The board of Trustees of the Tony Elumelu Foundation have announced the appointment of Professor Reid E. Whitlock as its new CEO. The appointment takes effect from February 15, 2015.

He replaces Dr Wiebe Boer, the inaugural Chief Executive of the Foundation, who has been promoted to the position of Director of Strategy at Heirs Holdings, a pan-African proprietary investment company owned by Tony Elumelu.

Prof. Whitlock has 30 years working experience as a business school rector, diplomat, entrepreneur, strategy consultant and advisor to leaders in Africa, Asia and the Middle East on economic development. He holds a Masters of Business Administration from Harvard Business School, and is a first-class graduate of Princeton University. He also received his Ph.D. and law degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

Whitlock will be supervising the foundation’s four key projects and programmes: the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme, the Africapitalism Institute,  The Elumelu Nigeria Empowerment Fund and the Tony & Awele Elumelu Prize. These projects not only promote entrepreneurship, but also offer assistance to those in need and celebrate academic excellence in Africa.

Tony O. Elumelu, one of Africa’s most influential businessmen, welcomed Professor Whitlock to the foundation, noting that he brings with him considerable global experience in the private, public, and academic sectors, which will significantly assist in realising the mission of the foundation. He also added that this will see to the empowering Africa’s next generation of entrepreneurs and promote the continent’s economic and social transformation.

The Foundation, launched in 2010, is Africa’s leading promoter of entrepreneurship. The organisation is responsible for programmes aimed at ensuring that entrepreneurship becomes the key driver of Africa’s economic growth and social transformation.