Management
Dr Martyn Davies is Chief Executive Officer of Frontier Advisory (Pty) Ltd.
Dr Martyn Davies was selected in 2010 as a Young Global Leader, an honour bestowed by the World Economic Forum each year to recognise the most distinguished young leaders nominated below the age of 40 from around the world.
Martyn is Director of the China Africa Network and the Asia Corporate Network, Centre for Business & Academic Research at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), University of Pretoria, South Africa and lectures on MBA, Executive and Company-Specific programs at the school. He is a full time faculty member of the school.
Martyn is concurrently the Chief Executive Officer of Frontier Advisory (Pty) Ltd, a leading research and strategy-consulting firm that specialises in emerging markets. He has provided business strategy solutions on behalf of listed and multinational clients in Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America. He was ranked the # 1 analyst in South Africa in the “Other African Economies & Markets” category as awarded by the prestigious Financial Mail in its Annual Analysts of the Year awards in 2007.
Martyn was previously the (founding) Director of the Centre for Chinese Studies (CCS) that was established under the South Africa – China Bi-national Commission at Vice Presidential level, a position he vacated in December 2009.
He has written over 200 articles in academia and the press and is a regular commentator for the international media and has been selected as a regular contributor to China’s CCTV-9 news channel.
He has published a number of book chapters in political-economic publications and is a regular presenter at international conferences that include Chatham House, the British Parliament, the African Development Bank, the OECD, the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, the European Commission, the School of Oriental & African Studies, the South African Parliament and the World Bank.
Martyn has chaired both public and private sessions at the World Economic Forum both in Africa and China. Since 2008, he has participated in the WEF’s Mining & Metals Industry Group – an advisory body to the WEF providing strategic advice to leading global extractive industry companies. In October 2008, he was appointed as an advisor to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) for its Global Development Outlook project. He is also an Advisor to Mastercard and is a member of the company’s Africa Knowledge Panel.
Martyn holds a BA degree in Law, an Honours Degree in International Relations (cum laude), a Master’s Degree in International Relations (cum laude) (University of the Witwatersrand), a Diploma in Asian Studies (Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea), and a PhD in International Relations (University of the Witwatersrand) – all completed by the age of twenty five. He also has a certificate from Harvard Business School for its “Making Markets Work” course.
He has lived, worked and studied in Asia for an extensive period and is currently writing a book on China’s commercial engagement of Africa to be published shortly by Penguin Books. Martyn divides his time between South Africa and international travel. His is an avid reader especially of Asian history and is an active sports fan. He has been awarded Protea Colours for cycling for South African Universities, played soccer for his alma mater Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea and participated in athletics and cross country at provincial level during high school.
He is married to Suheima and they have two children, Mikha and Zarah.
Abdullah Verachia is Senior Manager and Head of India Frontier Advisory
Abdullah is an admitted attorney of the High Court of South Africa and is also currently completing a second Masters degree (LLM) in Corporate Law. Abdullah also holds a further diploma in law from the University of Pretoria’s school of practical legal training.
Abdullah previously practised at the second oldest and one of the most established law firms in South Africa. In this position he advised a number of clients on corporate, civil and criminal law matters and also gained extensive experience in commercial and civil litigation.
Abdullah is senior manager at Frontier Advisory and also currently heads up the India Frontier Advisory Division at Frontier Advisory. In this position he has advised numerous South African companies on their internationalisation strategies with the Asian economy. He has also advised and engaged with a number of Indian and Chinese companies entering Africa.
He has participated in numerous high profile India-Africa conferences and delegations, including the South African-India CEO’s Forum and the Brazil-India-South Africa (IBSA) heads of state summit. Abdullah is also a regular media commentator for a number of publications including CNBC Africa, SABC, Business Day and the Sunday Times. Abdullah has done work in various sectors on behalf of a number of clients in Asia and Africa.
Abdullah has also led numerous international delegations on global executive programmes and international investment missions to numerous destinations in various countries including China, India, Dubai, Europe, Malaysia, Singapore and the US amongst others. Abdullah presents extensively both locally and internationally, on an array of subjects, including global economics and politics as well as on frontier and emerging markets. He has lectured to senior executives in the banking, insurance, FMCG, retail, audit and legal sectors.
Abdullah lectures regularly on business strategy and the global environment of business. He has also lectured to senior leaders in governments and international organisations. He has assisted numerous groups, companies and organisations in crafting their engagement strategies under changing political and economic periods. Abdullah has also led numerous international delegations on global executive programmes to various destinations in Asia.
Abdullah has been recognised as a visionary young leader who has played an active role in South African society for a number of years. He has been awarded a leadership travel scholarship from the University of Johannesburg and a merit bursary from the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA). Abdullah is also part of the Brightest Young Minds (BYM) in South Africa. Abdullah was also previously the Mpumalanga youth leader of the year and was also chosen as a finalist for the South African Youth leader of the year award.
Abdullah has been awarded numerous accolades for public speaking and debating and has represented South Africa both locally and internationally on various platforms in this regard. Abdullah speaks Zulu and Gujerati and reads Arabic.
averachia@frontieradvisory.com
Hannah Edinger is Senior Manager: Research
Hannah Edinger is Senior Manager at Frontier Advisory (Pty) Ltd, a leading research and strategy firm that specialises in emerging markets. Ensuring high quality research and strategy solutions, Hannah oversees all research products of the company. Hannah has headed a number of projects around China, China‘s economic and commercial relations with Africa, and investment and trading opportunities for South African companies in Sub-Saharan Africa, on behalf of Frontier Advisory.
Hannah also holds the position of Economist at the Centre for Chinese Studies (CCS) based at Stellenbosch University. The Centre is the first institution in Sub-Saharan Africa dedicated to researching China’s role in Africa. At the CCS Hannah has formed part of a number of research teams and recently was involved in research projects prepared for the Department for International Development UK (China office), the African Economic Research Consortium (Kenya), the Nordic Africa Institute (Sweden) and the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (Kenya). At present she is researching China’s manufacturing sector competition and industrialisation efforts in Africa for the African Development Bank. Hannah also on a continuous basis tracks the commercial engagement between China and Africa.
She has previously lectured to junior students at the University of Stellenbosch and recently lectured on China’s mining interests in Africa as part of an executive education programme at the University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB). Hannah has also participated in research, prepared corporate briefings as well as given a number of presentations and interviews on China’s economic role in Africa. She is also a columnist for Business Day.
Hannah holds a BComm degree, majoring in Economics and Statistics, a BComm Honours degree in Economics (cum laude), and MComm in Economics (cum laude) from the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. Hannah has also completed a one-month academic exchange programme at the Institute for West Asian and African Studies (IWAAS) in Beijing.
PY Raman is Chief Representative – India Frontier Advisory, a division of Frontier Advisory (Pty) Ltd.
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Y Raman heads the Frontier Advisory representative office in India. His work experience spans 34 years with a strong banking and financial background. He is currently based in Chennai, southern India.
He has worked for 22 years in the banking industry, 13 of which were spent with the State Bank of India. In his 9 years with the Bank of Credit and Commerce International, he was posted in Hong Kong, London and Abu Dhabi and was responsible for managing credit risk in Bangladesh, India and Latin America.
Mr Raman also has extensive experience in financial consulting. He was Partner in a financial consultancy firm in India for 9 years that specialised in advising clients on all aspects of funding for their existing or new projects and consulting on the preparation of project reports and financial projections required by lenders.
Mr Raman represents Frontier Advisory in India, working on assignments that involve research, strategic analysis and hosting South African companies in India. He has an in-depth knowledge of India and its markets, people and diverse cultures. His understanding of the potential risk factors that can influence investment decisions is a great asset to FA.
Mr Raman holds a BA in Economics and Statistics form Kerala University and a MA in Economics from Delhi School of Economics. He is fluent in English and three Indian languages – Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam.