Board Members

The Honorable Andrew Young (USA) – Chairman

He is co-founding Principal and Chairman of GoodWorks International. This involvement allows him to execute his life-long mission of energizing the private sector to advance economic development in Africa and the Caribbean.

He puts corporate executives in contact with leaders and key influences in the regions’ emerging markets, facilitating the formation of successful business partnerships. He also offers strategic advice to corporations on doing business successfully in those markets, and advises several governments on sound policy-making. Ambassador Young’s vision of advancing economic development with private sector involvement was honed during comprehensive leadership positions in public service and private industry. His varied background provides GWI clients with a uniquely qualified advisor who has a global perspective on business expansion.

Ambassador Young has served as United States Ambassador to the United Nations and as Co-Chair of the Atlanta Committee for the Centennial Olympic Games. He served two terms as mayor of Atlanta, one of the fastest growing cities in the world, was elected Congressman three times, and is a leading figure in the civil rights movement. He currently serves on the Boards of several Fortune 500 companies and was appointed by President Bill Clinton to Chair the $100-million Southern Africa Enterprise Development Fund. Ambassador Young is on the National Security Council Advisory Board, and remains active in numerous charitable activities and organizations. He is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the French Legion of Honor, the Bishop Walker Humanitarian Award and over 60 honorary degrees from prestigious universities around the world.

Ambassador Carlton A. Masters (ECOWAS)

Ambassador Carlton Masters is co-chair and President of GoodWorks International LLC. He negotiates and coordinated all client engagements and provides strategic counsel to governments throughout Africa and the Caribbean. As president and CEO of GoodWorks, Ambassador Masters also plays the lead role in engagements joining numerous Fortune 500 countries with Caribbean and Africa nations.

Before Establishing GoodWorks, Ambassador Masters enjoyed a lengthy and successful career in international banking. He held executive positions with the Bank of Montreal in financial centers across North America, Europe and the Caribbean, and was appointed Agent General and Deputy Minister of Trade to the United States on behalf of the Government of Ontario, Canada. Long active in African affairs, Ambassador Masters currently is a member of the Council of Foreign Relations and is active on the boards of the Africa-America institute, the Corporate Council on Africa and the Southern Africa Enterprise Development Fund. He is also co-chair of the Leon H. Sullivan Summit.

In October 2006, he was appointed the first Special Envoy of the Economic Community of the West African States (ECOWAS) on African Diasporan Relations which is accorded an ambassadorial rank. Formed in 1975, ECOWAS is a regional organization of 15 West African nations. The Ambassador, is originally from Jamaica and resides in Washington D.C.

Peter Van Dyck Emerson

Mr. Emerson is the founding partner of Emerson Associates International, a company that provides communications, marketing and political strategies to corporations, governments and non-profit organizations. Concurrently, Emerson is a scholar in residence at Harvard College and an associate for public policy at the Division on Addictions at Harvard Medical School. Mr. Emerson began working in West Africa in 1970 and since then he has managed numerous tourism, investment promotion and political campaigns in Africa. In addition to his work with SAEDF, he is the founder and co-director of the African Leadership Initiative, co-sponsored by Harvard and King’s College-London.

Mr. Emerson has also served in senior positions in the legislative and executive branches of the U.S. Government including Senior Advisor on Inflation for Media Relations in the Carter White House. Additionally, Emerson has been a frequent contributor to the Op-Ed pages of The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, The San Diego Union Tribune ,The Washington Times and The Huffington Post, often on African issues. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from New York University (Magna cum Laude) and a Masters in Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Mr. Emerson is currently a PhD Candidate at King’s College-London, War Studies Center, focusing on Public and Private Development in Africa.