New fellows deepen the center’s expertise in finance and investing, climate, security, and science and technology on the world’s fastest-growing continent
WASHINGTON DC —SEPTEMBER 7, 2022—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.
The eight new fellows collectively bring decades of expertise to the Atlantic Council in the areas of peace and security, business and finances, agriculture, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and 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.
“I am delighted to see the deep breadth of intellectual firepower our new fellows bring to the Africa Center, particularly at a time of rapid change across this dynamic continent,” said Frederick Kempe, president and CEO of the Atlantic Council.
“We welcome the expansion of our group of core Africa experts, and I look forward to the fresh perspectives they will bring to the Atlantic Council. Our team is well balanced and equipped to pioneer engagement for the new African century,” said Rama Yade, senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center.
The Atlantic Council will welcome four of these experts as nonresident senior fellows. Jonathan Mboyo Esole is from the Democratic Republic of Congo and was raised in Belgium. In 2018, he won the Next Einstein Forum Fellowship as one of the leading young scientists from Africa. Esole is currently an associate professor at Northeastern University, with a specialty in mathematics and physics. Frannie Leautier is from Tanzania and is currently CEO and partner at SouthBridge Investment. Her previous roles included chief of staff to the president of the World Bank, senior vice-president for the African Development Bank, and first chief operating officer for the Eastern and Southern Africa Trade and Development Bank.
Jean-Paul Mvogo is an economist and financial expert in extractive industries, information technology, innovation, and financial sector development from Cameroon. Over the past decade he has worked for the United Nations Development Program and the International Monetary Fund, where he supervised the extractive sector in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Michael Shurkin is an experienced political scientist and a high-level security expert in European defense, West African politics, and security. Shurkin is currently director of global programs at 14 North Strategies; previously, he served as senior political scientist at RAND and has also been a political analyst with the Central Intelligence Agency.
Emilie Bel, Sarah Daly, Tom Koch, and Jacqueline Muna Musiitwa come to the Atlantic Council as nonresident fellows within the Africa Center. Bel is originally from France and is currently the deputy director of public affairs and head of international affairs at the French Insurance Federation. She also works as a consultant at the World Bank and has previously contributed climate finance-focused work to the Atlantic Council. Daly is currently a research associate at the Institute for Defense Analyses, where she has co-authored reports on conflicts and security interventions in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Mali, Mozambique and South Sudan. She has served as a Fulbright Fellow in Argentina and previously worked at an education-focused non-profit in Kenya.
Koch is currently the director of global capital and strategy at FCA Corp. He served in the US Marine Corps and is a major in the Marine Reserves, where he works within the Marine innovation unit. Musiitwa, from Zambia, is an international attorney specializing in business, human rights, and sustainability. She previously served in various leadership capacities at Rio Tinto, the Trade and Development Bank, and the World Trade Organization. Musiitwa is a member of the United Nations Committee for Development Policy.
About Atlantic Council’s Africa Center
The Atlantic Council’s Africa Center is a leading voice restoring 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, Burkina Faso’s President Roch Marc Christian Kabore, Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osanbajo, Ivorian Prime Minister Patrick Achi, Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley, African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina, Chairman of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee Gregory Meeks; and US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas- Greenfield.
