A core strategic goal of our firm this year was to constitute a permanent Board of Advisors, made up of men and women with deep experience, broad perspectives and more importantly - share our values at LoftyInc. The goal was to bring to bear their expertise, connections and insights for the important work we do globally - especially in the ECOWAS region & in the Diaspora.
I'm pleased to announce the final constitution of our maiden Board of Advisors. After scouring the ends of the earth (and I mean so literally), our advisors truly are the perfect fit for the task ahead. I'm also elated to add that the members of our Board of Advisors are already providing the critical inputs to help us achieve the goals of emerging as the premier house for start-up incubation & funding in the ECOWAS region, and go-to firm for "pre-funded" project advisory services in West Africa & Diaspora.
Below are brief biographies of our distinguished Advisors.
Marsha Wulff
Board Member Since September 2010
Since 1997, when she helped a NYSE-listed corporation with a South African joint venture, Marsha has traveled frequently to Africa, and worked daily with Africans, facilitating economic development by linking stakeholders in entrepreneurial ventures to build indigenous African industries. She nurtures pre-qualified project pipelines, vets business opportunities, enlists expert consultants and petitions funding sources. Her business model relies on health or technology professionals who are launching businesses in Africa. She works along side these entrepreneurs, as an extension of their executive team.
She also advises US corporations entering African markets and not-for-profits seeking sustainable solutions in Africa. Prior roles include that of independent entrepreneur (1970’s), VP of Investments at Dean Witter (1980’s), Advisor to the CEO and Director of Corporate Communications at Pioneer (PXD:NYSE) as it grew from $60M to $4B (1990’s). She served as Finance Chair of the executive board of a medical center managing a budget of $200 million/yr (1990–1997). Since 2001, she has managed a private equity investment portfolio in medtech. Marsha earned her Executive MBA at SMU’s Cox School of Business, Dallas in 2001. She has lived and worked internationally in Australia, Argentina, China, Germany, Taiwan, India and Africa. She is an adjunct professor at Monterey Institute of International Studies, California.
Marsha brings considerable experience in social entrepreneurship and business education to the board.
Chinedu Okpareke
Board Member Since September 2010
Chinedu Okpareke is Vice President, Energy Investments & MD at Avaizon Consulting. Board member at Oando Holdings. An alumni of Wharton Business School, Chinedu joined Ocean & Oil Holdings in 2006 after his MBA. Prior to joining Ocean & Oil Holdings, he worked within the Global Information Services Division of Mobil Producing Nigeria for 8 years on several roles, most recently as In-country IS Project Manager on three multi-billion dollar oil & gas development projects. Before joining Mobil, he worked with Arthur Andersen & Co in their Assurance and Business Advisory practice focusing on the banking and finance sectors. He also has technical sales and marketing experience having worked in Telnet Nigeria and Symmetricom Inc. in San Jose, California.
Chinedu brings his versatile corporate relationships and board room experience to play as a board member.
Okezie Ofoegbu
Board Member Since November 2010
Okezie Ofoegbu until recently was a Vice President of Emerging Capital Partners (ECP). With seven funds and over $1.8 billion under management, ECP is a leading private equity manager focused exclusively on Africa. Headquartered in Washington DC, ECP has six offices across Africa and a ten-year track record of successful investment in companies operating in over 40 countries on the continent. Mr. Ofoegbu joined ECP in 2006 upon completion of an MBA in Finance, Marketing and Entrepreneurial Management from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Prior to Wharton, he was Staff Infrastructure Analyst with ExxonMobil's Upstream Global Information Services. Mr. Ofoegbu graduated from the Obafemi Awolowo University with a BSc. in Computer Engineering. Okezie is based in the US and joins the board with strong background in finance and business development.
No doubt, LoftyInc's Board is global in outlook (like our firm); with strong local connections and seasoned connections. We certainly have high hopes as we craft the next critical steps for our firm in 2011; and the BoA feeds that process by advising our Executive Management Team. Our ultimate goal is to position LoftyInc Allied Partners Limited to take on the challenges of implementing programs focused on creating the new 21st century economy in the ECOWAS region, with good sustainable businesses and jobs to follow; built on the critical foundations innovation and entrepreneurship.
Michael O. Oluwagbemi II
Executive Partner
On Behalf of the Executive Management Team
