William Egbe has been appointed to the Board of Trustees of the Jacobs Foundation, a leading international foundation in the field of child and youth development. Egbe is an engineer with MBA and more than 20 years of experience directing operations, marketing and finance for American companies on four continents, and he is currently Group Director Strategic Planning and Sustainability of Coca-Cola Eurasia & Africa Group. He is succeeding Auma Obama, who has left the Board as of April 1, 2015.
“William Egbe brings with him a wealth of experience with the corporate world and philanthropic investments on the African continent. We are delighted to have him as renowned expert join us on the Board. Bill will offer new insights for the Jacobs Foundation and help to promote dialogue in West African policy questions and social issues,” says Lavinia Jacobs, Chair of the Jacobs Foundation’s Board of Trustees. “On this occasion, we would like to thank Auma Obama, who has contributed so much to the work of the foundation, and wish her all the best for the future.”
After completing his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering at Howard University, Washington (USA), in 1986, and earning his MBA in Finance and Marketing in 1989, William Egbe worked for Kodak Dental Products Europe in Stuttgart (Germany) as Managing Director from 1989 to 1997. In 1997, he joined the Coca-Cola Company as Deputy Region Manager for the West African Region in Abidjan (Ivory Cost). During his 18 year tenure with the Coca-Cola Company he has progressed through a variety of general management roles including business unit leadership roles as President of Coca-Cola East & Central Africa, President of Coca-Cola South Africa, and Group Business Unit President for Coca-Cola Africa. In his current role as Group Director Strategic Planning and Sustainability for the Coca-Cola Eurasia & Africa Group, he has established and is leading the Group’s Office for Sustainability which is responsible for accelerating the Coca-Cola System’s social and community investment across Eurasia and Africa. He is also currently chairing the Board of the Coca-Cola Africa Foundation with its 150 projects in 47 countries in Africa.
The new Board of Trustees of the Jacobs Foundation:
- Lavinia Jacobs (Chair of the Board of Trustees)
Zurich, Switzerland - Hans Ambühl
General Secretary of the Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education (EDK); Bern, Switzerland - William Egbe
Group Director, Strategic Planning and Sustainability, Coca-Cola Eurasia & Africa Group;
Johannesburg, Africa - Sandro Giuliani
Delegate of the Board and Managing Director Jacobs Foundation; Zurich, Switzerland - Nathalie Jacobs
PR Consultant; Zurich, Switzerland - Prof. Dr. Ulman Lindenberger
Director at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development; Berlin, Germany - Prof. Marta Tienda, Ph.D.
Professor at Princeton University; Princeton, New Jersey, USA - Prof. Laura Tyson, Ph.D.
Professor at the Haas School of Business, University of California; Berkeley, California, USA - Dr. Olaf von Maydell
Partner at Schomerus & Partner; Berlin, Germany - Dr. Joh. Christian Jacobs (Honorary Chairman of the Board of Trustees) Investor; Hamburg, Germany