

AE3 Partners

San Francisco-based architecture and construction-management firm.

• Architecture, construction management, sustainable design, project management and real-estate development.

Aire Sheet Metal

Bay Area-based industrial and construction company specializing in sheet-metal fabrication and related mechanical systems.

Kristi McKenney

Executive Director, Port of Oakland; first woman to lead the Port of Oakland.

• Oversees both the seaport and Oakland International Airport.

Gene Seroka

Executive Director, Port of Los Angeles.

UCLA James S. Coleman African Studies Center

Dr. Harold Torrence, Director, UCLA African Studies Center, University of California, Los Angeles.

UC Davis

Dr. Gary S. May, Chancellor, University of California, Davis.

UC Berkeley Center for African Studies

James Q. Davies, Director.

Stanford University

Dean, School of Engineering; and Center for African Studies.

• Professor Jef Caers, Founder-CEO of Mineral X at Stanford, co-hosted the DRC Forum 2nd Edition.
• Professor Deborah Senesky.

Nicole Taylor

CEO, Silicon Valley Community Foundation.

• The largest charitable foundation in the USA, providing grant-making and philanthropic capital access.

Timothy Alan Simon, Esq.

Attorney, law professor and former California Public Utilities Commissioner.

• Current Chairman of the California Black Chamber of Commerce board.
• Experienced in regulatory work and cross-organization credibility across California's business community.

Rev. Dr. Amos C. Brown, Pastor Emeritus

San Francisco pastor, civil-rights leader and advocate for African and African American communities.

• A longtime NAACP leader and former Freedom Rider with international engagement.

California Wine Institute

Steve Gross, CEO.

• The trade association relevant to agricultural trade and export dialogue with Africa.

Ahmad Thomas

CEO, Silicon Valley Leadership Group.

• Former investment banker at Barclays Bank and former senior aide to Senator Dianne Feinstein.

Florizelle B. Liser

President & CEO, Corporate Council on Africa (CCA).

• DC-based association with member companies headquartered in California, connecting U.S. companies and African governments and business institutions.

Bay Area Council San Francisco

Libby Schaaf, President & CEO.

Thiery Tohouenou

West Africa Region Manager, Amadeus International.

• General Secretary of Benin Diaspora USA/California and Vice-President, International Investment Group.

Njamba Mungai

International businesswoman.

Jerold O'Brien

Founder & CEO, Silver Mountain Vineyards, Santa Cruz Mountains.

• Industry leader in organic and sustainable practices since 1979.

McBride Sisters Wine Company

Oakland-based company, the largest Black-owned wine company in the United States.

• Produces, imports and markets a portfolio of wine brands distributed across the U.S. and internationally.

Julie Coker

Incoming President & CEO, Visit California.

• Leads the state's official destination-marketing organization supporting California's tourism economy (over $150 billion in annual visitor spending).

Ted Sarandos

Co-CEO, Netflix, headquartered in Los Gatos, California.

• Netflix has made sustained investment in African original content and local talent development, including productions and creator partnerships in Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya and other markets.

Byron Allen

Founder, Chairman & CEO, Allen Media Group.

• A major U.S. media and entertainment company based in Los Angeles with broadcast stations, television networks, digital platforms and OTT businesses; holds active broadcast licensing and content-distribution agreements in South Africa.

Carol H. Williams Advertising

A long-established, Black-owned advertising and communications agency.

• Specializes in strategic marketing, advertising and communications, serving major organizations and brands.

ActOne Group

A global workforce-management and business-services company headquartered in California.

• Operates in 47 countries, serving more than 28,000 clients with over 2,600 employees.

Encanto Squared

San Francisco-based technology and business-services company focused on technology-enabled business solutions.

Georges Swain

Founder & CEO of GeorgeSwain Investments, an independent investment-banking and advisory firm serving small and middle-market companies.

• Capital formation, strategic transactions and business growth, with transactions exceeding $1.2 billion.

Nicole Sulu Tshiyoyo

Founder of the Makutano business network, a pan-African business platform.

• Connects entrepreneurs, investors, public-sector decision-makers and international partners, championing private-sector development and women and youth entrepreneurship.

Frederick Jordan, P.E.

Founding Chairman, African-California Chamber of Commerce.

• Co-Chair, Board of Directors, San Francisco African American Chamber of Commerce.
• Founder, California Black Chamber of Commerce.
• Founding Member and former Chair, Board of Directors, National Black Chamber of Commerce.
• Development Partner, St. Regis 42-story hotel and condominiums in San Francisco, home to the Museum of the African Diaspora.
• Founder & CEO, F.E. Jordan Associates, with 1,000+ completed infrastructure projects across the United States, Africa and Central America.
• Peer Review Member, by law, for the $128 billion California High-Speed Rail Project.

Lino N'Shimba

Founding President, African-California Chamber of Commerce.

• Past President & Chairman of the Board, U.S. Chamber of Commerce in DR Congo "AmCham DRC."
• Chairman, DRC Forum Foundation, organizer of the DRC Forum California in Silicon Valley.
• Former Vice-President, Commission of External Relations, and Board Member, Federation of Enterprises of Congo "FEC."
• Founder & CEO, Africa Equity & Investment Group, active in critical minerals.
• Founder & Owner of California-based In Vino Veritas Cellars, which also operates in Africa.
• Former senior financial advisor at Wells Fargo Advisors; former manager at Citigroup.

Mark A. Lindquist

Founding Treasurer, African-California Chamber of Commerce.

• Past President of the Associated General Contractors "AGC" of California.
• Former President, Hartley Construction Inc., California.
• Experienced in international construction projects in Ghana, Cameroun and Nigeria.
• California-licensed architect and construction executive with 40+ years delivering commercial and industrial projects.

Former African President and Past President of the African Union

To be selected amongst:

• H.E. Evariste Ndayishimiye, President of Burundi and current President of the African Union
• Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Former President of Nigeria
• Alpha Condé, Former President of Guinea Conakry
• Macky Sall, Former President of Senegal

H.E. Jean-Paul Carteron

Swiss lawyer, diplomat and international statesman.

• Founder of the World Diplomatic Academy and President-Founder of the Crans Montana Forum, established in 1986, an international platform bringing together heads of state, government officials, diplomats and business leaders to promote international cooperation, dialogue and development.