Monique Maddy

Originally from Liberia, West Africa, and now a US citizen, Monique Maddy was schooled first in Great Britain and then in the United States. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in international politics and economics from Georgetown University, a Masters Degree in economics and development studies from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, and a Masterís Degree in Business Administration from the Harvard Business School. From 1986 to 1991 Monique worked for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on development issues in New York City, Africa (Angola and the Central African Republic) and Asia (Indonesia)

In 1993, Monique founded the African Communications Group (later renamed Adesemi Communications International) to finance, build and operate low-cost wireless telecommunications services in developing and emerging market countries. Adesemi built the worldís first fully integrated wireless virtual phone network, a platform consisting of public payphones, voicemail and pagers, and targeted at low-income consumers. Adesemi received widespread recognition and extensive international press coverage for this innovation, including articles featured in the Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Wired magazine, Red Herring magazine, the Boston Globe, and the Canadian Globe and Mail, among others.

The company is also the subject of a Harvard Business School case study. Monique wrote about her experience at the helm of Adesemi in an article that was published by the Harvard Business Review, “Dream Deferred: The Story of a High-Tech Entrepreneur in a Low-Tech World” in May, 2000. A reprint of this article is available for purchase at www.harvardbusinessonline.com.

Monique is the author of “Learning to Love Africa: My Journey from Africa to Harvard Business School and Back”, an autobiography published by HarperCollins in 2004. She is a member of Heineken N.V.’s Advisory Board for Africa and an Executive Board Member of the Brick Project, an online global school initiative that promotes global awareness among middle and high school students from different nations and continents. Monique is an entrepreneur and an elite marathon runner and lives in Boston, Massachusetts.