President of mPedigree, Bright Simons has been appointed to the Board of Directors of Salzburg Global effective March 18, 2021.
He is to help guide Salzburg Global’s programs and business practices.
Mr. Simons has a social enterprise working on three continents and spreading innovative technologies that secure communities from the harmful effects of counterfeiting in health, agriculture, cosmetics, and automotive sectors.
He is a Ghanaian technology innovator, social entrepreneur, and policy activist. He has worked in many countries on multiple continents for nearly two decades to instill and enhance trust in markets, the public sector, and civil society.
Commenting on his appointment, Bright Simons said, “few organizations in the world today are as committed to the ideals of global public diplomacy as Salzburg Global Seminar.
“Recognition that rigorous and respectful dialogue is essential for the mindset revolutions the world requires to turn the curve represented by the current crisis of confidence in ‘global action’ is only the starting point of Salzburg Global Seminar’s deep commitment to catalyzing groundbreaking action through the networks of established and emerging leadership it discreetly cultivates around the world.”
Victoria Mars, Chairman of Salzburg Global, said, “we are thrilled to welcome Bright Simons to our Board of Directors. He represents a new generation of African entrepreneurs supporting social good through sustainable enterprise.
“As a Salzburg Global Fellow, Bright personifies our mission in motion: ‘Challenge current and future leaders to shape a better world.’ He will help guide our engagement across the African continent and support the next generation of innovators and social entrepreneurs.”
About Bright Simons
Bright serves as the honorary Vice President at IMANI, one of the world’s most innovative think tanks and among Africa’s top 5 institutions of its kind, where he has been instrumental in the organization’s innovative use of rigorous research-generated evidence in high-stakes political accountability, anti-corruption, and civil liberty projects.
He is also a member of the External Advisory Board of European biopharma company, UCB, and the Advisory Council of the prestigious Ashesi University.
His recent commitments include membership in the inaugural Microsoft Africa Advisory Council, the Lancet Commission on the Future of Health in Africa, the Center for Global Development’s Study Group on Technology, the World Economic Forum’s Africa Strategy Group, the inaugural Ashoka Globalizer initiative, the Africa Population Health Research Center, Care International, and IC Publications, owner of the New African magazine.
As a member of successive World Economic Forum Global Agenda and Future Councils, an inaugural TED Fellow, an Archbishop Desmond Tutu Fellow, and an Aspen Braddock Scholar and Global Leadership Network Fellow, he spends a considerable amount of energy working to build and sustain networks of solution seekers around the world, united by common values.
He has written for such outlets as the online edition of the Harvard Business Review, Quartz magazine, the BBC’s Business Daily show, and the Huffington Post.
Bright is a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement award from the African Innovation Foundation; MIT’s Tech Review in 2013’s 35 most impressive global technology visionaries under age 35; Quartz magazine’s top 30 innovators in 2015 and both the Africa Report and New African magazines Most Influential Persons’ lists; CNBC’s All-Africa Business Leader of the Year in the innovation category; and Fortune magazine named him on their 50 World Greatest Leaders list.
He was a 2021 AACSB Influential Leader affiliated with TIAS Business School and a George Mallinckrodt & Adrian Cheng Fellow at Harvard University. Bright is a member of the board of Salzburg Global Seminar.
