Over 19 years of experience Abena Amankwah has distinguished herself as a marketplace leader that support people development and strategic partnership with business to release human potential in the diverse companies and industries she has worked for. She believes without talented staff, a company is just an entity on paper. It takes people to develop client relationships, manage technologies and achieve growth objectives. Hence, she advocates creating learning programs in business to release people potential to enable/ drive business growth. Her slogan is ‘You Matter’ sits at the core of her belief that human potential is endless and should be harnessed to keep up in a changing world.
Currently her role is the Regional Human Resources Director across Sub Saharan Africa for Ipsos a leading Market and Social Global Research Company. She is a statutory board member and a trustee of the company’s Public Benefit Organisation supporting youth development through education. Abena is analytical and a critical thinker with a proven ability to gain quick insight into business drivers and develop strategies to drive HR value and sustainable impact in any business. She is extremely passionate about building people with a purpose of releasing their God given potential, and is a strong advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace. She has created learning programs that focus on developing, coaching, and mentoring leaders to thrive in the workplace.
She holds a BCom Degree from Rhodes University. A Business Certification from Joseph Business School where she was recognised for excellent academic achievement. She has Advance Labour Law Certificate from the University of Pretoria and is Lean and Six Sigma trained and tested. She has participated and completed global Leadership Development Program through Harvard Business School where she was awarded Best Project Award for successfully integrating graduates from disadvantaged background into business through development initiatives. They also awarded her the Best Student Award.
Due to her expertise in the HR field, in 2008 she had the privilege of being invited for an Interviews to discuss Talent Management, Immigration in SA and other relevant topic on SABC Morning Live, Africa’s Boardrooms, CNBC Africa and Sunrise on ETV. Abena is a regular speaker and presents on various HR training forums.
As a servant leader, Abena loves to innovate and uses her influence to create positive impact in a business.
