Amb. Prof. Muhammadou M.O. Kah

His Excellency Amb. Prof. Muhammadou M.O. Kah is the Ambassador of The Republic of the Gambia to the Swiss confederation & Permanent Representative to the UN Office at Geneva, World Trade Organisation (WTO), and other international organizations at Geneva, Switzerland. Amb.Prof. Kah served as the past Chairman of the Africa Group of Ambassadors at Geneva (April 2021- to September 2021) and currently is the Vice President (Africa) for the United Nations Human Rights Council; Vice Chairman for UNCTAD’s Commission on Science and Technology Development’s 25th session and a member of the Advisory Board of the UNCTAD Trade and Development Bureau (TDB) Advisory Body (June 2021-July 2023). Amb. Prof. Kah is also one of two Ambassadors designated as Friends of the Chair of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) General Assembly and serves as one of the Vice Chairs of the General Assembly of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Amb.Prof.Kah is a founding Board member of The International Digital Health and AI Research Collaborative (I-DAIR), Geneva, Switzerland. Prior to his appointment in Geneva, Amb.Prof. Kah served as the Founding Chairman of Zenith Bank, The Gambia, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Africa Consulting & Trading Group (ACT), Dakar, Senegal; Board membership: Malabo Montpelier Panel; African Agriculture Technology Foundation; Africa Europe Foundation and ReEnergy Africa. He also served as Board Member for over 10 years of the African University of Science and Technology, Abuja, Nigeria; served as a Board member of the Nigerian Communications Commission’s (NCC) Digital Bridge Institute, Abuja, Nigeria. Amb. Prof. Kah served as the first Gambian-born third Vice Chancellor of The University of The Gambia (UTG) from 2009- 2015. Prior to becoming UTG’s Vice Chancellor/Rector in 2009, he spent 4 years in Nigeria as the Founding Dean of the School of IT and Computing at the American University of Nigeria (AUN) where he doubled for a year as Interim Dean of the School of Business & Entrepreneurship and served as Interim CIO of the University. After his tenure, he was appointed to serve as a member of the University’s Board of Trustees for eight years. He was requested to step down and return to the University to provide academic and administrative leadership for the transformation of the University as Vice President for Academic Affairs & Provost and Professor of Information Technology & Computing (2017-2020). Amb. Prof. Kah also served as Vice Rector for Technology & Innovation; Professor and Founding Dean of the School of Information Technology & Engineering at ADA University in Baku, Azerbaijan (2015-2017). During his tenure at ADA University, he provided leadership and spear headed resource mobilization that established a funded centre of excellence at the University- the ADA Centre for Data Analytics and Research to builds capacity, competencies on Data Science, Big Data, AI, Machine Learning and other emerging technologies and a hub of collaboration and partnership with key industry players and reputable Universities. Professor Kah has held teaching and leadership positions in the USA, Africa, the Middle East (Gulf countries) and Eastern Europe (Caucuses). A regular contributor to the “Africa Module” in the Advanced Leadership Program (ALP) at Cambridge Judge Business School, he was appointed as an honorary Fellow of the Judge Business School and the Digital Innovation Centre, University of Cambridge (2016-2017). Professor Kah is passionate about advancing and strengthening computing, engineering, science, and leading strategy & innovation in organizations. To complement that he also provides thought leadership in information technologies & computing education in higher education whilst also serving as a member of international panels such as the Malabo Montpellier Panel, the Euro Science Forum 2018, amongst others. Completing his BSc, MSc. and Ph.D. at the Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, New Jersey, one of the top engineering and technology management universities in the USA. His PhD dissertation Titled: “An Econometric Analysis of Telecommunications Information Technology, and Economic Growth in Africa: A Case Study of The Gambia (1999) was awarded best dissertation by Stevens Institute of Technology, USA. In 2016, Amb. Prof. Kah was awarded an Honorary Doctoral Degree- Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) by the University of The Gambia a year after he completed his tenure as Vice Chancellor/Rector of The University. He also holds a Master of Science in Finance (Financial Engineering) from George Washington University, Washington, DC and a Postgraduate Diploma (Dip SI) in Strategy and Innovation from the Said Business School, University of Oxford, UK. Professor Kah has completed several Executive Education Programs: University of Cambridge, Judge Business School: the Advanced Leadership (ALP) Program; Advanced Leadership Re-Union & Follow-Up Program in Singapore and Beyond Innovation: Business Models for Transformation & Competitive Advantage; Harvard University, Harvard Kennedy School: Transforming Leadership for 21st Century Africa, and The AGA KHAN University, Graduate School of Media & Communication: The Voice of Leadership; Inspiration, Influence & Impact, Digital Transformation Strategy, Imperial College Business School, UK and Program on Negotiations- Negotiation and Dispute Resolution, Program on Negotiations, Harvard Law School. In Corporate Governance, he has completed the highly reputable International Directors Program (IDP) as an Internationally Certified Director from INSEAD, through the INSEAD Singapore and Fontainebleau, France, Campus. Professor Kah is also a member of the Institute of Directors (IoD), London, UK.