Along with a number of supporting staff and volunteers, and staff members working at local AIMS centres, AIMS-NEI has a small team of staff members on the project.
Thierry Zomahoun is our Executive Director.
A senior executive with 18+ years of successful work record in international development, not-for-profit business start up and growth, global management and operational excellence. Recognized for leading global ground-breaking educational programs across multiple geographic regions, Thierry sees AIMS-NEI as an exceptional opportunity to open doors for many bright young people across Africa and to enable them to contribute to the upliftment of their continent. Thierry has previously served in different senior management and leadership roles including Country Program Adviser, Country Director, Regional Director, Chief Executive Officer and Consultant with a variety of international development agencies and consulting firms. Thierry has three Masters Degrees and a Graduate Diploma earned in Benin, Switzerland and Canada. His most recent Masters Degree is an Executive MBA from McGill (Canada). He is board member, Special Advisor and Executive Associate with various international development agencies.
Prof Barry Green is the Director of AIMS-South Africa and our Director of Academic Development.
Barry completed his PhD at the University of Cape Town in 1984 and lectured at Stellenbosch University before spending ten years as a research scientist at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. In 1996 he returned to Stellenbosch University, where he was appointed Chair of the Mathematics Department in 2002 and Executive Head of the Department of Mathematical Sciences in 2006. Barry has been closely involved with the growth of AIMS since its founding in 2003 and was appointed its second Director in April 2010. He is a member of the Board of the AIMS-Next Einstein Initiative and on the Advisory Board of the planned Pan African Centre for Mathematics in Dar Es Salaam. He is keenly involved in promoting the growth of the mathematical sciences in Africa and is editor of the mathematics journal Quaestiones Mathematicae and on the editorial board of Afrika Mathematika
Sarah Jackson is our Director of Finance and Operations.
Sarah oversees the financial aspects of operations across the AIMS network and operations across the AIMS network. Born in the UK, she has spent most of the last ten years working and studying abroad in China, Austria, France and Ethiopia. Her first degree was completed in Natural Sciences (Astrophysics) at Cambridge University, followed by a Masters of Advanced International Studies at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna and MSc in Development Management from the Open University, UK. She is currently studying to be a chartered accountant with the Chartered Institute of Management Accounts. Focusing on Finance and Project Management related activities, her core areas of interest relate to education and development.
Deborah Wilsnagh is our Senior Advisor, HR and Financial Operations.
Deborah provides financial and HR management support to the AIMS-NEI Secretariat and oversees the Financial Management of AIMS-Ghana. She was born in Cape Town, South Africa and has over 20 years cumulative work experience in the areas of finance, human resources and administrative management. Deborah holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree in Accounting from the University of the Western Cape and is currently employed as the Finance and HR Manager at AIMS South Africa.
Blaise Kabongo is our Senior Bookkeeper.
Blaise supports AIMS's financial and accounting work as Senior Bookkeeper. He has a rich and successful employment history with large corporations such as Shell, Unibra, Orgaman where he held managerial positions. With his extensive background on internal auditing, he will support AIMS centers and the organisation in the implementation of accounting systems. Blaise is currently furthering his students in financial accounting with the view of becoming a chartered accountant and eventually an entrepreneur. In his spare time he keeps fit through exercise at the gym. Blaise holds a bachelor degree in financial and accounting sciences.
Trust Chibawara is our Operations Associate.
Trust supports the startup and establishment of new AIMS centres and the AIMS-NEI secretariat. He is from Zimbabwe; he obtained a BSc Honours Degree in Mathematics from Midlands State University. In 2007-08 Trust was an AIMS PGD student and his interests were in Financial Mathematics – his essay on Optimal Investment Strategies for Risky Assets was supervised by Prof. Ekkehard Kopp and Dr. Alet Roux. After finishing his PGD, he obtained a scholarship to do a Master’s Degree in Financial Mathematics at the University of Stellenbosch which was completed in March 2010. Trust was a tutor at AIMS-South Africa until December 2010.
Arun Sharma supports various strategic initiatives for the AIMS network.
Arun supports various strategic initiatives for the AIMS network globally, including new AIMS centres and international partnerships. Most recently, he was the AIMS-NEI Director of Operations and Programmes. He has extensive and varied experience in the international development sector and has worked with leading organizations such as Médecins sans Frontières and the International Red Cross in countries including Canada, Sudan, Cote d'Ivoire, India and Afghanistan. Arun holds Bachelors and Masters degrees in Engineering from University of Waterloo and a MPhil in Sustainable Development from the University of Cambridge.
