TECXPOSITION - Key Persons
Cathryn Chen - Founder, Managing Director
Cathryn Chen has over 10 years of private investing experience. In 2015, Chen founded MarketX, an investment platform connecting global investors with pre-IPO investments in the US and China. Previously, Chen worked at Deutsche Bank, Rothschild in London, and JP Morgan in Hong Kong, where she contributed to dozens of IPOs and private placements including Alibaba and Xiaomi. At JP Morgan, she ran the Investment Bank and Private Bank Partnership Program. Chen has managed and facilitated secondary investments for 200+ family offices across Asia and the United States.
Prior to founding MarketX, She also worked at EverString, an ad- tech startup that has raised more than $80M, backed by Sequoia Capital & Lightspeed Partners, bringing predictive analytics and Marketing Automation to Fortune 500 enterprises.
In 2008, she co-founded MoneyThink LA, a White House-recognized, 501(c)3 non- profit that provides financial education to urban high school students around the nation. MoneyThink was awarded the Top 10 Social Entrepreneurship Award by President Obama in 2012.
Chen graduated from UCLA and the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Job Titles:
- Advisory Council
- Chairman
- Co - Founder
Job Titles:
- Partner
- SVP
- Blockchain Expert
Diana, a Blockchain expert, entrepreneur and executive has worked with both emerging companies and the largest corporations globally applying her passion for innovation while also supporting underserved markets.
Diana worked extensively in India, the UK, Canada, US and Latin America. As an executive, she led the company's transformation to an electronic payments specialist, doubling revenues and tripling stock value. Clients included Visa Inc., Visa Europe, and First Data. Based in Silicon Valley, Diana was featured in Dataquest's Oct 2007 issue as one of the top IT women in India.
Diana has served as a mentor for Singularity University in Silicon Valley, guest lecturer at UC Berkeley on Blockchain and sat on the Advisory Board for University of Toronto. She was a recipient of UofT's Presidents Arbor Award. Ms. Adachi holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Toronto.
Job Titles:
- Director of Country Digitization Acceleration
- Director of the Country Digitization Acceleration
Dima Kandalaft is the Director of the Country Digitization Acceleration program for Middle East and Africa. With more than 20 years of experience in Management and Technology consulting, her focus is to help government and industry leaders accelerate their digital transformation programs across the region. Before joining Cisco, Dima was the Smart Cities and Government industry leader at IBM responsible for developing new markets and clientele by building C-level relations as an executive advisor and a thought leader.
Tireless advocate for innovation in Nigeria. Some of Andrew's initiatives include:
One of the leading advocates for Blockchain technology adoption in the country, including sponsoring the Blockchain website www.blockchainafrica.io.
Eniola Harrison is a seasoned communication professional, committed to Africa's transformation through strategic communication. She is the founder of HdH Consulting & Services, a Brussels based communication consultancy and co-founder of ACW International, a network of Africa-focused PR/communication professionals from over 25 countries across the world, passionate about advancing balanced narratives about Africa through their work. Every year ACW International hosts AfricaCommsWeek, a series of conferences, workshops and webinars around the world to encourage Africa focused communications professionals connect, engage and impact Africa's economic transformation through strategic communication. Eniola is also the Senior Adviser for Partnerships at IE University's Africa Center and Lead for its Africa at IE initiative.
Eniola is a co-founder and serves on the board of Serving with Love, a Nigeria based non-profit organization that provides educational and health support to women and children from low income families.
Passionate about the role of civics and government education in development, Eniola has co-authored a series of Social Studies textbooks for primary schools in Nigeria. She is also the co-author of Introducing Nigeria, a children's photography book on the culture and customs of Nigeria. She is a classical pianist and avid reader of fantasy.
She holds a Master degree in Corporate Communication from IE University.
Job Titles:
- General Manager
- General Manager for Uber
Frans is the General Manager for Uber in Sub-Saharan Africa where he is responsible for the development and sustainable growth for the business and team. Prior to this role, he worked as the Head of Driver Operations where he focused on supply management as Uber continues to grow its existing cities and expand to new territories in SSA.
Job Titles:
- President
- President of Women
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- Managing Director at Tolaram Group
Haresh Aswani is the Managing Director at Tolaram Group. Mr. Aswani currently heads Tolaram Group in Africa and is spearheading the group's ventures in the continent. He has received National awards and recognition for his contribution to promote business between Asia and Africa. He is also the Honorary Consul- General of Singapore in Nigeria for the past 15 years. He is currently the Vice-Chairman of the Africa Business Group in Singapore, supported by the Singapore Business Federation. He is also a keen African art collector and an investor in African Startups.
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Co - Founder
- CEO and Co - Founder of Holberton
Julien Barbier is the CEO and co-founder of Holberton, a revolutionary new type of software engineering school that has no teachers, no lectures, and no upfront tuition. Inclusivity and equality are ensured thanks to a blind admissions process and a financial ability agreement.
Previously, Julien was the head of growth, marketing and community at docker, arguably one of the fastest-growing products for developers, DevOps and sysadmins over the last few years, now heavily used by companies such as Google, Uber, Spotify, Yelp, eBay, PayPal, Microsoft, Amazon, IBM.
Job Titles:
- Co - Editor of the Book "Designing Democracy
Lerato Mbele is presenter of Africa Business Report on BBC World News television. She joined the BBC in 2012.
Prior to that, Lerato served as a Senior Business Anchor for CNBC Africa. She hosted a variety of business programes and discussions related to the economics, business strategy, stock markets, entrepreneurship, and leadership.
Lerato began her journalism career in 1999 at South Africa's state-owned broadcaster The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). She eventually served as an anchor for the channel's daily news show News at 10 and also fronted the weekly show, Public Interest, and The Ambassadors.
Lerato has interviewed notable international figures, including Christine Lagarde, Jim Kim, Bill Gates Aliko Dangote, John Kerry, Nobel laureates Kofi Annan, and Mohamed Yunus. She has also interviewed several African presidents such as Paul Kagame, John Dramani Mahama, Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, James Michel, and more.
In early 2016, Lerato was nominated for the inaugural New African Women Awards in the media category. Previously she was named on the Oprah Magazine Power List of 21 African women "rocking the world". In 2014, Lerato Mbele was named a Young Global Leader, by the World
Economic Forum in Geneva, Switzerland. Lerato is also co-editor of the book "Designing Democracy" alongside Ayesha Kajee, that was during her short tenure as a researcher at the SA Institute of International Affairs. She is also a recipient of a literary award from the World Association of the University of Women.
Lerato Mbele is a regular speaker at international conferences that focus mainly on economics and investments in Africa. She has hosted moderated plenaries and hosted television debates, at World Bank and IMF Annual Meetings, African Development Bank, the United Nations, Nigerian Economic Summit, and various international platforms.
Lerato Mbele is a Chevening Scholar who holds an MSc degree in Development Studies from The School of Oriental and African Studies, at the University of London. She completed her undergraduate and Honours degrees from the Universities of Cape Town and Stellenbosch respectively.
Job Titles:
- Board Member, Adviser, Former CDO
Nevine ElKadi joined VMware IT Academy in July 2019 to manage the deployment of the program in Africa and the Middle East. She brings with her a wealth of experience building several Public Private Partnerships and positioning the company as one of the key stakeholders in national initiatives with the objective of improving Education, building ICT capacities and fostering employability.
Nevine has a business administration academic degree from Cairo University and Advanced Project Management Certification from Harvard Business School.
Prior to VMware, Nevine Spent the last 14 years of her corporate professional career at Cisco Systems. She led the Corporate Affairs, CSR Global Engagement Organization, as the Senior Manager for Africa and the Middle East, focusing on Human Capital Development and Economic Empowerment (Education and Health sectors) with successfully achieving the highest female participation globally in Cisco Networking Academies.
Before that, Nevine was the Vice President of FinRate Consulting s.a.e., a reputable business consulting firm in the Middle East. She brings to her profession regional experience in business consultancy, Organization development and restructuring, strategic business development, research and analysis, as well as strong understanding of industries and increasing responsibility in leadership positions.
Throughout her career, Nevine recognized that the main drive fueling her passion was focusing on people. When she said "People are the real wealth of nations. Human development is my passion".
Nevine is athletic and loves fishing in the Red Sea. In the nineties, she was a member of Egypt's National Team of Handball. She is a mother of 3 children Ahmed, Alaa and Mai and was blessed to become the grandmother of 3 as well.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder & CEO, Redbird
Bio
Patrick is the co-founder and CEO of Redbird. Redbird, sees a leapfrog opportunity in emerging market healthcare via a novel primary care system designed for the digital world. Patrick has over 10 years of experience with rapid diagnostic technology, and he has founded multiple health tech companies, both in the USA and Africa.
Prior to Redbird, Patrick Beattie was a founding scientist and first employee of Diagnostics For All, a Boston-based non-profit diagnostic company, working across four continents. He also led the Ghana expansion of Pacific Diagnostics, a Tanzanian medical supply company representing Siemens and J&J's Ethicon and DePuy lines (among others).
Patrick is passionate about empowering patients to be able to proactively manage their health in a convenient manner and is inspired by the potential for transformative healthcare innovation across Africa.
Patrick earned his undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering, magna cum laude, from Princeton University and his MBA, with distinction, from the University of Oxford, where he was a Skoll Scholar for Social Entrepreneurship. Patrick was formerly a Fellow at Harvard University in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology.
Raj is a global citizen - born and raised in Malaysia and schooled in London, he has spent the better part of the last 30 years working on transactions in UK, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. His current role at Dentons, is originating, structuring, facilitating and advising on transactions in corporate, private equity, venture capital, technology, real estate, oil and gas, energy and infrastructure globally with a focus on Africa, Middle East and South-East Asia. He works with Dentons teams and offices across the globe and is an active member of Dentons' Global Africa Group. He is both passionate and optimistic about the future of the Continent.
When he is not doing deals at Dentons, Raj is an investor, adviser and mentor. He began his investment career in the late 90s when he invested in his neighbour's reputation intelligence business that was sold two years later for a 3x return. Since then he has continued to invest in a variety of businesses in the UK and Africa from early stage (seed and pre-seed), to Series A start-ups and growth capital businesses. His investment thesis: is "invest in great founders, add value and help them kick down the right doors."
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Founder
- Entrepreneur, Investor
Randi Zuckerberg is an entrepreneur, investor, bestselling author, and Emmy-nominated tech media personality. She is the founder and CEO of Zuckerberg Media, with the mission of supporting current and future entrepreneurs through investment, mentorship, and media.
Prior to founding her own company, Randi was an early employee at Facebook, where she is best known for creating Facebook Live, now used by more than a billion people around the world.
A Harvard graduate, Randi hosts a weekly business talk radio show, Randi Zuckerberg Means Business on SiriusXM and is the author of four books: two best-selling business books, Dot Complicated and Pick Three, and two children's books, Dot (currently also an award-winning preschool television series on Universal Kids and Hulu) and Missy President. Randi travels the world, speaking about technology, entrepreneurship, her time in Silicon Valley, and shockingly…how to unplug! When she's not Facebooking or actual written-word booking, she can be found at the theater - as a two-time Tony Award-winning Broadway producer of Hadestown and Oklahoma! - or doing her best to unplug at home with her husband and three children.
Job Titles:
- Founding Partner
- Founding Partner at E
Stephanie is a Founding Partner at E²JDJ, an early venture capital firm investing in sustainable AgriFood technology and science. E²JDJ invests in agri-based technologies and businesses that promote human health, lower global energy consumption, reduce the environmental impact of industry and leverage technology to materially impact productivity. She is a thought leader in the sustainable food space and is passionate about the role of innovation, entrepreneurship, markets and system investing as a theory of change particularly in promoting change towards a healthier and sustainable food system. She serves on numerous advisory boards of food, science and entrepreneurial organizations.
Stephen Mooney has over 20 years experience as an entrepreneur in the high-growth start up and Fortune 500 environment. As co-founder of ENXSuite he led customer acquisition and was also responsible for successfully leading that company's expansion into the UK/EMEA market until its acquisition in 2010 and has been founder and director of two further software acquisitions.
Stephen currently serves as a director within a number of UK growth companies with a special interest in the UN Sustainable Development Goals. He has previously served in various roles for Pfizer and holds a Bachelor of Arts from The University of Calgary and a Masters of Business Administration from The University of Victoria.
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Founder
- CEO and Founder of Flindel
Ugochi is the CEO and founder of Flindel, the leading solution for commerce returns globally. Flindel is a logistics startup focused on erasing the headache of returns through automation. They make returning anything easy for consumers and viable for retailers with their unique infrastructure. Their vision? They are erasing the friction out of returns to make life easier for everyone across the board.
Uzoma is an advocate for financial inclusion, focusing on providing best-of-breed financial and non financial solutions to the millions of un-banked across Africa. He is bullish on the need for widespread mobile adoption in the finance sector and is passionate about leveraging technology to play a definitive role in the social development and transformation of the people and businesses on the continent. He believes that technology along with good governance, as well as support and education for SMEs, has the power to push Africa forward, and continues to work towards this goal.
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Chairman
- Senior Leader
Vishal is a Senior Leader with over 27 years of experience. He is currently the Chairman & CEO of Full Circle - a group of portfolio companies that range from Venture-backed pan African companies; Commercial Real estate; to Hospitality.
Vishal has served on numerous internal boards at PwC; GE and within the GE investment portfolio. He serves on numerous private boards in his portfolio. He is proud of his service to the Jane Goodall Global board - a non-profit focused on conservation.