Malawi-born and United Kingdom-based James Woods Nkhutabasa enjoyed an extraordinary spotlight in the Ghana media platform, the Ghanaian Voice. Woods was featured in the outlet’s series of profiles of the 2022 Archbishop Tutu Leadership Fellowship class of young Africans.
The young Tutu Fellowship leaders were referred to in the article as “a colossal percentage of the African brain trust, proving through their words and deeds the availability of significant human capital on the continent that just needs to be properly harnessed to help Africa rise to her rightful place in the world,” before shifting to Woods whom the publication described as “an African star that keeps on shining bright in ably projecting the continent the world over.”
Diplomat Consultant Leader
James Woods is a consultant who specializes in strategic governance and communication. He is a former Malawian diplomat who served the European Union, Andorra, Belgium, France, the Principality of Monaco, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands during his tour of service. Woods, a director and partner of Rainbow Sports Global, is also a sports enthusiast.
Woods’ selection as one of the twenty-three recipients of the 2022 Archbishop Tutu Leadership Fellowship is a further testament to his leadership abilities. At the time, Dr. Jackie Chimhanzi, chief executive officer of the African Leadership Institute, said that the selection of the candidates “demonstrated incredible wealth and breadth of leadership talent that exists in Africa’s young people and bodes well for Africa’s future.”
Between 2011 and 2013, Woods worked for the Mo Ibrahim Foundation and was in charge of, among other things, directing the Foundation’s initiatives to advance African leadership and good governance through high-level gatherings and workshops, creating and carrying out strategic media and communication plans, and organizing and delivering the Ibrahim Prize for outstanding African Leadership, which awards a deserving former head of state in Africa with $5 million.
Woods was on the board of the London School of Economics Africa Summit from 2014 to 2016. Between 2014 to 2020, he served as Country Director for Invest Africa, a renowned pan-African business platform that encourages trade and investment in Africa.
Arguably one of Malawi’s gold, Nkhutabasa also held other roles – including serving as a communications advisor to numerous African heads of state across East, South, and West Africa; serving as chief consultant to several oil and gas companies such as UK-owned Surestream Petroleum and UAE Ras Al Khaimah Gas.
James has multiple other roles across the world. He is a member of the Faculty of the Africa Brand Leadership Academy (ABLA). ABLA’s faculty is a global network of African network and respected practitioners thought leaders and academics across disciplines and industries who possess a rich blend of proven insights and experience. Collectively, they represent the vanguard of brand building in Africa. Woods is also a registered FIFA football intermediary with the Football Association of Malawi.
Education
The Malawian is a graduate of the London School of Economics and Political Science with a master’s degree in social policy and development, as well as a bachelor’s degree in politics, philosophy, and history from the University of London. Additionally, he earned a certificate in global diplomacy from the School of Oriental and African Studies as well as an executive leadership program from the Sad Business School, University of Oxford. Woods started the famous Executive MBA program at the Sad Business School, University of Oxford, in September 2022.
“Congrats to James Woods for becoming a full Tutu Fellow on September 14, 2022, and congratulations to all the new Tutu Fellows of 2022,” it read in its conclusion.
