Teresa Clarke

Last updated
Teresa H. Clarke
Born (1963-02-08) February 8, 1963 (age 60)
Occupation(s)President, chairman and CEO at Africa.com; former managing director at Goldman Sachs & Co; co-founder at Student Sponsorship Programme South Africa

Teresa Hillary Clarke (born February 8, 1963), is a prominent American investment banker, entrepreneur, and expert on Africa. [1] Her career has spanned a wide range, from being a managing director at Goldman Sachs to co-founding a scholarship and mentoring non-profit, Student Sponsorship Programme in South Africa. Over the last several years, she has funded and led Africa.com.

Contents

Growing up in California, Teresa H. Clarke descends from a line of prominent women, including her mother and grandmother who were both alumni of Howard University and went on to successful careers in education and community service. Her mother, Dr. Audrey Clarke, retired after serving for ten years as the superintendent of schools in Lynwood, California and later became a professor at California State University at Northridge in the graduate school of education. [2]

Her mother graduated from Howard University in 1958, Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude and won a Fulbright Scholarship to the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina that same year. Her grandmother attended Howard as a member of the class of 1933. In honor of their Howard legacies, Dr. Audrey M. Clarke established the Audrey M. Clarke and Elvira F. Clarke Fellowship for International Learning at Howard University. [3]

Clarke has a bachelor's degree in economics, cum laude, from Harvard College (1980–1984), an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School (1989) and a J.D. from Harvard Law School (1989). She has served on the boards of Southern Africa Legal Services (Legal Resource Centre), the Tony Elumelu Foundation, the Opportunity Agenda, serves on the board of the Student Sponsorship Programme South Africa and is an emeriti board member of the Harvard Business School Alumni Association. [4]

Clarke is fluent in Spanish, French and Portuguese and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She has received numerous awards for her work in Africa, including the Government of South Africa's Freedom Day Award, [5] the Education Africa's Humanitarian Award for Africa, the Merrill Lynch/Africa 2.0 Business Leadership Award, [6] the International Women's Society Humanitarian of the Year Award, [7] the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Educational Leadership Award, and the Girl Scouts of Connecticut Woman of Achievement. [8] Clarke was named one of the top 25 Women in Business by the Network Journal. [9]

In 2010, Black Entertainment Television honored Clarke and won the Shot Caller Award on their internationally televised awards show Black Girls Rock! [10]

Background

In August 1989, Teresa Clarke joined the real-estate department at Goldman Sachs & Co. in New York as an associate. She worked in the investment banking division for six years before leaving to found and serve as managing director of the South African office of Abt Associates, the Cambridge (Mass.) public-policy & management consulting firm. Her clients in South Africa included companies such as Transnet (holding company of South African Airways), Johnson & Johnson, and institutions involved in the coordination of the education and public health development sectors.

Teresa Clarke lived in South Africa from 1995 to 2000. During her time in South Africa, Clarke also taught corporate finance in the MBA program at Wits Business School. [11]

In 1999, she co-founded Student Sponsorship Programme South Africa. SSP provides academically talented but economically disadvantaged South African students with scholarships and support to attend private schools. The non-profit trust program based in Johannesburg has provided more than $10 million in scholarships to more than 1000 children. Some 90 percent of the students complete the program. About 90 percent of SSP's graduates qualify to attend university. For her work with SSP ZA, Clarke has been recognized by the South African government, among many others. [12]

From 2004 to 2010, Clarke returned to Goldman Sachs. Her first contribution was to play a key role in launching the firm's Global Markets Institute. She later moved back into the investment banking division where she led mergers and acquisitions, and corporate finance transactions for Fortune 500 companies in the US and Europe. She was also the manager of the GS Africa Aspen Program, a leadership development project for emerging public- and private-sector African leaders created in cooperation with the Aspen Institute. [13]

Recent events

On February 12, 2010, Teresa Clarke ended a 12-year career at Goldman Sachs to focus on Africa.com, [14] She launched Africa.com in February 2010, her goals for Africa.com were to change the way the world engages online with Africa and to be the platform for those changes, [15] stating: [16]

"I've owned the Africa.com domain name for around ten years. In 2000, I was hired to help the firm that owned the domain name figure out what to do with it. When that organization disbanded, I was fortunate enough to secure the ownership of the domain name. "Over most of the last decade, I worked at Goldman Sachs. During my free time, I imagined what I would do with the domain name, and I looked at other African websites." "I love working for Africa.com because our work is so broad. We are embarking upon a deal that will provide our users information on the financial markets in Africa, and we recently published a blog on developments in public education in South Africa. I work with a great team of people that I have hand chosen, and I couldn't be any happier."

Clarke has been featured as an Africa expert at the World Economic Forum in Africa and India, the Milken Institute [17] and the Fortune/Time/CNN Global Forum. In 2008, she received the Freedom Day Award from the South African Consulate. On November 4, 2010, Clarke was a speaker at African Leadership Network's inaugural ceremony. This event is the equivalent of the World Economic Forum in Davos but organized by and for Africans and people of African descent. [18] She has also lectured at various institutes of higher learning, including Oxford, Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Stanford, Tufts universities, and the Wharton School. [19]

On November 7, 2010, Clarke was among the honorees being celebrated on Black Entertainment Television's (BET) event called Black Girls Rock!. [20]

Clarke is the writer, producer and director of Africa Straight Up, a 30-minute documentary made in partnership with MTV Africa and TEDTalks that was released in 2012. [21] While originally produced for online viewing, the film aired on the Africa Channel in the U.S. and UK, as well as on Dutch Television. It also was screened by The White House, which had contributed to the film's production, [21] during the 2014 United States–Africa Leaders Summit and by the Council on Foreign Relations and was shown as in-flight entertainment on South African Airways and Arik Airways. [22]

In 2013, Clarke was invited to join The White House Traveling Press Corps and traveled with President Obama and his family to Senegal, South Africa, and Tanzania. That same year she delivered a TEDx Talk at TEDxEuston in London, "The Diaspora Divide". [23]

In 2014, she was featured on the Harvard Business School website in a video on Making a Difference. Her life story was also the subject of a profile celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Women at Harvard Business School. [24] That year she was invited to the Fletcher Inclusive Business Summit. A summit at the Rockefeller Foundation's Bellagio Center, whose grounds have been preserved with the express mission to encourage pause and enable leaders from around the world to address the world's many complex needs. [25]

In November 2014, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker appointed Clarke and 14 other private sector leaders to the President Obama's Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa (PAC-DBIA). Its members were selected to advise the President, through the Secretary of Commerce, on strengthening commercial engagement between the United States and Africa. [26]

In May 2020, she led the Africa.com Crisis Management for African Business Leaders webinar series entitled "Women are Proving to Be Great Leaders During COVID-19. Is this the Pathway to Power?", and its panel, which included former Deputy President of South Africa, Under Secretary of the United Nations and executive director of the UN Women Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Stanbic Bank Uganda CEO Anne Juuko, Oby Ezekwesili of the Africa Economic Development Policy Initiative, and Zambian youth activist and journalist Natasha Wang Mwansa, who is the youngest recipient of the WHO Global Health Leaders award. [27] [28]

Personal life

Clarke has married twice. Her second marriage took place at Martha's Vineyard on August 4, 2007, with Dr. John Edward Ellis, a professor of anesthesiology and critical care at the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago. [29]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dina Powell</span> Former United States presidential advisor

Dina Powell, also known as Dina Powell McCormick is an American financial executive, philanthropist, and political advisor, best known for having been the United States Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategy to President Donald Trump.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cathy Minehan</span>

Cathy E. Minehan was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston from 1994 until her retirement in July 2007. Minehan also served as a member of the Federal Open Market Committee, the body responsible for U.S. monetary policy. She was "appointed Dean of the School of Management of Simmons College, a private university, in August 2011 and is Managing Director of Arlington Advisory Partners, a private advisory services firm."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lloyd Blankfein</span> American investment banker (born 1954)

Lloyd Craig Blankfein is an American investment banker who has served as senior chairman of Goldman Sachs since 2019, and chairman and chief executive from 2006 until the end of 2018. Previous to leading Goldman Sachs, he was the company's president and chief operating officer (COO) from 2004 to 2006, serving under then-CEO Henry Paulson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abby Joseph Cohen</span> American financial analyst

Abby Joseph Cohen is an American economist and financial analyst on Wall Street. As of February 2017, she continues to serve as an advisory director at Goldman Sachs, after retiring from leadership of its Global Markets Institute. Prior to March 2008, she was the firm's Chief Investment Strategist. In 2001 she was named one of the 30 most powerful women in America by Ladies Home Journal. She is also a professor at Columbia Business School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ellen J. Kullman</span> United States business executive (born 1956)

Ellen J. Kullman is a United States business executive. Since November 2019, she has been the chief executive officer of Carbon (company). She was formerly Chair and Chief Executive Officer of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company ("DuPont") in Wilmington and is a former director of General Motors. Forbes ranked her 31st of the 100 Most Powerful Women in 2014. Kullman retired from DuPont on October 16, 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Debora Spar</span>

Debora L. Spar is the current Senior Associate Dean of Harvard Business School Online and former President of Barnard College, a liberal arts college for women of Columbia University. As President of Barnard, she was also an academic dean within Columbia University. Spar was appointed Barnard's 7th president in July 2008 and replaced Judith Shapiro, Barnard's 6th president, after a teaching career at Harvard Business School where she was Professor of Business Administration and Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Research and Development. Spar was appointed the 10th president of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, beginning in March 2017, but announced her resignation in April 2018 after only about one year in the position. She became the new Senior Associate Dean of Harvard Business School Online in January 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">10,000 Women</span>

10,000 Women is a program organized by Goldman Sachs and the Goldman Sachs Foundation with the goal of helping to grow local economies by providing business education, mentoring and networking, and access to capital to underserved women entrepreneurs globally. The program was announced on March 5, 2008, at Columbia University. The initiative is one of the largest philanthropic projects the bank has been involved with. The program was in its initial years run by Dina Habib Powell, a managing director at Goldman Sachs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laura Liswood</span>

Laura Ann Liswood is Secretary General of the Council of Women World Leaders, which is composed of 72 women presidents, prime ministers, and heads of government. It is the only organization in the world dedicated to women heads of state and government. In August 1996, she co-founded the Council with President Vigdís Finnbogadóttir of Iceland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alison Levine</span>

Alison Levine is an American mountain climber, motivational speaker and leadership consultant. She is the author of On the Edge: The Art of High Impact Leadership and the executive producer of a documentary, The Glass Ceiling. She has ascended the highest peaks on every continent and also skied to both the North and South Poles. In 2010, she completed the Adventure Grand Slam by reaching the summit of Mount Everest. She served as an adjunct instructor at the U.S. Military Academy.

Student Sponsorship Programme South Africa(SSP SA) is a non-profit trust based in Johannesburg, South Africa that enables academically distinguished, economically disadvantaged students to excel at some of the top private and public high schools in the Gauteng and Eastern Cape provinces. The SSP process begins by recruiting exceptional students from underprivileged communities and placing those students into top private and public high schools of nearby districts. To complete the process and ensure a positive outcome, SSP provides extensive support services for the students and their parents throughout all the high school years.

Fatema Akbari is an Afghan entrepreneur and women's advocate who is the founder of the Gulistan Sadaqat Company and non-governmental organization the Women Affairs Council. In 2011, she received the 10,000 Women Entrepreneurial Achievement Award.

Africa.com is an internet media company. Launched in 2010 by Teresa Clarke, the company has grown into a media company providing coverage on topics such financial, political and cultural news related to Africa. Using the online web portal about the continent, its main purpose is to be a unique platform for anyone interested in Africa to learn more about all aspects of the continent. Also it provides for both business and world leaders accurate information about the investment climate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli</span> NIgerian social entrepreneur

Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli is a Nigerian entrepreneur, an expert on African agriculture and nutrition, philanthropy, and social innovation. She has over 25 years of international development experience and is a recognized serial entrepreneur, author, public speaker, and consultant. Through her work in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors, she has led the design and execution of high-impact initiatives focused on policy, strategy, organizational design, ecosystem solutions, and growth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ameera Shah</span> Indian entrepreneur

Ameera Shah (born 24 September 1979 ) is an Indian entrepreneur and the managing director of Metropolis Healthcare, a multinational chain of pathology centers based in Mumbai, with presence in seven countries. She is the daughter of Dr Sushil Shah, the founder and chairman of Metropolis Healthcare. She has been honored as a 2015 Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kathy Matsui</span> American economist

Kathy M. Matsui is a General Partner of Japan's first ESG-focused global venture capital fund, MPower Partners. She is a former vice chair and chief Japan strategist for global investment bank Goldman Sachs. She was born in California in 1965. She was credited by Shinzō Abe, prime minister of Japan, with having coined the term "womenomics". She is a graduate of Harvard University and survived breast cancer in 2001. She is a TEDx speaker.

The Goldman Sachs Foundation is a New York-based, not-for-profit private foundation that is a subsidiary of the financial services firm Goldman Sachs and has the goal of bettering humanity worldwide, especially regarding health and education. In recent years its principal philanthropic projects have been: 10,000 Women, and 10,000 Small Businesses.

Amy Jadesimi is a Nigerian businesswoman and the chief executive officer of the Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics Base (LADOL), a privately owned logistics and engineering facility in the Port of Lagos, Nigeria.

Colin Coleman is a South African banker and public figure. He was previously the CEO of Goldman Sachs for Sub Saharan Africa. In January 2020, he left Goldman Sachs to become a senior fellow and lecturer at Yale University’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Precious Moloi-Motsepe</span> South African fashion entrepreneur

Precious Moloi-Motsepe is a South African philanthropist and fashion entrepreneur. One of the richest women in South Africa she started her career as a medical practitioner, specializing in children and women’s health. In September 2019 she was elected Chancellor of the University of Cape Town, succeeding Graça Machel, and beginning her ten-year term on 1 January.

Rehmah Kasule is a Ugandan social entrepreneur, public speaker and author. She is the founder of CEDA International a non-profit organization in Uganda.

References

  1. "Teresa H. Clarke Is Married to Walter K. Booker". New York Times. 4 June 1989. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  2. "Fieldwork in Educational Administration" (PDF). Education Leadership and Policy Department. 2009. Retrieved 18 April 2015.[ permanent dead link ]
  3. "Donor Based Scholarships". Howard University.
  4. "HBS African American Alumni Association". Harvard Business School Celebrates 50 Years of Women in the MBA Program. 2012. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  5. "The Madeleine Korbel Albright Institute for Global Affairs". Wellesley. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  6. "Africa.Com Recognized For Leadership by Global Business Organizations". 16 November 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  7. "The International Women's Society of Nigeria Presents Its Humanitarian of the Year Award to Africa.com CEO Teresa Clarke". 11 November 2011. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  8. "Why I Resigned from Glodma" (PDF). DSE Digital Out-of-Home Network Operators Conference. 31 October 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2014.[ permanent dead link ]
  9. "25 Influential Black Women in Business". The Network Journal. 2011. Archived from the original on 2014-08-26. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  10. "Why I Resigned from Glodma" (PDF). DSE Digital Out-of-Home Network Operators Conference. 31 October 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2014.[ permanent dead link ]
  11. "Teresa Hillary Clarke - Bloomberg". Bloomberg Business. 31 October 2013. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  12. "Africa.com CEO Teresa Clarke Honored on BET". PRWeb. 5 November 2010. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  13. "Life after the City: from Goldman to Africa". Financial News. 8 February 2011. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  14. "Why I Resigned From Goldman Sachs". Huffington Post. 14 March 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  15. "Goldman Sachs Managing Director Teresa Clarke Resigns to Run Reorganized Tech Company, Africa.com". PR Newswire. 12 February 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  16. "Africa.com: The domain that launched a startup". MemeBurn. 8 March 2011. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  17. "Global Conference Milken Institute". Milken Institute. 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  18. "Black Girls Rock!". Huffington Post. 11 March 2010. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  19. "Africa's Portal TO DOING BUSINESS WITH THE United States". virtualconferenceafrica.com. Africa.com. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  20. "Black Girls Rock! Exclusives: Teresa Clarke - Acceptance Speech". BET. 2011. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  21. 1 2 "Africa Straight Up". IMDB. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  22. "WATCH: Africa Straight Up – An Original Documentary Film by Africa.com". Africa.com. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  23. ""Bridging the Diaspora Divide" - Teresa Clark at TEDxEuston 2013". TedX. 2013. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  24. "Making A Difference". HBS. 25 April 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  25. "Bellagio Inclusive Business Summit". 25 August 2014. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  26. "U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker Appoints Advisory Council to Advance President's Business Priorities for Africa". Department of Commerce USGOV. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  27. "Africa.com Webinar Series to Feature Influential Women Leaders". Africanews.com. May 11, 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  28. ""NOT JUST ANOTHER CONVERSATION ABOUT WOMEN"-AFRICA.COM WEBINAR SERIES TO FEATURE INFLUENTIAL WOMEN LEADERS". Venturesafrica.com. May 11, 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  29. Smith, Lois (September 2, 2007). "Teresa Clarke and John Ellis". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 April 2021.