- Nigeria / USA
Oby Ezekwesili Keynote Speaker
- Senior Economic Advisor at Open Society Foundations (2012-present)
- Co-founder of Transparency International (1994-99)
- Vice President of Africa at The World Bank (2007-12)
Oby Ezekwesili's Biography
Dr. Oby Ezekwesili is a Senior Economic Advisor at Open Society Foundations (OSF), a group founded by investor and philanthropist George Soros. She also jointly serves as Economic Advisor for Africa Economic Development Policy Initiative (AEDPI), a program of the Open Society Foundations. In these roles, she advises nine reform-committed African heads of state including Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia.
Before joining OSF, she was Vice President of the World Bank (Africa Region), responsible for operations in 48 countries and a lending portfolio of nearly $40 billion. From 2002 to 2007, Oby worked for the federal government of Nigeria as Minister of Solid Minerals, Minister of Education, head of the Budget Monitoring and Price Intelligence Unit as well as Chairperson of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) where she led the first ever national implementation of the global standards and principles of transparency in the oil, gas and mining sectors.
Oby was also a founding Director of Transparency International, responsible for the Africa region at the global anti-corruption body based in Berlin.
Why Book Oby Ezekwesili as a speaker?
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She has advised reform-minded African heads of state and global institutions, bringing rare authority on economic governance, transparency and public-sector delivery.
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She translates firsthand leadership experience as a World Bank Vice President overseeing 48 countries into practical insight on how policy becomes results at scale.
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She brings deep credibility from serving as Nigeria’s Minister of Education and Minister of Solid Minerals, helping leaders navigate reform, accountability and implementation under pressure.
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She equips organisations to confront corruption and systemic risk with clarity, drawing on her role building transparency standards across oil, gas and mining through NEITI and Transparency International.
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