McLarty Associates expands Africa practice

February 15, 2018

We are pleased to welcome four new members to our growing Africa practice – a new Board of Counselors member, a DC-based Advisor, and two new Advisors based in the key African markets of Nigeria and South Africa.

Our presence in Nigeria and South Africa adds to our office in Washington, Beijing, Brussels, and Singapore, and our people are now in 21 countries.

Amb. Terence P. McCulley joins MA as a member of our Board of Counselors. He served as US Ambassador to Mali, Nigeria, and Côte d’Ivoire, and as Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d’Affaires at US Embassies in Togo, Senegal, and Tunisia. He brings more than three decades of experience working across the African continent. Ambassador McCulley served as Senior Advisor for Africa at the US Mission to the United Nations in New York in 2016 and 2017.

Leila Ndiaye joins McLarty Associates as an Advisor based in Washington, DC. She was previously the Senior Director of Policy for African Affairs at the US Chamber of Commerce where she worked on issues relating to trade policy and investment between the United States and African countries. Before joining the Chamber, Leila served in the government of Côte d’Ivoire under the past administration as Special Advisor to the Head of State and has a background in international relations and diplomacy.

Joshin Raghubar will join us as an Advisor based in Cape Town, South Africa. Joshin is an African entrepreneur in the media, marketing, and technology sectors. He is the founder of iKineo Ventures, a pan-African customer engagement firm, and Sprout, South Africa’s leading digital media performance firm.

Kelechi Ekugo joins MA as an Advisor and is based in Lagos, Nigeria. Kelechi is the Senior Country Director of the US-Nigeria Council (USNC). Prior to joining USNC, Kelechi served in the Nigerian Ministry of Trade & Investment and Ministry of Finance. He was also a financial analyst in equity trading at Morgan Stanley in London.

Our Africa team, led by Senior Director Eliot Pence, now includes:

Ambassador John D. Negroponte, former US Ambassador to the UN and Deputy Secretary of State
Eliot Pence, who leads our Africa practice with experience advising Fortune 100 clients in over 20 markets on the continent
Philippe Maze-Sencier, who managed African affairs for major international public affairs firm
Ambassador Reuben Brigety, former Representative of the US to the African Union and Permanent Representative of the US to the UN Economic Commission for Africa
Ambassador Terence P. McCulley, former US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mali, and Côte d’Ivoire
Leila Ndiaye, who previously served in the government of Côte d’Ivoire and led the US Chamber of Commerce’s Africa initiatives
Joshin Raghubar, a South Africa-based advisor and entrepreneur
Kelechi Ekugo, who served in the Nigerian Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Trade and Investment, and now leads the US-Nigeria Council’s Lagos-based operations
Jim Kolbe, former member of the US House of Representatives who for decades has been a key advocate for trade and development in Africa