Heads of state, ministers, and industry leadership.

Aftab Pureval

Attorney and Democratic politician, Aftab Pureval was first elected in 2021 and re-elected on 4 November 2025 as the 70th Mayor of Cincinnati — the first Asian-American to hold the office. Previously Hamilton County Clerk of Courts (2017–2022), his agenda focuses on equitable economic growth and modernising city operations.

Portrait: City of Cincinnati / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Mike DeWine

Republican Mike DeWine has served as Governor of Ohio since January 2019. His five-decade public career spans the U.S. House of Representatives (1983–1991), U.S. Senate (1995–2007) and Ohio Attorney General (2011–2019). His administration has prioritised economic development, workforce training and family and children's policy.

Portrait: Office of the Governor of Ohio · Public domain

Hon. Sylvester Adinam Mensah

Chief Executive Officer of Ghana EXIM Bank, Hon. Sylvester Adinam Mensah leads Ghana's strategic export credit agency driving trade finance, value addition, and international market expansion for Ghanaian exporters. An economist, financial executive, and seasoned public administrator, he leads GEXIM's mandate to scale cross-border commerce and industrialization.

Greg Landsman

Democrat Greg Landsman represents Ohio's 1st District (Cincinnati and Warren County) in the U.S. House of Representatives since January 2023. A former public-school teacher and Cincinnati City Council member, he sits on the House Foreign Affairs and Small Business committees and is a member of the New Democrat Coalition.

Portrait: Official Congressional portrait, 118th Congress · Public domain (U.S. federal work)

Eric H. Kearney

Attorney, businessman and former Ohio State Senate Minority Leader, Eric H. Kearney leads the African American Chamber of Commerce for Greater Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky. A former member of President Obama's national finance committee, he directs a 35-point plan expanding capital, procurement and Fortune 500 supply-chain access for minority-owned businesses across the tri-state region.

Damon Jones

Damon Jones has been P&G's Chief Communications Officer since April 2020, leading global corporate reputation and stakeholder engagement across 170+ countries. A near-30-year P&G veteran and Xavier University graduate, he has been named to PRWeek's Global Power List multiple times, including a top-ranked spot in 2025.

Greg Foran

Retail veteran Greg Foran was appointed Chief Executive Officer of The Kroger Co. in February 2026. Previously CEO of Walmart U.S. and CEO of Air New Zealand, he brings four decades of global retail leadership to America's largest supermarket chain, headquartered in Cincinnati and a strategic buyer of African agri-produce.

Michelle Harpenau Glandorf, CFRE

Michelle Harpenau Glandorf leads the World Affairs Council of Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky, a nationally recognised non-partisan platform for global engagement. She sits on the National Board of Directors of the World Affairs Councils of America and has expanded the Council's role convening heads of state, foreign ministers and multinational executives visiting the region.

Manny Addo

Manny Addo is the Ghanaian-born founder of Natural Shea Care and its True Shea brand, which built a direct supply chain from shea butter cooperatives in Ghana into Kroger's shelves nationwide. He holds an MBA in finance and marketing from Xavier University and wrote From Africa to 1,500 Kroger Stores to share his path to market access for immigrant and African entrepreneurs. He also co-chairs the AATS 2026 Convening Committee — see the organising team below.

Maame Efua Houadjeto

Maame Efua Houadjeto has served as CEO of the Ghana Tourism Authority since January 2025, only the second woman to lead the agency since its founding in 1973. Before her appointment she founded and led the Image Consortium Group, an event-management company, and served as General Manager of MPlaza Hotel. In February 2026 she was honoured as Global Cultural Ambassador at the Pre-Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.

Steve Hightower

Steve Hightower founded Hightowers Petroleum Co. in 1982, growing it from a wholesale fuel distributor into the largest African-American-owned downstream petroleum marketer in the United States, serving Fortune 500 customers including GM, Ford, Kroger, UPS and Duke Energy. Based in Middletown, Ohio, the company has since expanded into hydrogen, renewable diesel and EV charging solutions. Hightower has been nominated to the American Petroleum Institute's Board of Directors.

Jill Morenz

Jill Morenz has led Aviatra Accelerators, a Cincinnati-based nonprofit accelerator for women-owned startups and small businesses, since October 2022. She previously directed community initiatives and communications for the Catalytic Fund and has founded two businesses of her own, bringing fundraising and entrepreneurial experience to Aviatra's mission of helping women build and scale companies.

Mark Jeffreys

Mark Jeffreys is a member of Cincinnati City Council, first elected in 2021 and re-elected in 2023 and 2025, where he chairs the Equitable Growth & Housing Committee. After a 16-year career at Procter & Gamble, he founded and leads 4Sight, which mines consumer insights from user-generated content for consumer-packaged-goods companies. He also founded the nonprofit goVibrant and has served for six years as a trustee of the Cincinnati Parks Foundation.

Bryan McCleary

Bryan McCleary is founder of Relevance Communications, advising startup founders on PR strategy that drives sales, deal flow and investment. His background includes two decades at Procter & Gamble, Vice President for Communications and Creative at News America Marketing, Chief Marketing Officer for United Way of Greater Cincinnati, and press secretary to U.S. Senator John Glenn. AATS 2026 lists him as a strategy and marketing contributor from Cincinnati's startup ecosystem; his current role at CincyTech could not be independently confirmed from public sources at time of writing.

Mr. Crusivia C. Hichikumba

Crusivia C. Hichikumba is Permanent Secretary for Investment and Industrialisation at Zambia's Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry, where he has driven the country's manufacturing and export-diversification agenda — including a roadmap that saw manufacturing contribute 38.5% of total investment over five years. He represents Zambia at international forums on trade, green hydrogen and investment cooperation, including engagements with Brazil, China and Germany.

Ed Mathis

A native Cincinnatian, Ed Mathis joined Republic Commercial Real Estate in 2016 and was promoted to Vice President in 2019, after earlier roles in customer service at U.S. Bank and hazmat delivery at Cincinnati Pool Management. He leads the Rotary Club of Cincinnati, one of the oldest Rotary clubs in the world, as its president.

Jessica L. Bhadauria, MBA

Jessica L. Bhadauria, MBA, is a Visiting Assistant Professor and Instructor at Miami University's Farmer School of Business. Beyond this AATS 2026 programme listing, a public faculty profile or biography could not be independently located at time of writing.

Gabriel Opoku-Asare

Gabriel Opoku-Asare is Chief Export Development Officer of Ghana's 24-Hour Economy Authority and Head Director of Accelerated Export Development at the Office of the President, bringing roughly 20 years of corporate relations, public policy and sustainability experience. He joined from Diageo, where he most recently served as Director, Society (ESG) for North America, having earlier led Society for Diageo Africa and held corporate-relations roles across Southeast Asia; he began his career as Corporate Affairs Director for Unilever Ghana.

Mr. Albert Halwampa

Mr. Albert Halwampa is the Director General of the Zambia Development Agency, responsible for driving investment and economic development in Zambia.