Key people
An independent international Advisory Board is guiding APBF's executive committee and senior management team to establish an appropriate international operating structure.
The management team have a complementary range of essential skills and a clear understanding of sub-Saharan Africa's related political, economic and social challenges.
- Professor Emmanuel Akyeampong President, APBF USA.
- Richard Dowden
- Reverend Dr Mensa Otabil
- Jane Evans
- George Twumasi Founder, APBF International
- Robert Soteriou Finance Director, APBF International
- Kahlil ByrdExecutive Director, APBF USA
- Duncan Irvine APBF's Executive Producer
- Dr Nicholas Charalambides
- Mary Goodyear
- Mark Harvey
- Jonathan Schütz
- Dr Graham Mytton
The current members of the international Advisory Board include:
Professor Emmanuel Akyeampong, President, APBF USA.
Professor Akyeampong completed his Ph.D. in African history at the University of Virginia in 1993, and is a leading social historian of the continent. His original approach to the study of power, gender, environment, health and the African Diaspora has led to illuminating insights. He is now professor of history at Harvard University and has been appointed chair of the African Studies Committee.
His articles on the social and cultural history of Ghana and west Africa have appeared in Histoire Sociale; Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry; the International Journal of African Historical Studies; Slavery and Abolition; Past and Present; African Affairs, and the Journal of African History. He has also written and edited several books including: Drink, Power and Cultural Change - A Social History of Alcohol in Ghana and Between the Sea and the Lagoon - An Eco-Social History of the Anlo of South-eastern Ghana.
Richard Dowden
Richard Dowden is one of the UK's most passionate Africanists. He first visited sub-Saharan Africa in 1971 and has been going back ever since. He has held various positions of authority within the African and international media and has visited almost every one of the 53 countries on the continent. He is now Executive Director of the Royal African Society, one of Britain's leading institutions working for the welfare and interests of the African continent.
After leaving The Times in 1986, he became Africa Editor at The Independent, a post which he held until 1995, when he moved to The Economist in the same role. Mr Dowden has produced three documentaries on Africa for the BBC and Channel 4.
Reverend Dr Mensa Otabil
A highly respected Africanist, Christian statesman, educator, entrepreneur, broadcaster, and motivational speaker. Dr. Otabil oversees the multi-faceted International Central Gospel Church and, is the Chancellor and founder of the Central University College in Ghana, one of the continent's largest private universities. His goal is the transformation of Africa in accordance with Christian principles.
His radio and television series, Living Word, addresses the concerns of Africans who are seeking lasting solutions to their perplexing challenges.
Jane Evans
Jane Evans joined World Vision in January 2001, to take up the post of Head of Communications. She is currently responsible for public & media relations and the internet. World Vision is a Christian charity and one of the world's leading relief and development agencies, currently helping more than 100 million people in nearly 100 countries in their struggle against poverty, hunger and injustice, irrespective of their religious beliefs. Jane previously held the position of Director of Communications for Europe with RCI, part of Cendant Corporation, one of the world's foremost providers of travel, real estate, vehicle and financial services and the world's largest hotel franchiser.
Jane started her career with the Confederation of British Industry. After a period spent in the commercial property sector, she spent two years working for the one of the political groups within the European Parliament, before joining a small London-based PR consultancy. Her interest in European politics led her to stand as a candidate in the European elections in 1994. Jane is a graduate in modern languages from London University.
The visionary driving force and management executive are:
George Twumasi, Founder - APBF International
Devised the vision behind APBF. Over the past decade, he has secured the support for the Foundation and its goals – including the making available of airtime for relevant programming - from all the major African broadcasters, and has led the process of which the Foundation is the fulcrum. During the period, he has initiated a wide range of television-related projects, securing as a result respectability within the African terrestrial television industry and an unrivalled knowledge of the broadcasting and advertising landscape. He has a global network of industry contacts, including the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association, the Association of International Broadcasters, and the International Council of the Emmy.
Robert Soteriou, Finance Director – APBF International
A chartered accountant who worked for Price-Waterhouse, before becoming senior partner of his own firm, which he has run for more than 20 years. He advises the executive committee on compliance and is administering APBF's accounting, reporting, and legal issues. Robert is responsible for the practical implementation of the goals of APBF, which the management executive, will drive on a day-to-day basis.
Kahlil Byrd, Executive Director– APBF USA
Responsible for the corporate development of the Foundation in the USA. He is a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and has worked for NPR in Washington, the BBC and WGBH in Boston. Kahlil is also devising a variety of long term broadcasting projects targeting sub-Saharan Africa and the African Diaspora, including the development of a 24-hour pan-African news broadcast service. He is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Duncan Irvine, APBF's Executive Producer
Responsible for co-ordinating the day-to-day operations of APBF across sub-Sahara Africa. He is the Founder and CEO of Rapid Blue Pty Ltd (www.rapidblue.com). Rapid Blue has produced over six thousand hours of television and has an extensive knowledge base in programme procurement and product branding, social responsibility sponsorships, and co-production management.
The key consultants are:
Dr Nicholas Charalambides
Development economics analyst specialising in sub-Saharan Africa. He is responsible for liaising with G8 governments on behalf of APBF. Dr Charalambides has a doctorate in economics from Oxford University and has worked extensively on trade policy and development for the Department For International Development in the UK, the European Union, on behalf of several other national governments within the Southern African Development Community, and several international non-governmental organisations.
Mary Goodyear
Motivational market researcher with a long and remarkable professional track record. She specialised in international consultancy for many multinational companies and institutions, including the BBC. Her first project, for Guinness, was in Cameroon in 1971 and her passionate interest in and first hand experience of the cultures of Africa – including the Caribbean Diaspora – has developed from that first encounter. Mary Goodyear graduated as a psychologist from the University College of London in 1965. From a Westerner's perspective, she brings a wealth of experience to APBF team in the understanding of sub-Saharan African cultures and its rich, underlying value systems.
Mark Harvey
Independent media and development consultant, responsible for the international packaging and selling of the Foundation's television projects including in-house commissions and joint ventures. Mark is an established international consultant with expertise in developing non-profit institutional and television-based communications for development programme strategies. Mark Harvey has recently completed a post-graduate degree course in public administration at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Mark is an experienced producer of development programming and worked for several years as Director of Development at the UK based non-governmental organisation, TVE International.
Jonathan Schütz
Scriptwriter/filmmaker and a graphic designer, and is responsible for APBF's in-house concept development and graphics presentations. Jonathan Schutz, an English graduate from Oxford University, has worked extensively as a documentary filmmaker and journalist in several countries around the world on three continents.
Dr Graham Mytton
APBF's head research consultant. Dr Graham Mytton began to study mass media in 1966, as a postgraduate political science student at the University of Manchester. He undertook practical research into the media in Tanzania, spending a year as a research associate at University College, Dar es Salaam in 1967-1968. After completing his studies in Manchester in 1970, Mytton became the Zambia Broadcasting Services Research Fellow at the Institute for African Studies, University of Zambia, and a post he held until 1973. Mytton later worked for the BBC, eventually becoming Controller of Marketing for the BBC World Service. He is now an independent market and audience research consultant and trainer.