The board of Trustees of the Tony Elumelu Foundation has announced the appointment of Professor Reid E. Whitlock as Chief Executive of the Foundation, effective 16th February 2015.

Professor Whitlock’s appointment follows Dr. Wiebe Boer, the inaugural Chief Executive of the Foundation, becoming Director of Strategy at Heirs Holdings, Mr. Elumelu's pan-African proprietary investment company.

Professor Whitlock brings thirty years of experience as a business school rector, diplomat, entrepreneur, strategy consultant and advisor to leaders in Africa, Asia and the Middle East on economic development. He received his Ph.D. and law degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He also holds a Masters of Business Administration from Harvard Business School and is a cum laude graduate of Princeton University.

Commenting on Professor Whitlock's appointment, Founder and Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Tony Elumelu said: "I welcome Professor Whitlock, who brings considerable global experience in the private, public, and academic sectors, which will significantly assist in realising the mission of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, in empowering Africa's next generation of entrepreneurs and driving the continent's economic and social transformation."

Dr. Whitlock will focus on supervising the Foundation's four key projects and programmes, including the $100 million pan-African Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme – Africa’s largest direct intervention in support of entrepreneurship.

Founded in 2010 by serial entrepreneur and philanthropist Tony O.Elumelu, C.O.N., the Foundation is Africa's leading advocate for entrepreneurship, responsible for programmes designed to ensure that entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship become the primary driver of Africa's economic growth and social transformation.