Euvin Naidoo

In 2011 Euvin Naidoo was selected by Forbes onto their Top 10 most Powerful and Influential Men under Forty in Africa list.[1][2][3] He is currently a banking executive in Johannesburg, South Africa.[4] A graduate of the Harvard Business School (HBS),[5] Euvin Naidoo is also an alumnus of global international management consulting firm McKinsey & Co., having started his career at the Firm in the 1990s with a focus on growth strategies, turnarounds and engagements in Africa within financial services (banking/insurance), telecommunications (fixed and mobile), metals & mining (steel and coal) and airlines/transport (operational efficiency, marketing and new sales channels).[6][7]

Euvin Naidoo
Naidoo honoured as one of 'Africa's Rising Stars'
Born	1971
Nationality	South African
Education	Harvard Business School (MBA)
Website	http://www.wbs.ac.za/article/euvin_naidoo

In February 2009 Naidoo was selected as a Young Global Leader (YGL) by the World Economic Forum (WEF).[8] At the 2012 World Economic Forum on Africa, the final plenary session chose to profile five 'Rising Stars of Africa', drawn from across the continent- Euvin Naidoo was chosen to be a part of this group, honoured with helping close the event highlighting the views of the next generation of leaders.[9][10] In August 2012 Euvin was also recruited onto the Global Agenda Council (GAC) USA, for the World Economic Forum.[11] Per the description of the World Economic Forum, 'Global Agenda Councils...[are] a unique, global community of...premier thought leaders who are the foremost experts in their fields of academia, business, government, international organisations and society...The Global Agenda Councils are committed to addressing the most pressing issues and opportunities of our time and aim to provide new thinking and solutions'[12] Described on Forbes.com as a 'leading advocate for Western investment' into Africa,[13] he led a line-up of international innovators and thinkers as the opening speaker[14] at the 2007 TED Global Conference where new ideas where explored and shared regarding the continent.[15] In 2009 the Journal of International Affairs at Columbia University chose to profile 5 African leaders including Mo Ibrahim (founder of Celtel) and John Atta Mills (President of Ghana)[16]- Naidoo was chosen to be profiled alongside these leaders as one of the 'FIVE FACES OF AFRICAN INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP'.[17]

In 2007, as President and CEO of the South African Chamber of Commerce in America (SACCA), he led the launch of the Africa Entrepreneurship Platform, committed towards empowering that segment of entrepreneurs and service organisations focused on growth, to successfully scale and enter new markets.[18] In 2007 this program was featured at the Clinton Global Initiative's annual gathering[19][20] and has been acknowledged by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg as helping to strengthen business ties across borders and boundaries, connecting markets.[21]

As a banker, Naidoo has worked in both investment banking and retail in both New York City and Johannesburg on acquisition finance and cross border focused transactions as well as focused African growth and strategy. He has been invited to teach and speak on operations, banking and financial services in Africa by some of the world's leading institutions from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania[22] and the World Bank, to Columbia University and MIT.[23] At the Columbia Business School, he led a master class session in New York for the MBA class focused on "Doing Business in Africa".[24] In 2009 the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) chose Naidoo to deliver their opening keynote lecture on innovation at the MIT Global Startup Workshop, an annual event bringing together thinkers and cutting edge entrepreneurs.[25] In May 2013 he delivered the opening keynote address at the Oxford Union, Oxford University for the annual Pan African Oxford Conference, in a speech focusing on strategies for companies to successfully deliver value in the markets and communities they serve.[26]

In his part-time and personal capacity, Naidoo is the visiting lecturer for Private Equity and Service Operations at the University of the Witwatersrand's Business School, the WITS Business School (WBS), located in Johannesburg, South Africa.[27][28] In February 2009, the BBC interviewed Naidoo and recorded his in-class MBA lecture series as part of the radio documentary "African Perspective: The Power of Africa´s Private Sector".[29] In 2011, Naidoo was recognised in Johannesburg, South Africa, at the Wits Business School's Annual Leadership & Management Excellence Awards Gala Dinner as 'Lecturer of the Year' (part-time) for his contribution towards advancing the learning of a new generation of African business students.[30] In June 2013, Euvin Naidoo convened and led his annual 'Masterclass' lecture on 'Doing Business in Africa' at the Wits Business School- the session was honored by the support of South Africa's Minister of Finance, Pravin Gordhan, who delivered the closing keynote address.[31]

In 2003, Naidoo co-authored the Harvard Business School case, 'Nelson Mandela, Turnaround Leader', with Prof. Rosabeth Moss Kanter.[32] Kanter and Naidoo's research and collaboration went on to form the material for the South African chapter in the BusinessWeek and New York Times business best-seller, 'Confidence' which focuses on the DNA and management lessons of turnarounds- moving complex businesses and organisations (public and private) from paths of decline to cycles of success.[33][34]

In 2008 Naidoo joined colleagues to serve on the Admissions Board of the Harvard Business School. He has also served as a judge for several years as part of the Harvard Business School's Annual Business Plan Contest (Social Enterprise Track[35]), an event attracting entrants from around the world.[36] Naidoo is married to South African born medical doctor Roshini Moodley Naidoo,[37] who completed a double Masters from Harvard: Master of Public Health (MPH) degree, health care management stream, from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) in 2003; and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the Harvard Business School in 2007.[38]