JAMES MWANGI

At a very young age, James Mwangi started his journey along the path of pioneers. He was the top primary school student in his native Kenya, attended one of the top secondary schools in the country and eventually received a Bachelor?s degree in Economics from Harvard University.

While he knew early on that a career in investment banking was not in the cards for him, he joined McKinsey and Company where he met Henrik Scovby who left the firm at the time to establish Dalberg, a small strategic start up consultancy. Mwangi, who had a strong desire to engage in meaningful work in the developing world, joined Scovby and as they say, the rest was history. In 2010, Dalberg Global Development Advisors, now one of the world?s leading multinational consulting firms devoted exclusively to emerging economies and addressing global challenges named Mwangi to the position as the firm?s Global Managing Partner, a position which he held until 2014.

In 2007, Mwangi led the expansion of Dalberg?s offices on the continent, making Johannesburg, South Africa the prime location for an initial base, followed by Nairobi in 2008 and Dakar, Senegal in 2009. He travels frequently to other locations where is advises heads of state as well as senior executives of multilateral organizations and foundations. Today he serves as the firm?s Executive Director.

Mwangi was selected as a Young Global Leader for 2013 by the World Economic Forum. He is also a 2009 recipient of the African Leadership Institute?s Archbishop Tutu Leadership Fellowship.

Image: Dalberg