By Akere-Maimo
Cameroonians in the diaspora are increasingly making their country proud through academic excellence, professional accomplishments and other distinctions in lifetime achievements. One such burgeoning talent is 35-year old Dr. Achankeng Leke, who emerged among 23 Africa ’s Top Young Leaders. These names appeared among 245 executives, scientists, journalists, sports stars and other public figures named by the World Economic Forum as “Young Global Leaders” for 2008. The African case was special in that the forum announced in Geneva on Tuesday, 8 July 2008 – according to AllAfrica.com reports – a list of Africans aged below 40, who earned their places on the list “for their professional accomplishments, commitment to society and potential to contribute to shaping the future of the world”. And Achankeng Leke appears first on the list of nominees Sub of the Sahara .
Simply known as Acha, the highly skilled and industrious young leader has served in several capacities and has achieved far so much for his little age. His profile is quite revealing for any growing young Cameroonian interested in the sciences and management. It is an eye-opener to “…a country like Cameroon whose young talents are hardly recognised at home and who continue working abroad, while hoping for the day that business climate would be favourable for them to relocate home”.
Acha is a true Cameroonian example of youth entrepreneurship. He is a Partner of McKinsey & Company based in the Johannesburg office. At McKinsey, he has served a broad range of clients across Africa in fields including telecom, health care, oil & gas, and banking, and he was the first black Partner elected by McKinsey’s Johannesburg office. His client projects have included strategic investment decisions, business building, growth strategy, and turnarounds. He started his career with McKinsey in the USA and transferred to the Johannesburg office in 2002 to drive the firm’s expansion across Sub-Saharan Africa. This work has taken Acha to countries across the continent, including South Africa , Nigeria , Kenya , Uganda , Cote d’Ivoire , Senegal , and Botswana.
Prior to joining McKinsey, Acha worked for three years as a part-time consultant to electronics and telecommunications companies in Silicon Valley , California , USA . As if to say he is following in the footsteps parents, Prof & Prof Mrs Leke, he has a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering “…certainly looking forward the day that he would become Professor, too”. He is equally the founder of African Leadership Academy .
He also has is an M.S. in Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management from Stanford University, holds a B.S in Electrical Engineering summa cum laude from the Georgia Institute of Technology. At Georgia Tech, Acha graduated as the first black engineering student in the school's history to graduate with a 4.0 average for the engineering curriculum.
His secondary and high school education in the French sub-system, as the mother puts it contributed a lot in moulding him. “I have always love that fact that I sent my first children to Lycée le Clerke Yaounde … And there, he already started demonstrating his academic prowess in outsmarting his classmates and maintaining a steady crest of academic performance…This kid has always amaze us from childhood, always struggling to challenge others and prove his worth,” his mother revealed.
His cousin, Fomban Aaron shares the same view and goes further to say “He is a real social mixer, though he is a quiet type and straightforward person. He is discipline and has a lot of respect for elders. He is an organised person and guy of taste! He works very hard to create wealth and he likes sharing with friends during his free time…” Among other things, Acha likes mountain climbing and marathon race, activities that only a leader of his calibre would dare. His a story of bravery, a biting passion to succeed, face challenges and never relenting in his efforts.
Those nominated from Sub-Saharan Africa include: President Joseph Kabila of the DRC and Lalla Salma, Queen of Morocco. Others are Cameroon’s own Achankeng Leke, Partner, McKinsey & Company; Kenya’s Mugo Kibati, Group Chief Executive Officer, East African Cables Ltd and James Shikwati, Founder and President, Inter-Region Economic Network; Morocco’s Merieme Chadid, Explorer/Astronomer, Concordia Research Station, Antartica; Nigeria’s Kola Karim, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Shoreline Energy International and Senegal’s Karim Wade, Special Advisor to the President of Senegal.
A greater number of the African nominees came from South Africa: Yolanda Cuba, Chief Executive Officer, Mvelaphanda Holdings; Kuseni Dlamini, Executive Chairman, Richards Bay Coal Terminal, Natalie Du Toit, Athlete and Ability Rights Activist; Theodore Ernest 'Ernie' Els, Founder, The Ernie Els and Fancourt Foundation; Ferial Haffajee, Editor-in-chief, Mail & Guardian; Michael Jordaan, Chief Executive, First National Bank, FirstRand Ltd; Lisa Kropman, Founder, Investec Ltd and Tumi Makgabo, Head of Communications, 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee.
monsiuer Leke making us proud again! This guy is my role model and I hope to pursue a PhD at Stanford like him!
Cameroonians in the diaspora should seek to emulate the example of such outstanding figures! Go Acha!
Posted by: Fan numero uno!! | August 04, 2008 at 11:52 PM
I am really proud of Acha's nomination among Africa's Top Young Global Leaders. But for me it's not a surprise. Acha was my classmate at College François Xavier Vogt. He was always ranked first. He is a very intelligent guy and a simple person in his daily life. One thing I could not explain is how he was able to speak french (being an anglophone) better than "francophone". My dear Acha, I would really appreciate it to get in touch with you after so many years. Just one word: "va de l'avant" and may God bless you.
Luc Nguidjoi
Posted by: Luc Nguidjoi | October 08, 2008 at 10:34 AM
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Posted by: kishore | March 09, 2009 at 05:48 AM