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Dr Noerine Kaleeba Interim Chair, AMREF International Board

Described by a Scottish daily as the ‘angel of Africa’, Dr Noerine Kaleeba has made a significant difference in the lives of people living with AIDS and their families not only in Uganda, but also at political and strategic levels across the world. A physiotherapist, she was head of the School of Physiotherapy at Mulago Hospital, Kampala before joining the HIV frontline. In 1986, soon after her husband’s HIV diagnosis, she started a support group that blossomed into the AIDS Support Organisation (TASO Uganda), a global model of HIV prevention, AIDS care and support.

She was among a small group of people who joined Dr Peter Piot in setting up UNAIDS, where she  worked for 10 years from January 1996, based in Geneva. She later worked for a British consortium to develop a programme for children affected by HIV in Malawi. She currently operates as an independent consultant based in Uganda.

Lady Sue Woodford-Hollick OBE                 Director, AMREF International Board

Lady Sue Woodford-Hollick is a businesswoman and consultant with wide-ranging experience in broadcasting and the arts. She is a former current affairs producer and documentary maker for Granada Television and a founding commissioning editor for Channel 4 television.

She recently retired after nine years as Chair of Arts Council England, London. She has chaired and been a trustee of numerous arts organisations, including Tate Members, Index on Censorship, Talawa Theatre Company and the Theatre Museum. She is the founder and co-owner of Bringing Up Baby Ltd, a London-based child care company. She chaired the AMREF UK Board until February 2011 and is also a Trustee of the Free World Centre and Complicate Theatre Company.

Dr Eve Hawa Sinare Director, AMREF International Board                      

Dr Eve Hawa Sinare, an advocate and a legal consultant is a Partner of REX ATTORNEYS, one of the largest corporate law firms in Tanzania.  A graduate of the University of Dar Es Salaam (LLB and LLM) and the University of Konstanz, Germany (LLD- international economic law, trade and finance), she has, for more than 16 years, represented some of the largest local, regional and international banks and financial institutions in syndicated lending transactions in Tanzania and related financial services in all sectors of the economy. Dr. Sinare has been involved in major changes of policy and regulations in the banking sector in Tanzania and has a wealth of recognisable experience in regulatory and legislative regimes’ reviews.

She served as an Assistant Lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam teaching banking, international trade and investment, as a Director of Legal and Institutional Affairs of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (then called PTA) of 25 countries in Eastern and Southern Africa and as a Senior Legal Advisor at the Presidential Parastatal Sector Reform Commission responsible for divesting about 450 parastatals before proceeding to private legal practice.

Dr Sinare is has served on several boards in various capacities including  the Capital Markets and Securities Authority, Stanbic Bank Tanzania Limited; International Board of the World Services Group,  Chair of the DAWASA water utility for Dar es Salaam and Coffee Board of Tanzania

Marry de Gaay Fortman Director, AMREF International Board

Ms Marry T H de Gaay Fortman graduated in 1988 from the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. and joined Houthoff Buruma as a lawyer. In 1997 she became a partner in the fi rm’s Real Estate/Public Law section, and then a managing partner from 2001 to 2007. She specialises in Environmental Law, Public Law and Procurement Law. She is also active in the health care, telecom and energy markets. A member of the Sustainability Committee of the Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers, she advises institutions and government bodies on health care issues. She chairs the Supervisory Council of AMREF Netherlands and is a member of the Advisory Council of the Dutch Health Care Authority.

Dr Tewabech Bishaw Director, AMREF International Board                                           

An Ethiopian Public Health Specialist, Dr Tewabech Bishaw has four decades of rich national and international experience in public health and social policy and development. She holds a BSc. Degree in Public Health from Addis Ababa University Gondar College of Public Health, a Masters in Public Health, a post-graduate Diploma and a Doctoral Degree in Health Sciences from Loma Linda University School of Health, USA.

In 2006 she founded Alliance for Brain-Gain and Innovative Development (ABIDE), an indigenous non-governmental, non-profit development organisation engaged in brain gain for national capacity building in Ethiopia and also Africa. She has been the organisation’s Managing Director since its establishment.

Dr Tewabech is a Founding Member and the first President of the Ethiopian Public Health Association (1989-1991), as well as its current President, since 2009. She is the Secretary General of the African Federation of Public Health Associations and is also a member of the Executive Committee and Governing Council of the World Federation of Public Health Associations. She is a member of AMREF’s International Board.

Between 1986 and 2006, she served in UNICEF in senior management and technical leadership positions. Prior to joining UNICEF, Dr Tewabech worked for 17 years with the Ministry of Health in Ethiopia, as well as in leadership of national programmes in Health Manpower Development, Health Education, National Integrated Maternal and Child Health Services and National Disease Prevention and Control.

Gautam Dalal Director, AMREF International Board                                       

Gautam Dalal is a chartered accountant who spent his childhood in Tanzania. He is chair of AMREF UK and a member of AMREF’s International Board.

Gautam was a Senior Partner in KPMG's London office from 1990-2010. From 2000 to 2003 he was Chairman and Chief Executive of the firm’s practice in India, which he helped establish in 1993.He is also a Trustee of The National Gallery, non-executive director of Barts Health NHS Trust, Honorary Treasurer and Governing Body member of SOAS and a non-executive director of ZincOx Resources Plc.

Mr Nicolas Mérindol Director, AMREF International Board

Nicolas Mérindol, a graduate of ISG Business School, specialised in sales, business, management and marketing.

He is the Chairman of GROUPE AMILTON (Asset Management; Corporate Finance; Financial Services) and former Vice Chairman of Banca Leonardo Group for France and former Chief Executive Officer of the French Savings Bank Group CAISSE d’EPARGNE. He is Chairman of the Board of Directors of AMREF in France.
 
Nicolas has served in several capacities in various boards, including Crédit Foncier de France, Banque Palatine, Gestrim Services Immobiliers and Natixis. He has also served in organisations in the social business and sustainable development sector, including as a committee member of the ‘Fonds de cohésion sociale’ and the French National Sustainable Development Committee.

Keith PWJ McAdam Director, AMREF International Board

Prof Keith McAdam is Associate International Director for Africa at the Royal College of Physicians. He retired in 2007 after four years as Professor of Medicine and founding Director of the Infectious Diseases Institute, Makerere University, Uganda, and is Emeritus Professor of Clinical Tropical Medicine at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. From 1994-2003, he was Director of the Medical ResearchCouncil (UK) Laboratories in the Gambia.

Prof McAdam studied medicine at Cambridge University and the Middlesex Hospital in London. He then worked at the Institute of Medical Research in Papua New Guinea, and the US National Cancer Institute. He is Adjunct Professor of Medicine at Tufts Medical School in Boston and University of Minnesota Medical School.

Irene Kitinya Director, AMREF International Board

Irene Kitinya

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Irene holds a  Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and French, a Masters in Strategic Management from the University of Nairobi, Higher Diploma from the Institute of Human Resources and is a  trained mentor and coach for leadership development accredited by Senn Delaney Consultants UK.

She has over 13 years experience in her field. Irene is currently the Human Resources Director at Airtel Networks Kenya Ltd. Prior to joining Airtel, she was Human Resource Business Partner at Barclays Bank of Kenya and Human Resource Manager at GlaxoSmithKline EA

Joseph Edward Pegues Director, AMREF International Board

Joseph Pegues’ professional experience as an economist and international banker spans some three decades including: six years as an Economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF); followed by twenty-two years with Citibank in a variety of senior management positions in Africa, Europe and the United States; and ten years as a Senior Financial Sector Specialist at the World Bank Institute where he was responsible for designing and managing the delivery of financial sector capacity building programs for policy makers and financial sector participants in developing and emerging market countries. He was seconded for eighteen months by the World Bank to the Banque de France in Paris at the beginning of 2000, where he was responsible for co-task managing the design and launch of a Masters in Banking and Finance (MBF) Program at the West African Management Institute (CESAG) in Dakar, Senegal.

Since retiring from the World Bank Group at the end of 2002, Mr Pegues has continued to support and serve as an Adjunct Professor at the West African Management Institute; served as a Senior Advisor to the bi-partisan “Help Commission”, appointed by former US President George W. Bush to “rethink” the United States development assistance programs; and works as a consultant to USAID and various development contractors.

Mr Pegues also served for several years as a trustee and Finance Committee Chairman of Save the Children, USA.

Mario Raffaelli Director, AMREF International Board

Mr Mario Raff aelli has many years of experience in peace-keeping processes around the world as a representative of the Italian Government. He was elected to the Italian Parliament in 1979 up to 1994, during which he was Undersecretary of State for  Health (1982), then Undersecretary of State for Foreign Aff airs in charge of Africa and International Organisations (1983-1989). He was a parliamentary observer in Nicaragua elections (1990) and chaired the Peace Conference for Nagorno-Karabach.

He is famous for his role as Chief Mediator in the Mozambican peace process (1992-1994) and his long engagement in Somalia as Special Representative of the Italian Government (2003-2008). He was recently appointed as Expert for Peace Initiatives for the Horn of Africa.

Muthoni Kuria Director, AMREF International Board

Mrs Muthoni Kuria is Founder and Chairman of Mobikash Africa Ltd, a regional mobile commerce company. A general management practitioner with expertise in fi nance, she holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Leicester University and is a Certified Public Accountant (K). She left the banking industry in 2009, having worked as Managing Director, Southern Credit Bank, and Executive Director and Chief Accountant, Senator Cards. She also worked at American Life Insurance Company as a Senior Accountant, and as Accounts Analyst at United Builders  Merchants, UK. As Chair of the Kenya Credit and Debit Card Association, she influenced introduction of credit referencing, and changes in judicial handing of e-commerce transactions.

Professor Mutuma Mugambi Director, AMREF International Board

Prof Mutuma Mugambi trained as a doctor at the University of East Africa (Makerere). He later did a PhD in neurophysiology at University College, London and then specialised in Cardiology at Universita di Roma. He has served as professor at the University of Nairobi and Kenya Methodist University. He was also a Consultant Cardiologist at the Kenyatta National Hospital, supporting the open heart surgery programme. Prof Mugambi later served as Director of the Kenya Medical Research Institute and more recently as Vice-Chancellor of Kenya Methodist University. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Professor Souleymane Mboup Director, AMREF International Board

Prof Souleymane Mboup is head of the Bacteriology Virology Department at the University Hospital Le Dantec, University of Dakar, Senegal, a position he has held since 1984. He has a Pharm D degree, a Masters Degree in Immunology and a PhD in Bacteriology Virology. Since 1985, he has made enormous contributions to the  analysis and control of HIV and AIDS in West Africa. He was instrumental in identifi cation of HIV-2 and to the fi nding that this virus is less virulent than HIV-1. He is a member of the Partnership Board on the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trial Partnership and is now increasingly involved in studies on malaria and tuberculosis.