Laurel Strategies, the global CEO advisory firm, today announced the appointment of Strive Masiyiwa to its Board of Advisors. A globally respected entrepreneur, philanthropist, and advocate for inclusive growth, Masiyiwa is widely regarded as one of the most influential business leaders of his generation and a defining voice on technology, development, and leadership across Africa and the world.

“It is a great honor to welcome Strive to Laurel Strategies’ Board of Advisors,” said Alan H. Fleischmann, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Laurel Strategies. “Strive is an exceptional leader whose impact extends far beyond business. He has built transformative companies and institutions while helping shape global conversations and solutions linking technology, economic development, and opportunity. His perspective, judgment, and leadership will be enormously valuable to our firm and our clients.”

“Laurel Strategies is at the forefront of helping leaders navigate complex geopolitical and leadership challenges – work that has never been more consequential. I look forward to contributing to that mission at a critical moment for global leadership,” said Strive Masiyiwa.

Masiyiwa is best known as the Chairman and Founder of Econet Group, a telecommunications and technology group with operations and investments in 29 countries, where he pioneered the transformation of Africa’s digital landscape, and is credited with leading Africa’s mobile telecommunications revolution which has resulted in over 1 billion people on the continent having a mobile phone. One of his flagship companies, Cassava Technologies, is currently playing a key role in rolling out digital infrastructure, including fiber optic networks, satellite and cloud communications, data centers, cybersecurity, and Africa’s first AI Factory initiative.

As a philanthropist, Masiyiwa served for several years as Chairman of AGRA (the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa), succeeding the late U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, a role for which he was recognised in 2019 with the World Food Prize Foundation’s Norman Borlaug Medallion. He has served on two U.N. commissions related to sustainable energy and global education and led the African Union’s COVID-19 response as Special Envoy from 2020 to 2022, having held a similar role during the Ebola pandemic from 2014 to 2015.

Masiyiwa currently serves on the boards of Netflix and the National Geographic Society, and on advisory boards including Stanford University, Bank of America, and Laurel Strategies. He is also a trustee of the Gates Foundation. Among many previous roles, he served on the boards of the Rockefeller Foundation and Unilever, and the advisory boards of the Council on Foreign Relations and Chatham House.

About Laurel Strategies

Laurel Strategies is the global CEO advisory firm for corporations, financial institutions, investors, inventors, entrepreneurs, foundations, and NGOs around the world. Laurel partners with leaders to build relationships, communicate impactfully, seize opportunities, attract investment, navigate geopolitical dynamics, define and protect reputations, manage crises, and deliver results. Laurel helps design comprehensive strategies while executing across all levels of implementation, bringing together the disciplines of financial and corporate communications, government affairs, crisis management, investor relations, media relations, executive coaching, in-depth research, and business intelligence capabilities. Laurel Strategies provides clients with counsel and operational support to maximize opportunities and mitigate risks. For more information on Laurel Strategies, please visit https://laurelstrategies.com/.