Tempelsman named Corporate Council on Africa chairman

New York—The Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) has named Lazare Kaplan International Chairman Maurice Tempelsman to the post of chairman of the board of directors, effective March 1.

This will be Tempelsman's second stint in the position, which he held from 1999 to 2001. He succeeds Frank Fountain, president of the DaimlerChrysler Foundation, who was chairman from 2003 to 2006.

"I am honored to have been asked to serve again as chairman of the board of the Corporate Council on Africa. Africa's growing importance in the global economy, its development needs and its human and natural resources have an increasingly significant impact on political and economic relations between African nations and the United States in a competitive and perilous world," Tempelsman said in his comments upon accepting the position. "The Corporate Council on Africa has and will continue to play a growing role in strengthening these relations."

The council, founded in 1993, is a leading, American non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing trade between the United States and Africa. The CCA works with governments, multilateral groups and business to improve the continent's trade and investment climate and raise the profile of Africa in the U.S. business community. The U.S. companies that make up the CCA represent nearly 85 percent of all American private-sector investment in Africa.

Council members believe the future success of Africa depends on the ability of its entrepreneurs and business people to create and retain wealth through private enterprise. Programs from the CCA are meant to connect potential business partners and raise Africa's investment profile. It does this by developing critical contacts and business relationships and offering a forum to exchange ideas and information.