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MC and Speakers

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  Mr. Fadl Al Tarzi

  Chief Executive Officer

  Fadl founded �������� in 2018, with a vision to enable greater social and economic mobility through high-quality, affordable education. His vision stemmed from having built four startups employing over 500 people across 10 emerging markets. Throughout his entrepreneurial journey he witnessed how lack of access to affordable, high-quality education impacts societies across the world.

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  Fadl became an entrepreneur at 18, and has accumulated 17 years’ experience founding digital marketing and SaaS startups, leading award winning digital engagement and digital transformation projects. Cumulatively, his startups have raised over $15 million in growth capital and employ more than 500 people globally. Under News Group International, he launched and grew SOCIALEYEZ from two to more than 120 people globally. He has worked with Fortune 500s, global consumer brands such as Starbucks, and governments in the US, Europe and MENA regions. Fadl has lived in Cairo, Paris, Washington DC, Dubai and London. He holds a BBA from the American University in Cairo and management degrees from George Washington and Middlesex Universities.

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  Dr. Cathy Plunkett

  Chief Academic Officer

  Dr. Cathy Plunkett serves as ��������’s Chief Academic Officer. She has more than three decades of experience in education, starting as a teacher and principal in K-12 and moving to post-secondary education over 15 years ago.

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  Dr. Plunkett has had leadership positions in both the academic and business sides of an institution, serving as a Campus Director, Regional Director, Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs and Director of Regulatory Compliance. The knowledge and experience gained in all of these positions provide solid platform to provide support and guidance to all all departments of the university to ensure compliance with accreditation and state licensing standards. She is passionate about learning and providing students with a positive educational environment for them to meet their educational goals and ultimately succeed in their chosen career.

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  Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili

  Chairperson, Fix Politics

  Obiageli ‘Oby’ Ezekwesili is a former Vice President of the World Bank for Africa, a former Nigerian Education Minister and co-founder of Transparency International.

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  A chartered accountant by profession, ‘Oby’ Ezekwesili first served the Nigerian government as Head of the Budget Monitoring and Price Intelligence Unit, where she led reforms to public procurement. She was appointed Minister of Solid Minerals in 2005 and chaired the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. In 2006 she became Minister of Education, until taking up her World Bank post in 2007. Prior to working for the Government of Nigeria, Dr Ezekwesili was at the Center for International Development at Harvard University. Having co-founded the anti-corruption organisation Transparency International, she directed its work in Africa. She is also a Senior Economic Advisor to Open Society, which aims to build vibrant and tolerant societies with democratically accountable governments. Dr Ezekwesili holds a Master’s degree in International Law and Diplomacy from the University of Lagos, and a Master’s in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. She was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree by the University of Agriculture in Abeokuta in 2012.

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  Tonye Cole

  Co-founder and former Group Executive Director of Sahara Group

  Tonye Patrick Cole is a nation-builder and philanthropist who is passionate about good governance and the socio-economic development of Nigeria.

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  An alumnus of University of Lagos and Harvard Business School and a Fellow of the ‘Transformational Leadership Fellowship’ programme at the Blavatnik School of Government, Oxford, Tonye is the Co-Founder and former Group Executive Director of Sahara Group, an energy conglomerate with operations spanning the entire energy chain in Nigeria and neighbouring West African countries to East Africa and beyond. He was directly responsible for building the Group’s global expansion and upholding her corporate governance principles, maintaining her status with global institutions such as the World Economic Forum, where he was a key member of Pact Against Corruption Initiative (PACI), the United Nations, where he was a pioneer member of the Advisory Board of the Private Sector Advisory Group for the UNDP Sustainable Development Group Fund (SDG- F), the African Philanthropy Forum, ENACTUS Nigeria, amongst others.

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  Frank Edoho

  Host of 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire' Nigeria & Graduation MC

  Acting as your graduation MC is TV host Frank Edoho.

  He is the host of the popular TV show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and previously the host of the international TV show, The Price Is Right. Aside from being a TV host, he is also a voice-over artist, photographer, producer and filmmaker.