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Working with the diversity of social, cultural, and economic perspectives across Africa has been central to Perrett Laver becoming a truly globally connected organisation. It has also strengthened our role in championing executive talent across the continent.
We specialise in connecting organisations with exceptional, values-driven leaders who inspire positive and lasting change. For more than a decade, we’ve partnered with African and global organisations to secure world-class executive talent, championing African leaders into boardrooms and leadership roles across energy, healthcare, education, agriculture, and beyond. Our office in Nairobi will further enhance our ability to identify and support truly transformational leaders.
What you need to know:
There has been a significant increase in organisations expanding their operations and deepening their presence across the continent. At the same time, domestic organisations in Africa are adapting to engage with global governance norms. Visionary leadership is the glue connecting these forces of change. The result is a renewed “Global Africa”, a fusion of global perspective with local insight and responsiveness.
Emerging global trends such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, digital transformation, and a sharper focus on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) stewardship are reshaping what leadership in Africa looks like.
Over the past decade, we have seen the emergence of a distinctly African, equity-centred form of transformational leadership – one that prioritises collaboration and partnership. It blends transformational leadership principles with deeply rooted cultural values, local philosophies, and an understanding of sociopolitical realities.
Organisations across the continent are seeking leaders who combine deep local knowledge with global experience. We have partnered with clients in English-, Portuguese- and French-speaking regions across Africa to place exceptional leaders from around the world who embody transformational leadership and can drive mission-aligned impact.
We’ve supported global clients spanning social impact and philanthropic organisations, SMEs, research institutions, schools, and higher education institutions to appoint outstanding leaders, board members, and advisors from Africa.
African leaders and governance experts consistently demonstrate adaptability, values-driven leadership, vision, and a unique ingenuity for shaping a better future. Organisations worldwide benefit not only from their lived experience but also from their nuanced understanding of local and regional contexts. We regularly see African executive and non-executive leaders bring agility and resilience, identifying opportunity amid change and challenge.
Our expertise in African-based executive search is reflected in the strength of our reputation. Often, candidates we’ve placed return to us as clients later in their careers. We originally placed Victoria Sabula as a board member at Campaign for Female Education (CAMFED), a pan-African, grassroots-led movement tackling poverty, inequality and injustice through girls’ education and women’s leadership. Victoria subsequently came to us as CEO of AECF (the African Enterprise Challenge Fund) for our support in finding new board members.
Here are just some of the other high-profile African senior board and leadership role placements we’ve made recently to support the diversity of appointments:
We recently supported the International Baccalaureate (IB) with multiple appointments to its Board of Governors. They were looking for board members who were comfortable operating in a complex, large-scale environment, with an absolute commitment to furthering the IB’s mission and vision as a programme open to all.
Given the global nature of the IB’s work, we were tasked with identifying a broad and diverse list of strong candidates who could speak to the geographic diversity of the IB as an organisation.
One of our high-profile board member placements was Xabisa Dyosi, a Chartered Accountant specialising in the higher education and research sectors. Dyosi is Chief Financial Officer at the Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI), and is also an active board member, serving on the advisory board of Wellcome Leap, a non-profit organisation focused on funding health research, and on the Audit & Risk Committee of The Council on Higher Education in South Africa.
Central to our success has been our network of global talent, but also our ability to look beyond traditional geographic boundaries (and also sectoral boundaries) to include candidates with lived experiences. We focus not only on finding candidates with the right blend of competencies, values and skills, but also on diversity and cultural alignment to make outstanding placements that support your wider strategic goals.
Teresa is Regional Lead, Africa & Consultant for Social Impact and Environment & Sustainability sectors. Her previous work experience includes positions with Citigroup and working with social impact organisations including Acumen and WIT (an NGO with consultative status at the UN).
Teresa has lived and travelled throughout Africa, Europe, and Latin America where she has also volunteered with organisations like World Vision and UNHCR to support in-country programs. Her experience in global non-profits include C-suite and Director level positions for Plan International, Trócaire, World Vision International and she is currently working with Conservation International.
Teresa holds a Masters in Public Policy from the University of Oxford and a BA in Liberal Arts and Economics from Sarah Lawrence College, New York.
