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Dr. Pat Utomi, Chairman
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”4001″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]Dr. Pat Utomi is one of Nigeria’s leading political economists and a prominent global thought leader. A fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants of Nigeria and founding Senior Faculty of the Lagos Business School-Pan Atlantic University, he was Director of The Centre For Applied Economics at the Lagos Business School. He has served in senior positions in government, as an Adviser to the President of Nigeria; in the Private Sector, as Chief Operating Officer for Volkswagen of Nigeria, and in academia. He is the author of several Management and Public Policy books including the award-winning Managing Uncertainty: Competition and Strategy in Emerging Economies (1998) and Why Nations are Poor (2006). Dr. Utomi is a Professor of the Social and Political Economy Environment of Business and the pioneer Entrepreneurship expert at the Lagos Business School. He has been a scholar-in-residence at Harvard Business School and the American University in Washington D.C. He is also a visiting scholar at John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. His academic background covers a range of subject areas from Policy Economics and Political Science to Business Administration and Mass Communication. In addition to his globally recognized academic leadership, Utomi has founded or co-founded companies that are active in sectors such as finance, ICT, media and agriculture. He has served on key private sector associations, including the Lagos Chamber of Commerce, the National Council of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, and the Nigerian Employers’ Consultative Association. He remains a highly visible leader in Nigeria, and in 2009, was recognized as one of the country’s Top 10 Living Legends. He has also founded a number of key social enterprise initiatives such as The Widow Support Centre and the Concerned Professionals. He is active on the international speaking circuit, especially on the subjects of growth economics, comparative development economics, leadership, the curse of oil and China’s economic surge and growing influence in Africa. He is widely travelled through all the continents of the world and has been to over 80 countries. Dr. Utomi earned his PhD from Bloomington, United States. He has passionately pursued the advancement of a transparent and accountable government in Nigeria. He was candidate for President of Nigeria in 2007 and 2011. He remains one of the most respected voices in Nigeria.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]