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.
Mark graduated with a BCompt degree from UNISA in 1993. After some years as a commodities trader, he decided to pursue a goal of becoming an entrepreneur, which skill and strength he has applied over the past several years in spearheading Blue Label’s impressive organic and acquisitive growth and international expansion. Together with his brother […]
Bora Yoon Definition Of Success | Success means living a satisfied life, in which one can pursue the art of creation, cultivating self-knowledge, community and enlightenment both inwards and outwards. I Am Driven By | Transformation, purpose and progress, creating something that wasn’t there before. Defying people’s perceptions and ideas of what could or should be, and […]
Tessa Plen is a highly accomplished global change-agent for growth and development of individuals, companies and products. She has worked in senior positions at blue-chip multinationals like Colgate Palmolive (associate Director of Innovation) and Unilever in South Africa, Paris, London, Sydney and New York before recently returning to South Africa. She has implemented growth and […]
Mr. Ian Moir has been the Chief Executive Officer of Woolworths Holdings Limited since November 18, 2010. Mr. Moir served as Managing Director of Retail at Country Road Ltd. since January 1, 2010, served as its Chief Executive Officer from November 2000 to January 1, 2010 and served as its Chief Operating Officer. He served […]
Beatrice Witzgall is the CEO and founder of LumiFi, is an accomplished, award-winning lighting designer with more than 20 years of global experience. She has worked on countless lighting design projects alongside renowned architects including Frank Gehry and Steven Holl. Having worked as a German trained architect and graphic design and digital media teacher, Beatrice […]
Linda Tucker has a vast spanse of experience which has subsequently resulted in her diverse views. Linda hailed from the realms of international marketing and fashion through a threatening life experience with a pack of lions to her devotion to the conservation of The White Lion. After being rescued by a Tsonga medicine woman from […]
Mavericks is a surfing location in Northern California where storm-waves can top out at over 60 feet with many actually being recorded on the Richter Scale!! It is also the home of the Mavericks Big Wave International Surf Contest for a select few of the world’s best big wave surfers. Grant ‘Twiggy’ Baker has won […]
Jenna Clifford is a world-renowned jewelry designer, known for her unique customised creations. Her bold and dramatic designs are sought after by some of the most recognised business icons and celebrities from around the world where she has garnered a loyal following since the launch of her business in 1992. Jenna Clifford Is Driven By | […]
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