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 Stephen Hayes,
President
Stephen Hayes is the president and CEO of The Corporate
Council on Africa (CCA). CCA is an organization of nearly 200
US companies representing approximately eighty-five percent of
US private investment in Africa. In his twelve year tenure as
president of CCA, he has built the organization into one of
Washington’s most respected non-profit organizations. Through
strategic positioning and constructive dialogue, Hayes has led
CCA to become effectively engaged in most political and
economic issues affecting commerce between the US and Africa.
These complex issues range from intricate trade legislation
and small business development to workplace AIDS concerns.
Stephen Hayes promotes the CCA primary purpose, “… to increase
and support US-Africa economic engagement,” …while creating a
formidable organization that recognizes a “one world” concept
through the provision of a credible international business
forum. For his work at CCA, Hayes was awarded by the US
Department of Commerce its highest award, The Ron Brown Award
for International Leadership in 2008.
In his work with Africa, he has also reached out to other
parts of the world seeking greater partnerships. CCA recently
initiated a dialogue with China to explore the potential for
cooperative business projects in and with African
counterparts. Hayes will lead a delegation to China in
November to continue that dialogue. Under his leadership CCA
has also joined in partnership with counterpart organizations
in Canada, Europe, India and Japan in an effort to better
coordinate and co-operate in business investment in Africa.
The international leadership qualifications of Stephen Hayes
are notable and lifelong, beginning with a 1968 volunteer
stint in a Middle East refugee camp. Before coming to CCA,
much of his life was engaged in the international non-profit
sector, including key positions in some of the world’s largest
international non-profit organizations, including the World
Alliance of YMCAs in Geneva, Switzerland, and the world’s
largest student exchange organization AFS International. Hayes
founded in 1985 the non-profit organization, the American
Center for International Leadership (ACIL), which was funded
by the Rockefeller Brothers Foundation, Ford Foundation and
many others. This organization had as its purpose the
initiation of dialogue between emerging leaders of the USA and
other nations whose previous US relationships were
non-existent or poor. His formidable efforts resulted in
establishing dialogues with a network of emerging leaders of
the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, China, and
Vietnam, as well as in Canada and Mexico. Among many
achievements of the organization, in 1995 he organized the
first delegation of Vietnamese leaders to visit the US since
the end of the Vietnam War. From 1993 to 1999 he made several
trips into Libya with the consent of the US Government to help
lay the groundwork for eventual resolution of the Pan Am 103
case.
Mr. Hayes is a tireless advocate of US-Africa trade. He has
assembled a small but stellar multi-cultural, multinational
CCA staff that constantly exhibits a strong work ethic that
emulates his own. Hayes has traveled to more than 120 nations,
underscoring his innate respect for peoples and cultures
around the world. He has received other numerous awards for
his international work and compelling leadership ability. In
July 2008, the Africa Chamber of Commerce of the USA also
honored Mr. Hayes with its annual award for outstanding
contribution to US-Africa relations, following then US Senator
Barack Obama as the previous recipient. In 2004, the Transnet
Foundation, South Africa’s largest foundation, chaired by
Bishop Tutu, presented him the coveted Phelophepa Humanitarian
Award for his organization’s contributions to economic
development in South Africa. Hayes also has been honored by
the Hungarian Government in 1990 for his work in “bringing
down the Iron Curtain”, and by the Uganda YMCA for his work
with refugees in the Idi Amin era. In 1984, AFS International
awarded Hayes at their international Congress for his
international program development, which changed the nature of
the organization from one of bilateral to multilateral in
hundreds of different and new exchange formats. He has also
received commendations from other organizations including the
United Nations Development Programme for whom he served as a
consultant on international development from 1978-82.
Hayes was a principal founder of the Infant Formula Campaign,
often popularly known as the “Nestle’s Boycott”. It remains
the only successful global citizens campaign. The conclusion
of the campaign was featured on the front page of the New York
Times in 1983. He also was a founder of the International
Coalition for Development Action, which continues today in
Brussels, Belgium.
He resides in Maryland with his wife Phyllis and his Akita
Bailey. His wife is employed by the University of Maryland
Medical School.
Staff Directory
Stephen Hayes
President
& CEO
Timothy S. McCoy
See Bio
Vice President, Business Development
Director, U.S.-Africa Business Center
Robert C. Perry
See Bio
Vice President for International Programs
Mbayang Diouf Diop
Chief Financial Officer
Theo Wellington
Senior Advisor to the President
Efrem Fisher
Director, Research
John Jakulevicius
Director, Technology
Hillary Lucas
Director, Human Resources, &
Executive Assistant
Vivienne Sequeira
Director, Membership and Infrastructure
Jennifer Wright
Director, Special Projects and Events
Elizabeth Bachini
Health Program Consultant
Haben Berhe
Trade & Financial Management Specialist
Brittany Clark
Special Projects & Events/Marketing Assistant
Conor Godfrey
Communications & Trade Specialist, SAIBL Program
Biova Kabine
Program Manager, Member Service
Jed Leonard
Project Manager, Agribusiness
Bezawit Mane
Front Office Coordinator/Administrative Assistant
Sonia Mfasoni
Project Manager, SME Business Linkages
Aoko Samson
East African Program Consultant/ Manager
Justin Tinsey
Project Coordinator, U.S.-Africa Business Center
Daniel
Wolf
Market Linkages and Investment Specialist, SATH
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