African Leadership Academy -

Fred Swaniker is an entrepreneur with deep experience in education and leadership on the African continent. He is currently based in Johannesburg, South Africa, and is the Founder & CEO of African Leadership Academy, a world-class, pan-African secondary school that aims to develop future generations of African leaders. The idea for African Leadership Academy came about while Fred was living in Nigeria in 2003 and realized the urgent need for more effective and ethical leaders for Africa. He has extensive experience launching and managing private educational institutions of excellence in Africa. Fred helped launch and was a director of Mount Pleasant English Medium School, one of the top-performing private elementary schools in Botswana. More recently, Fred founded and led the launch of Global Leadership Adventures, a leadership development program for youth with sites in 10 countries. Fred also gained entrepreneurial experience when he was founding Chief Operating Officer of Synexa Life Sciences, a biotechnology company in Cape Town that today employs 30 South African scientists.

Fred brings a uniquely pan-African perspective to African Leadership Academy. He grew up across the African continent, living in Ghana, the Gambia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe, and he has lived as an adult in South Africa and Nigeria. During his time as a consultant for McKinsey and Company, Fred provided strategic advice to the management teams of large companies in Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania, and South Africa.

Fred was recognized as one of fifteen “top emerging social entrepreneurs in the world” in 2006 by Echoing Green. He was chosen as one of 25 TED Fellows in 2009 and is a Fellow of the Aspen Institute’s Global Leadership Network.

Fred holds an MBA degree from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, where he was named an Arjay Miller Scholar, a distinction awarded to the top ten percent of each graduating class. Fred also holds a B.A. degree magna cum laude in economics from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.

Chris brings a unique hybrid background in education and business to his role as Chief Operating Officer of African Leadership Academy. An experienced teacher, Chris spent two years as a Peter Ling Teaching Fellow at Oundle School, one of the largest coeducational boarding schools in the United Kingdom. At Oundle, Chris taught GCSE science and A-level economics courses and counselled students interested in attending universities in the USA. His former students went on to study at universities including Oxford, Cambridge, Stanford, Dartmouth, and the London School of Economics. In addition, Chris has worked with The Broad Foundation, one of the leading educational foundations in the United States.

Chris also brings corporate and entrepreneurial experience to African Leadership Academy. He worked in brand management with the Procter and Gamble Company and as a management consultant with the Boston Consulting Group in Chicago. In Africa, Chris helped launch the Summer Academy at Cape Town in 2004 by leading concept testing, curriculum development, and marketing plan development. He later taught in and directed the program.

Chris has a BA degree summa cum laude from Yale University, an MA in Education Administration from Stanford University, and an MBA from Stanford University. At Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, Chris was named one of five Siebel Scholars in recognition of his academic excellence and extracurricular leadership.

Peter is a Partner in Africa Holdings, E. Oppenheimer’s private equity business in Africa. Peter has spent most of his professional life in Africa. He has been based in Nigeria for seven years, where he initially worked as an independent consultant in the retail banking, telecoms and FMCG sectors. Peter also served as the CEO of Emperion West Africa, a data telecommunications company providing Corporate VSAT and FWA solutions. Prior to this work, Peter was an Engagement Manager for McKinsey & Company, where he did project work in Europe, East-, West- and Southern Africa. Peter is also a founding partner of Lagos-based financial advisory and management consulting firm MombaurMcCabe, where he now acts as a non-executive Director.

Peter is a German citizen, living in Johannesburg South Africa. He attended university in Germany, where he received a Master’s degree with honors in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Aachen, an honors degree in Law from the University of Hagen, and a degree in Economics from the University of Bayreuth.

Acha, a native of Cameroon, is a Partner of McKinsey & Company based in the Johannesburg office. At McKinsey, Acha 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.

Acha has a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and an M.S. in Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management from Stanford University. He also 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 Valedictorian in the university’s history. He is fluent in English and French.

Browse About Us

The Founding Team