JONTY VAN ZELLER

Director

Jonty van Zeller founded Alamaya and oversees the group of companies from East Africa. He has been working in the region for over eight years in the security, defence, logistics and humanitarian sectors. His management roles have included working for World Food Programme (WFP), Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR) and Salama Fikira. Jonty’s focus is Business Development and Government Relations. He is the representative for the International Stability Operations Association (ISOA) in Africa. Jonty lives in Kenya.

He is the representative for the International Stability Operations Association (ISOA) in Africa and a Board Member of the UN Global Compact Kenya Network.

HARRY SUTHERLAND

Director

Harry Sutherland is the Chairman of CrossInvest Global Management. He co-founded CrossInvest in 2010 and is also Chairman of the Harland Capital Group which he established in 1997. He has 25 years of advising, developing and funding businesses in Africa. Harry sits on the boards of several companies with operations ranging from mining to investment banking. Prior to this he worked for ten years in a variety of management and project development roles for Lonrho Plc across the continent. Harry lives in Mauritius.

HARRIS HARJAN

Director

Harris Harjan is the CEO of CrossInvest Global Management Services. With an MSC in Banking and Finance, BA in Law and Management and a Member of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrator. He co-founded CrossInvest in 2010, sits on the boards of a wide range of businesses in Africa including Maris Capital. Harris lives in Mauritius.

Keith Gardner

Head of Strategic Projects

Keith brings over 20 years of military and civilian Operations experience. After active service in the Royal Air Force as a Fast-Jet pilot, he moved into Africa focussed Venture Capital and Private Equity.

Initially focussing on South Sudan, Keith helped establish Maris Africa, a leading Africa focused investment group, building new and successful businesses in countries such as South Sudan, Kenya, Mozambique and Tanzania. Sectors included telecoms, real estate, mining, agriculture and logistics.

Keith has worked extensively in the Start-up and early stage company environment. He has established a range of successful business ventures including software/tech, medical services, real estate and sustainable technologies.

Keith lives between East Africa and the UAE

Lulu Allcock

Lead Compliance Consultant

A compliance specialist with 10 years’ experience as a qualified International HR Management practitioner and Lead Auditor with experience in Kenya, Tanzania, South Sudan, Uganda and Somalia. Previous roles have included heading up HR and implementing compliance at the Risk Management and Security companies Warrior Insight and Salama Fikira.

Lulu has vast experience in implementing compliance management systems such as QMS and ABMS in a variety of industry sectors, enabling her to be well positioned to provide the advice, recommendations and implementation of such systems with Alamaya experts. Lulu lives in Kenya.

ALISON NGIBUINI

Strategic Communications Advisor

Alison has an excellent knowledge of sub-Saharan Africa’s Communication Sector, as an award-winning Producer and Communication Expert with over fifteen years’ experience in content design and implementation of communication strategies for international organisations and public bodies such as USAID, UN Women, GIZ and the Government of Kenya (GoK). She is a director of a number of organisations such as UN Global Compact, Lewa Wildlife Conservancy and the Kenya Tourism Board. Previous leadership engagements include the Ministry of Communication and Information (GoK). Alison lives in Kenya.

RENZO BERNARDI

Aerospace Advisor

Renzo has been working in the Aerospace sector for over 30 years with a focus on sales, leasing and maintenance of fixed wing aircraft, rotary wing aircraft and equipment for aviation authorities. He has been providing intermediary and consultancy support for foreign companies looking to work in East Africa. He has considerable experience supporting large multinational organisations working with the Civil Aviation Authorities, Airport Authorities and Government Agencies in East Africa. Renzo lives in Kenya.

SULDAN FARAH

Security Sector Reform Advisor

An experienced strategist and conflict management specialist who has been engaged in Peace and Security Sector Reform for over fifteen years. Suldan has extensive knowledge of Somali socio-political affairs. Working with all levels of International, Governmental, Donor and stakeholders of Somalia, he has contributed to numerous processes, polices and work plans aimed at re-establishing and re-structuring the security sector in Somalia. Suldan lives between Kenya and Somalia.

MILES DONNELLY

Energy and Infrastructure Advisor

Miles has over thirty years of experienced gained across a broad spectrum of industries with a focus on energy and construction in Africa and the Middle East. He was founding partner of Aurelian Oil and Gas in 2002 and managed the refinancing of Mediterranean Oil and Gas in 2012 as a Board Member. Miles has considerable experience with large-scale construction projects; as Deputy Chairman of Africa Cargo Handling until 2001 he was responsible for the financing, construction and commissioning of a $25mn high-tech cargo terminal at JKIA Nairobi airport. He has been previously served on boards such as The Africa Resource Group, Mina Corp Africa and Kenana Distributors. Miles lives in the United Kingdom.

Christopher Hoffman

Humanitarian Advisor

Christopher Hoffman is currently the Managing Director of a corporate to humanitarian brokerage firm that links innovative companies with humanitarian agencies to meaningfully engage and partner in complex environments. He brings 20 years of direct field experience in humanitarian operations and innovation and has held response, country, regional and headquarters level positions with a number of agencies. Chris has worked equally in the United Nations system and with International NGOs as a senior humanitarian advisor across our continents and has led large scale humanitarian responses and served as an Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) cluster lead and coordinator in numerous Level 3 emergencies.  Chris, his four children and partner Wakanyi live in the Netherlands.

William F. Lyons Jr.

Bill is a highly respected executive, entrepreneur, and thought leader. He is the founder and Chief Executive of the Fort Hill Companies LLC based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Bill has more than 30 years of experience in government contracting and consulting services. He is as a subject matter expert and trusted advisor for US Government contracting and procurement. His experience includes projects with a global perspective, having served clients on five continents, including in South Sudan, where he was the construction manager for the US Embassy. Bill served in the United States Army, retiring after 31 years in the rank of colonel. He served in intelligence and logistics roles, with his final assignment as the Deputy Director of Logistics for the US Army Corps of Engineers.

Thule Lenneiye

Thule Lenneiye is a food systems, climate action and digital transformation expert, with a successful track record with hands-on experience in the digitalization of agriculture, and is a sought-after thought leader in these fields. Her recent work advising on agriculture and agribusiness investment in Eastern and Southern Africa has enabled national governments to articulate their needs and goals, facilitating sector investments into agriculture.

As the Coordinator of the Agriculture Transformation Office (ATO) for the Cabinet Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperatives, Thule fostered partnerships and catalyzed digital innovations to modernize sector operations for optimum service delivery and economic opportunities nationwide.

As the managing partner for Acility Afric she has deftly established a practice in ICT strategy development, project implementation management, policy formulation and execution, and government relations to support partners and clients establish and expand their activities in Africa.