Felizia Bacall, Consultant, Bridgespan: Emerging Leaders Bios 2015

The German Marshall Fund of the United States and the OCP Policy Center are organizing the 2015 Atlantic Dialogues Emerging Leaders Program, a unique opportunity for rising leaders, taking place October 28-November 1, 2015, in Marrakesh, Morocco. The program will precede and include The Atlantic Dialogues.

Ilham Ait Bouazza, Head of Partnerships, National Institute of Posts and Telecommunications, Morocco

Ilham Ait Bouazza is head of the partnerships department at the National Institute of Posts and Telecommunications in Rabat, Morocco. Previously, she worked as a program associate at the Multi Country Office of UN Women in Morocco, and as a trade advisor to the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Trade. She holds a master’s degree in customer relationship management from the National School of Business and Management of Settat in Morocco and a master’s degree in international development studies from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul. She is a board member of the Moroccan Association of Trade Advisers and the recipient of 2013 KOICA Global Leadership Award.

Damarlie Antoine, Director of Research, GrenCHAP

Damarlie Antoine currently serves as the director of research at GrenCHAP, a human rights advocacy group in Grenada. She is also the founder and coordinator of eARTh, which is a recently formed arts-based group seeking to empower and enlighten Grenadian youth through artistic expressions. Her previous professional experience includes tutoring research courses at the University of the West Indies, Barbados, and working as a project officer at the Ministry of Youth in Grenada. Antoine is also a self-identified feminist, poet, and spoken word performer and artisan. She is currently working on the publication of her book, SKIN.

Felizia Bacall, Consultant, Bridgespan

Felizia Bacall is a consultant in Bridgespan’s Boston office. Before joining Bridgespan, she worked as research analyst for the Finance Department of the International Monetary Fund in Washington, DC. She has also worked at the Millennium Challenge Corporation on their monitoring and evaluation team, and as a financial services associate at PriceWaterhouseCoopers. Her most recent work was for Partners in Food Solutions in Kenya conducting the due diligence and ground work to open a lending facility for food producers in Africa. Bacall earned her MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and her bachelor’s in economics, politics, and global studies from Brandeis University. While at Tuck, Bacall was a fellow for the Center for Global Business and Government.

Linda Benkaiouche, Border Services Officer, Canada Border Services Agency

Linda Benkaiouche is a border services officer at the Canada Border Services Agency in Toronto, where she performs both immigration and customs functions. Prior to becoming a civil servant, she worked as a project manager focusing on innovative technology and market research. Her previous professional experience includes being a writer for a Minister’s Cabinet and conducting extensive research on maritime piracy while working for the Ministry of Defence. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and has a master’s degree in international affairs from Sciences Po Paris.

Julie Bleeker, Consultant, Private Investors for Africa

Julie Bleeker is a consultant for Private Investors for Africa (PIA), a business coalition of ethically like-minded companies aiming to tangibly contribute to the African continent’s inclusive economic and social development. In this role, she leads missions to understand and improve the business climate in select African countries. Prior to this, Bleeker worked in Heineken International’s Africa/Middle East Department. Previous experience also includes work with Cape Town’s Institute for Justice and Reconciliation and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Good Governance Division. She holds a bachelor’s in social psychology from Utrecht University and a masters in political science from the University of Amsterdam.

Prince Boadu, CEO/Co-founder, MapTech Logistics Limited

Prince Boadu is CEO and co-founder of MapTech Logistics Limited, a company that uses the power of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to solve business problems by developing and deploying GIS based applications. He also founded EVOLV.Africa, a non-profit that empowers youth with entrepreneurship and leadership skills through seminars, conferences, and workshops. Boadu holds an master’s of business administration in logistics & supply chain management from KNUST-Kumasi and has worked as logistics and supply chain analyst for Clean Team Ghana. He is founding curator of TEDxKNUST, has been named a World Economic Forum Global Shaper, and was recently named as one of 30 under 30 emerging Ghanaians to watch by Future of Ghana Magazine.

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Albano Brokerage - Transfer Agents

Companies that have publicly traded securities typically use transfer agents to keep track of the individuals and entities that own their stocks and bonds.  Most transfer agents are banks or trust companies, but sometimes a company acts as its own transfer agent.

Transfer agents perform three main functions:

  1. Issue and cancel certificates to reflect changes in ownership. For example, when a company declares a stock dividend or stock split, the transfer agent issues new shares. Transfer agents keep records of who owns a company’s stocks and bonds and how those stocks and bonds are held—whether by the owner in certificate form, by the company in book-entry form, or by the investor’s brokerage firm in street name. They also keep records of how many shares or bonds each investor owns.
  1. Act as an intermediary for the company. A transfer agent may also serve as the company’s paying agent to pay out interest, cash and stock dividends, or other distributions to stock- and bondholders. In addition, transfer agents act as proxy agent (sending out proxy materials), exchange agent (exchanging a company’s stock or bonds in a merger), tender agent (tendering shares in a tender offer), and mailing agent (mailing the company’s quarterly, annual, and other reports).
  1. Handle lost, destroyed, or stolen certificates. Transfer agents help shareholders and bondholders when a stock or bond certificate has been lost, destroyed, or stolen. If this has happened to you, read our publication entitled Stock Certificates, Lost, Stolen.  Also, if you hold securities in your own name and want to transfer or sell them, you may need to get your signature "guaranteed" before a transfer agent will accept the transaction.  For information about transferring your securities, please read "Signature Guarantees: Preventing the Unauthorized Transfer of Securities" in our Fast Answers databank.

In many cases, you can find out which transfer agent a company uses by visiting the investor relations section of the company’s website.  You also can use the website of the Securities Transfer Association, a private trade organization of transfer agents.  The STA provides general information about the functions of transfer agents.  Please note that the STA is not equipped to respond to individual inquiries via the telephone, mail, or e-mail. Shareholders with any transfer related inquiries would be best served by speaking to the transfer agent or issuer for the security in question, or their broker-dealer.

Tips for Backpacking through Southeast Asia by Bacall Associates Travel

Southeast Asia is among the most famous destinations in the world for backpackers. It's possible for you to discover lots of charm in every state, so it is a must see for many. If you are already residing in Asia, it is possible to adjust to any states within this subregion, but you could get a culture shock if you’re from a foreign land like USA or Europe. So performing a research is essential before the journey. Bacall Associates provide important pointers to take note of before you begin your journey to prevent any disorderly scenarios.

 

Don’t be afraid to haggle

Most westerners are shocked to learn that this was a common practice in the subregion, for them, it looks like an unfair deal to the sellers. But no more worries because most of the time, it’s not. Some foreigners just accept the first price stated by a seller and will not bother arguing about it. But in most cases, the first price was worth much more than the regular price. Bargaining is not a confrontation, so there’s no need to be scared of, just smile and ask the seller nicely, and eventually, you’ll find it very interesting to do.

 

You don’t need to book in advance

It will be really nerve-wracking and tiring to visit various locations at once, and then going back to the hotel you’re staying. It would be better to find a place to stay to the place you fell in love with during your travel because it will be easier to discover that particular place and enjoy its surroundings. You can have a flexible schedule if you’re going to do this rather than booking rooms in advance of time, simply because you’ll have more freedom to decide where to stay. But occasionally, booking ahead is recommended if you know you’re going to be exhausted from an extended flight, bus or train ride, or if you’re visiting a place during a major event and you don’t have time to roam about.

 

Transportation: Don’t be in a hurry

Expect to wait more minutes or hours in the estimated time of the arrival of a bus or train if you’re planning to go somewhere in Southeast Asia. Don’t get frustrated in this situation, but simply believe that this could bring you some favorable impact such as learning to restrain your misery and raise your patience. But there are some cities in the region that have efficient and developed transport systems, and one of which is Singapore.

 

Be cautious of scams

Scams could be everywhere and it can occur to you. Unfortunately, tourists becoming victims of various scams is nothing new in this region. Instead of being frightened, you need to be more cautious when traveling to Southeast Asia, or any part of the world. Before you begin your journey, you need to teach yourself with the most frequent kind of scams. If you know what to avoid, you can have a safe journey.

 

Properly manage your visa requirements

There are various visa requirements for each country in Southeast Asia, and Bacall Associates needs you to be educated of those. You cannot be accepted to every border by simply showing up your passport.

 

Stay hydrated

Showering two times a day might not be enough for you because Southeast Asia is quite hot during the coolest time of the year. Bacall Associates wants you to stay hydrated all the time because you’re going to sweat like never before, and during the hottest time of the day, find some shady spot and relax there for a bit.

 

Don’t get too excited on street foods

Some tourists experience having excruciating stomach pain due to food poisoning or eating undercooked food. Target stalls that have a line-up because you can be sure that the food is freshly cooked and not sitting under a heater all day.

 

There’s so much beauty to witness in Southeast Asia, and it’s not just about partying and beaches, the region is also rich in culture, and each of its countries deserves all the synonyms of the word “breathtaking”. Its simplicity and slow pace of life will undoubtedly capture your heart.