Atlantic Council’s Africa Center announces eight new fellows

New fellows deepen the center's expertise in finance, investing, security, sports, science, and technology on the world's fastest-growing continent

WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 31, 2024 -The Atlantic Council's Africa Center announced today the appointment of eight new fellows across a variety of sectors, increasing the center's deep bench of regional expertise and strengthening the center's multifaceted approach to engaging with the African continent. These additions bring the number of Africa Center's fellows to twenty-six. Aubrey Hruby, who has been a prominent senior fellow of the Africa Center for ten years and leading its prosperity programs, has been named as a senior advisor.

The new fellows collectively bring decades of expertise to the Atlantic Council in the areas of finance, investing, security, sports, science, and technology. Representing countries in Africa and Europe, as well as the United States, their collective expertise and global networks will allow the Atlantic Council to continue providing insightful policy recommendations on key issues across Africa.

"Africa's significance on the global stage is growing with every year economically, geopolitically, culturally, and also regarding its security challenges," said Frederick Kempe, president and CEO of the Atlantic Council. "Our Africa Center, so capably led by Ambassador Rama Yade, has positioned itself creatively and constructively to play a crucial role building bridges, dialogue, and action to meet these opportunities. These new fellows bring invaluable experience and insight from a range of sectors, increasing our ability to provide impactful solutions and foster engagement across the continent and with the United States, Europe and other global actors."

"We are very excited with Aubrey Hruby's new position, which will complement her leadership role on business, trade, development, energy, and climate for the Africa Center. Also, we welcome the addition of the established Africa experts to the Africa Center, and I am eager for the fresh perspectives they will bring to the Atlantic Council," said Rama Yade, senior director of the Atlantic Council's Africa Center. "Our team is well placed to shape the narrative for the new African century, push greater investment to African markets, and encourage policy makers to pursue a more robust approach to economic development, green energy transition, and industrial transformation across the African continent."

The new fellows are as follows:

Colin Coleman is a South African banker, academic and thought leader, based in Johannesburg. He is widely recognized as an influential voice on African affairs and has played a key role in events affecting South Africa and the continent.

Gbemisola Abudu is an accomplished entrepreneur, business leader, luxury marketing expert, and social activist with 17 years of experience developing businesses, brands, and human capital in Nigeria, the Middle East, and the United States. She is the NBA Africa Vice President and Country Head of NBA Nigeria, where she is responsible for leading the league's basketball and business development initiatives in Nigeria, including grassroots programming for youth, elite player development, relationships with current and prospective marketing, media, and merchandise partners, and social responsibility efforts that improve the lives of youth and families in Nigeria. 

Richard Bell is a retired US diplomat who served as US Ambassador to Côte d'Ivoire from 2019-2023. Prior to serving as Ambassador, he served in a senior diplomatic posting in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and served as a foreign policy advisor at US Africa Command (AFRICOM) in Stuttgart, Germany.

Alexandria J. Maloney currently serves as the President of Black Professionals in International Affairs and as a visiting lecturer at Cornell University. Alexandria is a foreign affairs professional with nearly a decade of social impact experience, was named one of the "Top 100 Most Influential People of African Descent" and a "Forbes 50 Champion" for Black and Brown communities for her leadership in building ecosystems to educate, prepare, and empower underrepresented professionals in international affairs.

Mamadou Fall Kane is from Senegal where he serves as the Energy Advisor to the President and concurrently as the Deputy Secretary of the Strategic Orientation Committee for the Oil&Gas (COS-PETROGAZ). He is responsible for leading and developing oil, gas, and renewal resources, policy, and training in the country and is an expert on African perspectives on global geopolitics, energy, and development financing issues.

Oluwayemisi Oluwayemisi (Yemisi) Ajumobi is joining the Africa Center as Nonresident senior fellow, after completing a year in residence as a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's GeoTech Center. Ajumobi focuses on the adoption of NextGen sequencing technologies to enhance global health security, advises on biosecurity, climate change, and emerging biotechnology policy solutions on some of the world most difficult challenges. She has over twelve years of experience in global health security and development. 

Tom Bonsundy-O'Bryan is a former British diplomat, 2023 Millennium fellow, and United Nations political advisor. Bonsundy-O'Bryan serves as Meta's head of misinformation policy for Europe, Middle East, and Africa where he advises company leadership on crisis response and strategy to combat fake news across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp in more than 120 countries, as well as launching an incubator for fact-checkers in Africa.

Yasmine Abdelhahi joins the Atlantic as a nonresident fellow within the Africa Center. Yasmine is currently the Executive Director Security Risk & Compliance at Comcast serving concurrently as the Business Information Security Officer for Comcast Business with a focus on global connectivity services. As a leader in cybersecurity governance, compliance, and risk management, Yasmine has demonstrated experience driving business transformation across sectors. Her international experience allowed her to develop a unique cross-cultural understanding of digital challenges in an increasingly interconnected world.

For media inquiries, please contact [email protected].

About the Atlantic Council's Africa Center

The Atlantic Council's Africa Center is a leading voice shaping the African narrative in Washington and across the world. Its convening power over the last year has brought together prominent leaders such as Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo, Kenya's President William Ruto, Senegalese President Macky Sall, Chadian Prime Minister Success Masra, Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley, African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina, Chairman of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee Gregory Meeks; Chair of the Export-Import Bank of the United States Reta Jo Lewis, and US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas- Greenfield.

Related Experts: Aubrey Hruby

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.