Vera Songwe serves as The World Bank’s Country Director for Senegal, Cape Verde, Gambia, Mauritania and Guinea-Bissau. She is also a non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institute with the Global Economy and Development and Africa Growth Initiative. Dr. Songwe holds a Ph.D. in Mathematical Economics from the Center for Operations Research and Econometrics from the Catholic University of Louvain (CORE-UCL) in Belgium. She was previously a visiting scholar at the University of Southern California and at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. In 1997, she joined the World Bank Group as an economist on the Middle East and North Africa. She is also a member of the Mo Ibrahim Governance Advisory Board.
Vera Songwe
My Definition Of Success | Success means achieving everything you strive for and then more. Yes my definition has changed, from considering success as my personal achievements to my actions that have a positive influence on others.
I Am Driven By | The pursuit of excellence, collective excellence. Today this means moving the dial in Africa. Working in Africa for Africa and being part of this moment of hope and change. The desire to want to be part of those who contribute in earnest to making Africa a better place. A place we can be and should be proud of.
A Key Talent | Hard work, persistence and the courage of my convictions. Nothing comes easy and you have to work hard at everything. Success is never ready made or given. With persistence you have the strength to keep fighting for what you believe in, what you think is correct. Hard work prepares you for the challenges, persistence allows you to keep going even when it all seems futile and the courage of your convictions gives you a reason to keep working hard and persisting. It is the result you are looking to achieve, but you must work hard for it. Nothing worth celebrating is ever handed to you freely.
The Principles I Live By | You must do onto others what you expect them to do to you. This is a very simple rule but it is one of the most difficult I find. One does not always succeed but the important thing is to keep trying to live up to it and at the end of every day to ask if you met the goal and how you can do better the next day. This process of self-assessment reminds us we are not perfect but also helps you to keep on trying to improve. It is a positive and constructive affirmation of who I am and want to be.
How I Use My Mind | I am always and constantly asking myself why I do what I do? What are the results I am looking to achieve. The discipline of having a clear result is sobering but also helps you to focus. For every action I take I have an expected result I hope to achieve. Having daily, monthly, yearly targets and working against these targets has been a very good disciplining tool for me. But it only becomes binding if you are honest with yourself.
Stephen Koch is a professional speaker, climber, snowboarder and mountain guide. His list of alpine ascents and descents include some of the most notable firsts anywhere in the world, most of which have never been repeated. He is best known as the first and only person to snowboard on all Seven Summits, the highest peak […]
Former Bafana Bafana player and Chairman of Football Magic Foundation: George is a former international football striker who played for Hellenic FC, Seven Stars, AmaZulu and most notably Bafana Bafana in the 1994 World Cup qualifiers. George then applied his football skills and experience to a distinguished career in football media publishing with Kickoff magazine, […]
After an executive sales and strategy role for a large information technology company based in Germany, Brian returned to South Africa and founded TowerStone, driven by his desire to inspire others to seek greater meaning in their lives and help them to purposefully live a life that is fulfilling and meaningful, filled with love at […]
After leaving her role as the founding CEO of the Interactive Advertising Bureau of South Africa (IAB SA) Josephine Buys, a dynamic and no-nonsense leader in the publishing and marketing industry in South Africa is now the new CEO for Publisher Research Council (PRC). Her interview below typifies the way she goes about life. It’s […]
John Baldoni is an internationally recognized leadership educator, executive coach and speaks throughout North America and Europe. John is the author of more than a dozen books, including MOXIE: The Secret to Bold and Gutsy Leadership, Lead with Purpose, Lead Your Boss, and The Leader’s Pocket Guide. John’s books have been translated into 10 languages. […]
Suzanne Frazer is the co-founder of the MACZAC Douglas Tom “Thumbs-Up” Award winning non-profit organization Beach Environmental Awareness Campaign Hawai’i also known as the B.E.A.C.H. The all-volunteer organization’s mission is to build awareness of marine debris and find solutions through environmental education, plastic reduction, litter prevention campaigns and beach clean-ups. In 2013, Suzanne together with […]
“Let me help you create an unforgettable experience at your conference.” As an experienced keynote speaker, Vinh Giang TLP knows that what transpires on stage is not about him. It’s 100% about the audience. It’s about the life-changing lessons he’s been so fortunate to learn along the way and sharing them in a manner that […]
Asha De Vos | The Legacy Project has published several key research publications on Sri Lankan blue whales, which have led to this population being designated as a species in urgent need of conservation research by the International Whaling Commission (IWC). The IWC has since invited key Sri Lankan government personnel to participate in whale […]
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