Kimathi Kuenyehia Appointed As AmCham Ghana President

The American Chamber of Commerce, Ghana, is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Kimathi Kuenyehia as the new President of the Chamber and Mr. David Thornton as the new Vice President.

Mr. Kuenyehia succeeds Mrs.  Ayesha Bedwei Ibe who served as the President of the Chamber since 2019.

Kimathi Kuenyehia is a Harvard-educated, dual-qualified New York and Ghanaian lawyer who is regarded as one of the best and most gifted lawyers around. Highly regarded as an extraordinary strategist, Kimathi is the Managing Partner of the litigation, arbitration, and transaction powerhouse firm Kimathi & Partners in Ghana.

A director at Google Ghana, he helps Fortune 500 companies, global multinationals, and G20 Countries with their most challenging legal issues, most significant business transactions, and most critical disputes. Kimathi has a remarkable record of solving problems, closing deals, and winning disputes.

His recent work includes advising the Millennium Challenge Corporation, a United States foreign aid agency established by the U.S. Congress on the implementation of the US$498.2 Million grant to the Government of Ghana; Google’s large-scale metro-fiber telecom project in Ghana; and acted as Co-Counsel in an international arbitration for a power contractor to win an UNCITRAL award worth over US$134 million against the Ghana Government.

A competitive squash player who “thinks outside the box”, Kimathi is a Young Global Leader, which is a prestigious honor bestowed by the World Economic Forum on him in recognition of his “professional accomplishments, commitment to society, and potential to contribute to shaping the world through inspiring leadership”.

A passionate supporter of charitable causes he previously won the prestigious International Bar Association Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Year Award for his ‘professional excellence, innovative approach to legal practice, community service and reputation for the advancement of legal ethics’.

The American Chamber of Commerce, Ghana, is confident that Kimathi will build on the stellar achievements of past Presidents to further the interests of businesses and leverage the thriving trade relations between Ghana and the United States for growth and prosperity.

Ayesha Bedwei Appointed New President of AmCham Ghana

The American Chamber of Commerce (Ghana) is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms. Ayesha Bedwei as the Chamber’s new President and Mr. Pakwo Shum (Country Manager, Delta Airlines) as the Chamber’s Vice President effective 1 January 2020.

Ms. Bedwei succeeds Mr. Joe Mensah who served as the President of the Chamber for four years. Mr. Mensah who was recently named as the Senior Vice President and Head of the Ghana Business Unit at Kosmos Energy, stated: “I thoroughly enjoyed my time as the President of AmCham. I believe that together with the board members, we have been able to increase the profile of the American business community in Ghana. I have worked closely with Ayesha in the Chamber for 10 years. I am very confident in her ability to ensure that the contributions of American companies remain visible in the country. I wish Ayesha the best of luck in leading the Chamber into its next chapter.”

Ms. Ayesha Bedwei is a Tax Partner at PwC Ghana with over 20 years’ experience in the finance, tax and accounting fields. She is also PwC Africa’s Diversity & Inclusion Leader. Ms. Bedwei has been involved in a wide array of projects and has built a network of influential clients and associates during her professional career. Ms. Bedwei has a wealth of experience in Energy matters due to her involvement in Ghana’s oil and gas sector from its inception in 2007 to date. In addition, she services multinational clients across a range of industries including fast-moving consumer goods, telecommunications, and manufacturing.

When asked about her new role Ms. Bedwei remarked, “I am honoured and excited to be appointed as the new President of the Chamber. I look forward to working to promote U.S business interest, expanding trade and investment between the U.S. and Ghana and promoting entrepreneurship and business amongst young people in the country.”

Other notable additions to the Chamber effective 1 January 2020 include Adiki Ayitevie (Vice President, Newmont Goldcorp Corporation) as the new Treasurer.

New Board Members: Randi Cruz (Managing Director & Venture Manager, ExxonMobil Exploration & Production Ghana Deepwater Limited), Gbile Adewunmi (Managing Director, Cummins CNWARO Africa), Francois Hardy (Senior Regional Vice President, Newmont Goldcorp Corporation), Seth Adu-Baah (Managing Director, Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Ghana Limited), Sulemana Abubakar (Chief Information Officer, General Electric Africa) and George Sarpong (Kosmos Energy Ghana HC)

About the American Chamber of Commerce (Ghana)

The American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) Ghana is the representative arm of U.S businesses and subsidiaries voluntarily working to create an environment where business can thrive between Ghanaian and American communities. AmCham exists to promote commercial, economic, educational and cultural ties between the United States of America and the Republic of Ghana. The Chamber is one of the 118 affiliates of the U.S Chamber of Commerce, which is the world’s largest business association with over one million members worldwide.

www.amchamghana.org