New York, Dec. 18, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- African Agriculture Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:AAGR), a pioneering company operating a commercial-scale alfalfa farm in Senegal and dedicated to food security for the coming century, today welcomed Osman Ahmed, Managing Director and Head of Private Equity at 10X Capital to its Board of Directors, in conjunction with the closing of the business combination, previously announced on December 6, 2023.
Before joining 10X Capital, Mr. Ahmed was the CEO of Founder SPAC, a $321 million special purpose acquisition company focused on digital transformation. Founder SPAC successfully completed its merger with Rubicon Technologies (NYSE: RBT) in August 2022. Previously, Mr. Ahmed was an investor at KCK Group, a private markets investor. He also served as CFO of Beehive Industries, a KCK Group Portfolio company. He previously held roles at Volition Capital, Scale Venture Partners, and Stifel Financial. Throughout his career, Mr. Ahmed has executed leveraged buyouts, special situations, and growth equity investments in technology, business services, industrials, and healthcare. Prior closed deals by Mr. Ahmed include Harvest Food Distributors, Sherwood Food Distributors, Hibernia Networks (acquired by GTT), RingCentral, TraceLink, Al Fakher Tobacco, Better.com, and others. Mr. Ahmed holds a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Southern California and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He sits on the Board of Directors of Rubicon Technologies (NYSE: RBT) and is the company’s lead independent director.
"With great enthusiasm, we welcome Mr. Ahmed to the board of African Agriculture,” said Alan Kessler, Chairman and CEO of African Agriculture, Inc. “With a distinguished career spanning diverse sectors, achievements in strategic investments, and being a visionary leader, Mr. Ahmed’s insights, leadership, and strategic foresight will be complementary in continuing to propel African Agriculture forward as we rapidly expand our agricultural production on the African continent.”
Mr. Ahmed will join distinguished board members, including:
Ambassador Modest Jonathan Mero is the outgoing Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the United Republic of Tanzania to the United Nations and was his country’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, and all international organizations in Geneva. He was accredited to the International Atomic Energy Agency, United Nations Industrial Organization, Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, and the United Nations system in Austria. Ambassador Mero was a senior economist at the Ministry of Industry and Trade and Trade policy adviser to the Executive Secretary of the Southern African Development Community. He holds a B.S. degree from the University of Dar es Salaam in the United Republic of Tanzania and a master’s degree in finance from University of Strathclyde in the United Kingdom.
Orim Graves served as Executive Director of the National Association of Securities Professionals (NASP), a three-decade-old trade association for minorities and women in the financial services industry. He also served as deputy chief investment officer for the City of Philadelphia Board of Pensions and Retirement, providing expertise in investment performance attribution. He is a member of the board of Dillard University, a historically Black university in New Orleans, Louisiana. He holds a B.S. in Finance from Hampton University and an MBA in Finance from the University of Wisconsin and is a CFA charter holder.
Dr. Russell Read is the former Chief Investment Officer and Deputy Chief Executive Officer for the Gulf Investment Corporation (GIC) in Kuwait City, Kuwait. He led North America’s largest pension fund, CalPERS, as its Chief Investment Officer, where he launched its inflation-linked asset class and new programs in timberland, commodities, infrastructure, and environmentally sensitive investing. He developed the first commodities-based mutual fund and related institutional products. He holds undergraduate statistics and graduate finance degrees from the University of Chicago, a master’s in economics, and a doctorate in political economy from Stanford University. Mr. Read was the Governor of both the Hedge Funds Standards Board (UK) and the New York Academy of Sciences. He was Chairman of the Investor’s Committee for President’s Working Group under U.S. Treasury Secretary Paulson.
Daphne Michelle Titus is a career member of the United States Department of State Senior Foreign Service and of Entrepreneurship by Women STEM. She is one of the Department of State’s premier Africanists and senior consular officers. She served in the Bureau of African Affairs Office of Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Deputy Chief of Mission/Charge d’Affaires in Banjul, The Gambia and at the U.S. Mission to the African Union, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Ms. Titus also Served in Washington as a member of the Department’s Foreign Service Board of Examiners, its tenure/promotion/selection-out boards, and as its Bilateral Western Hemisphere Affairs Officer in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. She is the recipient of numerous Department of State performance awards.
Ambassador (ret) Bisa Williams is a Senior Fellow at Yale University’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs and the Special Advisor on Mali for The Carter Center. She served as chairperson of the Board of Health & Development International (HDI) in 2021. She was a career member of the Foreign Service of the U.S. Department of State, serving tours in Guinea, Panama, Mauritius, Niger, France, the U.S. Mission to the UN (NY), and Washington, DC, including two years at the National Security Council of The White House. As Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, she led the US delegation to talks in Havana, Cuba, ending a seven-year hiatus of high-level direct discussions. Her accomplishments were recognized in the LeoGrande/Kornbluh book, “Back Channel to Cuba.” Appointed by President Barack Obama in 2010 as Ambassador to Niger, Ambassador Williams holds the distinction of being the first Department of State officer to be awarded the “Agency Seal Medal” from the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency for exceptional contributions to U.S. national security while serving as Ambassador. She also served as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of African Affairs. She holds a M.S. degree in National Security Strategy from the National War College of the National Defense University in Washington, DC, a M.A. and ABD in Comparative Literature from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Bachelor of Arts degree cum laude from Yale.
Alan Kessler, Board Member, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman Mr. Kessler has over 20 years of experience on Wall Street at Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and Ladenburg Thalmann. He was responsible for substantial advisory and capital raises for the benefit of Africa, including numerous landmark transactions on the African continent. He holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania (Cum Laude) and an MBA from Columbia Business School.
About African Agriculture
African Agriculture is a pioneering company dedicated to securing food and protein for the coming century. Born out of a global necessity, it focuses on harnessing Africa's vast agricultural potential. With 60% of the world's remaining arable land, Africa stands as a powerhouse of untapped resources, offering abundant sunshine, plentiful rain, and fertile soil. African Agriculture's mission is to optimize yields and harvests, creating sustainable job opportunities for local communities while delivering significant value to its shareholders. To learn more about African Agriculture, Inc., visit: https://africanagriculture.com/.
About 10X Capital
10X Capital is an alternative asset management firm leveraging advancements in data analytics & AI to generate signals, deliver insights, and drive returns across asset classes. 10X Capital is amongst the most active venture capital firms globally, aligning Wall Street, Main Street & Silicon Valley by bringing institutional capital & strategies to high growth ventures & income opportunities in both private & public markets. For more information, visit https://www.10XCapital.com/.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, which involve substantial risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements about the expansion of our operations, the opportunities available to African Agriculture in the African continent, and potential benefits to local communities and businesses.
You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events, the outcome of which are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements, including those more fully described in our most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Forward-looking statements represent our beliefs and assumptions only as of the date such statements are made and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by law.
Investor Contact:
David Waldman/Ted Ayvas
Crescendo Communications, LLC
Tel: (212) 671-1020
Email: AAGR@Crescendo-IR.com
Media Contact:
Brigit Hennaman
Rubenstein Public Relations
Email: bhennaman@rubensteinpr.com
Company Contact:
Maxine Gordon, Head of Academics, Media, and Public Relations
African Agriculture Inc.
Email: mg@africanagriculture.com
