Kola Karim Joins World Economic Leaderhip

March 13, 2008 - PRLog -- Geneva, Switzerland,

KOLA KARIM joins 245 leading executives, public figures and intellectuals- all age 40 or younger- chosen from around the world.

The World Economic Forum today announces that Kola Karim has been selected as a young global leader 2008. This honour is bestowed each year by the World Economic forum to recognize and acknowledge the top 200-300 young leaders from around the world for their professional accomplishments, commitment to society and potential to contribute to shaping the future of the world.

Speaking to journalists Mr Kola Karim said “It’s a great honour to be elected to this community. I dedicate this honour to the 900million unknown heroes of Africa who work daily towards meeting the challenge of our generation, to those who use their imagination, initiative and indomitable spirit to build a new society, to those who seize the God given opportunity to help create a new outcome for Africa , This honour is theirs and i am humbled to receive it on their behalf.”

The Young Global Leaders for 2008 include 121 business leaders, as well as leaders from government, academia, media and society at large from 65 countries. The new class represents all regions, including East Asia (64), Europe (58), Middle East and North Africa (12), North America (45), South Asia (24) sub-Saharan Africa (21) and Latin America (21)The World Economic Forum is a true multi-stakeholder community of global decision makers. We need the Young Global Leaders to be a voice for the future in the global thought process and as a catalyst for initiatives in the global public interest.” Said Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum.

Drawn from a pool of almost 5,000 candidates, the Young Global Leaders 2008 were chosen by a selection committee of 31 eminent international media leaders, including Thomas H. Glocer, Chief Executive Officer, Reuters, United Kingdom; Arthur Sulzberger, Chairman and publisher, The New York Times, USA; Robert Thomson, Publisher, Dow Jones & Company and The Wall Street Journal, USA; and Hisashi Hieda, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Fuji Television Network, Japan. The selection committee is chaired by H.M Queen Rania Al Abdullah of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

The current community of Young Global Leaders represents over 60 countries and includes Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Co-Founders of Google, USA; Crown Prince Haakon of Norway; Malvinder M. Singh, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Ranbaxy Laboratories, India; Hiroshi Nakada, Mayor of Yokohama, Japan; Nickey Newton-King, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, JSE, South Africa; Carlos Daniel, Co-Executive Officer, Banco Compartamos, Mexico; and Jack Ma Yun, Chairman and Executive Officer, Alibaba Group, Peoples Republic of China.

It is our belief that this community of committed individuals can actually change the status quo. They are not only a preview of what effective, collaborative leadership in the 21st century might look like, they are actually putting it into practice today.” Said David Aikman, Senior Director and Head of Forum of Young Global Leaders. “It is our privilege to work with such inspirational leaders and to bring them together in a global network that builds their insights and skill even further, providing them with a global platform to tackle the key challenges of our generation”

Established in 2004 by professor Klaus Schwab, The Forum of Young Global Leaders is a unique, multistakeholder community of the world’s most extraordinary young leaders, who dedicate a part of their time to jointly address global challenges and who are committed to devote some of their knowledge and energy to collectively work towards a better future. As part of their engagement, the Young Global Leaders give their time to task forces to initiate, develop and drive innovative solutions on important, globally-oriented issues, including health, education, the environment, global governance and security, development and poverty.


About Kola Karim

Mr Kola Karim Is CEO of Shoreline Energy International Shoreline is a leading Energy and Infrastructure Group operating in Africa. Shoreline has grown rapidly through acquisition. Recent acquisitions: ABB Electrical Systems (Nigeria), Costain (West Africa) PLC, Schlumberger testing and production (Nig). The Group continues to focus on Integrated Infrastructure and Energy leadership in sub-Saharan Africa.

For more information and a detailed list of all Young Global Leaders, please visit www.younggloballeaders.org

The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world. The Forum provides a collaborative framework for the world’s leaders to address global issues, engaging particularly its corporate members in global citizenship.

Incorporated as a foundation, and based in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Economic Forum is impartial and not-for-profit; it is tied to no political, partisan or national interests. The Forum has NGO consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.