Ashesi University Foundation is proud to welcome Sam Jonah KBE, former CEO of Ashanti Goldfields Company Ltd. to our Board of Trustees. Mr. Jonah is known as one of Africa's top business executives and is a committed advocate for improved education throughout Africa. He brings a wealth of experience to our leadership team.
Mr. Jonah served as the CEO of Ashanti Goldfields Company Limited from 1986 until June 2004 , and led the transformation of Ashanti from a one-mine operation into a multinational. In 1996, Ashanti, which had listings in London & Ghana, became the first operating African company to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Currently, the Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast, Ghana, Mr. Jonah serves on various boards including Anglo American Corporation of South Africa, Transnet, Amplats and the African Regional Advisory Board of the London Business School. He was previously a member of the Governing Body of the School of Oriental and African Studies and a Trustee of the Camborne School of Mines of the Exeter University. He currently serves on the International Investment Advisory Councils of Presidents Thabo Mbeki (South Africa), President Kufuor’s (Ghana) and President Obasanjo (Nigeria). He is a member of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Global Compact Advisory Council. In 2003, he was Co-Chairman of the World Economic Forum held in Durban, South Africa.
Mr. Jonah was educated at Camborne School of Mines in Cornwall and the Imperial College of Science & Technology, London, was appointed the President of AngloGold Ashanti Ltd following the merger of AngloGold Ltd and Ashanti Goldfields Co Ltd in April 2004. In this capacity, he shared the strategic leadership of the company with Bobby Godsell, CEO of the Group.
He has been decorated with several awards and honours, among them the honorary Doctor of Science (D.Sc) degree awarded jointly by the Camborne School of Mines and the University of Exeter (UK). In 2003, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain & Northern Ireland and Head of the Commonwealth conferred on him, an honorary knighthood as Knight Commander of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE). The award was in recognition of his exceptional achievements as an African businessman, a leading business executive from the Commonwealth and an international public figure. He was awarded Ghana’s highest national award, the Companion of the Order of the Star in 2006.
In December 2004 CNN /Time named him as one of 25 Business Influentials setting the global standards for management, ethics, marketing and innovation. In October 2004 the Mining Journal conferred on him the Industry’s Life Time Achievement Award.
For his excellent leadership, and for his holistic approach to implementing Ashanti Gold's community programs, Ashesi University College through its affiliate University in Ghana, University of Cape Coast, honoured Dr. Jonah with the degree Doctor of Humanities in 2005.