Management Team Bios
Chief Executive Officer, Director
Christine Adamow. Christine brings over 20 years of experience founding, managing, and operating start-up and early-stage companies. In 2006, she was the principle consultant for the start-up of three software companies in Tanzania. She recently designed and completed a strategy and operations plan for the Miami Center for Innovation and Commercialization (Miami University, Ohio). She founded eCent Technology Inc in 1998 and served as its president through 2003. Ms. Adamow was Founder, President & CEO of National Corporate Health Services, a privately held software company that developed and marketed a decision support risk management solution. Ms. Adamow is a seasoned executive, holding the office of President for three start-up firms and one service firm. During these tenures, she has attracted both start-up and early-stage funding through private placement offerings. She held executive management positions at Alexander & Alexander, an international insurance brokerage firm, and US Trust, where she was an institutional banking officer. She brings to Africa Biofuel and Emission Reduction (Tanzania) Limited extensive expertise in both corporate and start-up turnarounds, mergers, acquisitions and business development. Ms. Adamow holds a Bachelor’s degree from Simmons College and Masters degrees from Columbia University, Boston University, and Framingham State College in Corporate Finance, Strategic Planning and Biochemistry, respectively.
Research & Development/Founder/Director
Dr. Lenard Milich. Len is fluent in the use of participatory rural appraisal and other localized knowledge-gathering systems. Within national boundaries, he has solid professional experience in the design and field enumeration of complex, multifaceted quantitative and qualitative surveys in Africa and Asia, and in subsequent dataset verification, statistical analysis, derivation of GIS-based maps, and graphical/oral/written presentation. He is knowledgeable in the interdisciplinary application of human-environment interactions; natural resources policy and development; sustainable development and sustainable livelihoods; management of transnational water resources; global environmental and climate change. His expertise in regional initiatives is focused on: (a) food security policy and planning (b) conservation of natural resources and biodiversity, and (c) sustainable development consonant with sustainable livelihoods. Len came to AB in 2004 from the UN World Food Program, where he served six years in Indonesia and southern and western Africa. He holds a Ph.D. in Arid Lands Resource Sciences from the University of Arizona. His prior studies at the Bachelor’s and Master’s level were in meteorology and climatology.
General Manager
Bright Naiman. Bright Naiman was born, raised, and educated in Tanzania. He started his engineering career working in the food and chemical industries, including vegetable oils, textiles, plastics, and sugar. In the sugar industry he worked as a shift engineer for a period of five years. Later he worked as a consultant with the Canadian firm AGRA Earth & Environment (formerly Hardy BBT). This Company was primarily engaged in projects funded by the donor community, mainly for the development of natural resources, i.e., water, minerals, and energy. BN’s role as process engineer in varied projects has been comprehensive: coordinating pre-feasibility research, managing and preparing feasibility studies including Environmental Impact Assessments, Environmental Site Assessments, and Environmental Audits. A key project in which he was instrumental for many years is the Songo Songo Natural Gas to Electricity Project. He has also coordinated rural marketing campaigns for solar PV and information technology projects. BN holds a Degree in Process Engineering from University of Dar es Salaam and has taken professional development courses in Canada, UK, and USA.
Director of Agriculture
Joseph Kinyinia. Joseph Kinyinia, born in Bukoba (Kagera) in 1945, has over 36 years of experience in agriculture, land use planning, rural development, and environmental management in western and southern Tanzania. He is an accomplished advisor and trainer of farmers. His international exposure (Swaziland, the Netherlands) and ability to learn and face challenges make him an effective agent for progress in rural Tanzania. JK has worked with the Central Government, Ministry for Agriculture and Food Security, as a district/national maize project supervisor. From 1990 to 2004 he served as District Crops Specialist in coffee as a Ministry contact person. From 1979 to 1990 he worked as a district/zonal extension officer and project manager with the Coffee Authority of Tanzania. In Karagwe he had a major role in establishing the Kandegesho Farm, which has 36,050 hectors. In the Southern Zone, particularly in Mbeya Region, he established 30 coffee nurseries. JK has demonstrated ability to work with NGOs, CBOs, and business enterprises that provide consultancy services in agriculture and land use planning. He has served with KAEMP, KDCU, World Vision, and is currently working with CHEMA in Karagwe district. Conflict resolution among groups has been an important aspect of this service. For example, in Kaundwe Village (Kagera District) he helped to resolve conflict between pastoralists and farmers, achieving positive results for the community. JK holds a Certificate in Agriculture from St. Thomas More College Ihungo and a diploma in farm management from Mlingano Training Institute in Tanga.
Pending close of first round funding, the following professionals will join The Company on a full-time basis.
General Manager
JN. JN is both an engineer and a manager, presently directing his own company undertaking green field projects in Biofuel/ethanol in Tanzania. He has over 22 years of experience in the sugar sector, starting in 1983 with Kilombero Sugar Company (KSCL) as a senior instrumentation engineer. From 1988 to 1999 he was Director and CEO of the National Sugar Institute. He then returned to KSCL as Corporate Affairs Manager, serving for one year before being appointed Factories Manager of Illovo Sugar Ltd. JN successfully managed the two sugar factories, improving performance to world class standards. While at KSCL he was instrumental in the drive for cogeneration of power using bagasse, reducing KSCL’s dependence on TANESCO. In 2005 he moved to Tanzania Sugar Industry Ltd., where as Technical Advisor he helped both Mtibwa Sugar Estates and Kagera Sugar Ltd. to produce record sugar production. JN is a member of the Tanzania National Biofuels Task Force. He has undertaken training and analytical assignments to improve sugar operations in several foreign countries including Brazil, Kenya, and Mauritius. He has a B.Tech (HND) engineering qualification in measurement and control from Huddersfield Polytechnic and an MBA degree from the University of Hull, both in England, and has taken shorter courses at other institutions including MDF Training and Consulting Ltd. in the Netherlands and the University of Natal in South Africa.
Director, Out-Grower Program
KK. KK focuses on creating and supporting partnerships for community-based development in rural areas. She has 12 years of experience in Latin America, Asia, and Africa in both public and private organizations. As a specialist in management and fundraising for programs that address rural livelihoods, her work focuses on private sector development within the agricultural, energy and natural resource spheres. Most recently she has managed the Kilombero Community Trust, a public-private partnership serving 10,000 sugarcane out-growers in Tanzania’s Morogoro region. In this capacity she secured programmatic funding from private and public donors including the World Bank, UNDP, USAID, DFID, and SDC, and then managed the resulting trust funds to support Kilombero community programs in microfinance, capacity building, management information systems, infrastructure development, and mobile health clinics. Complementing these donor-funded activities, she helped to establish an independent company for rural electrification of Morogoro region, utilizing sugarcane bagasse. Earlier KK provided international support to banana and fishing cooperatives in Latin America. As an analyst she contributed to comprehensive programs targeting the valuation of natural resources for sustainable private sector planning and development. Currently she is coordinating a UNDP-funded feasibility study for rural electrification in Tanzania. Born in California, KK received a Bachelors Degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a Masters Degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.
Plantation Manager
JR. JR is an experienced Tanzanian manager of sugar plantations, having directed both large-scale commercial operations and services to out-growers and surrounding communities. Trained as an agronomist, he started working with Kilombero Sugar Company Limited (KSCL) in 1981 as a sugar technologist, then advanced to sugarcane researcher and then, from 1998, to business management with Illovo Sugar Ltd of South Africa (which bought KSCL). As Field Manager of the company-owned estate of 8000 hectares, JR managed over 1000 employees. In 2004 he became Production Manager of Illovo sugar out-growers, with responsibility to serve more than 7000 farmers who own over 1200 hectares producing sugar cane. Challenges included convincing farmers to unite their small plots into economically viable blocks and increasing the efficiency of sugarcane procurement. Through his cooperation with many independent farmers, he has created partnerships between Illovo-KSCL and Kilombero communities both through door-funded projects and through community-based small and medium enterprises. To help raise funds for this work, JR served as Trustee of the Kilombero Community Trust. Since 2005 he has had management responsibility for all of Illovo’s agricultural services, including buildings and infrastructure, company fleet management, and research. He has attended various management and leadership courses, the most recent being at London Business School in October 2006.
U.S. Office/Global Support Excutive Team
Christine L. Adamow
Joseph A. Scali
Maxson Hence
Margaret Freeburg
Menza Webster
Noreen Zupnick
Denise Midyette