Phyllis Christian

Phyllis Christian
Born Phyllis Maria Christian
1956
Nationality Ghanaian
Alma mater University of Ghana;
Ghana School of Law
Occupation Lawyer, consultant
Known for CEO ShawbellConsulting
Parent(s) Howard Christian;
Sarah Christian née Grant
Relatives George Alfred Grant (grandfather)

Phyllis M. Christian (born 1956) is a Ghanaian lawyer and consultant who has been called "one of the most influential women in Ghana".[1] A lawyer by training (the fourth generation of her family to enter the legal profession),[1] she is also the founder, chief executive officer and managing consultant of ShawbellConsulting, based in Accra,[2][3] a wholly owned indigenous firm[4] that provides institutional reform and legal services and since its establishment in 2002 has won several awards in the areas of oil and gas.[5][6][7]

Background

Education and early career

Phyllis Maria Christian was born in Ghana, the elder daughter of high-court lawyer Howard J. Christian and his wife Sarah (née Grant, whose father Paa Grant was the founding president of the United Gold Coast Convention, which fought for Ghanaian independence),[8] and the fourth of her parents' five children.[9] She was educated at Holy Child School in Cape Coast (1967–74), and from 1974 to 1977 at the University of Ghana, Legon,[10] where she earned a B.A. in Philosophy and Literature, before going on to study and qualify as a lawyer at Ghana School of Law (1978–81).[11]

She was then employed providing legal and other professional services in local and international corporations, and in 1983 went to the US, where she lived for a while in Boston. On returning to Ghana, she worked as a senior manager at Price Waterhouse (December 1989–June 1999) and Executive Director at Ernst & Young (July 1999–April 2002).[11][5]

Consultancy work

In June 2002 Christian founded ShawbellConsulting,[11] an Accra-based company providing a variety of legal and management consultancy services for clients including to multinational companies, government, and NGOs.[2] Christian (whose specialist practice areas are Corporate and Energy)[12] is chief executive officer and managing consultant of Shawbell, which in 2014–15 was adjudged the best law consulting firm of the year at the Offshore Ghana Oil and Gas Awards held in Accra,[13] going on to win further awards and accolades in subsequent years.[14][15][16][17] In June 2017 the company marked its 15th anniversary with the theme "Encouraging the indigenous professional firm – A critical factor in Ghana's economic development", when Christian endorsed government plans "to pass legislation to require that at least 70 per cent of all government, taxpayer-financed contracts and procurements be executed by local corporate entities" and to introduce "a policy requiring that 30 per cent of the required 70 per cent be sourced from entities owned by women, persons with disability, and those established under the Youth Enterprise Fund".[4] A subsidiary of the firm is the Ghana Institute of Consulting, which trains professionals and organizations within neighbouring nations such as Liberia and Nigeria.[5]

In a voluntary capacity Christian has been a board member of a number of organisations, including Sharecare Ghana (Sharecare4U)[18] and the independent not-for-profit Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG).[19]

References

  1. 1 2 Paul Adom-Otchere, "Exclusive interview with Phyllis Maria Christian; founder Shawbell Consulting", Good Evening Ghana, UTV Ghana Videos, PeaceFM Online, 23 June 2016.
  2. 1 2 "About Us", ShawbellConsulting.
  3. ↑ "Shawbell Consulting", Who's Who Legal, Law Business Research.
  4. 1 2 David Adadevoh, "ShawbellConsulting marks 15 years anniversary – advocates incentives for locally-owned professional firms", The Ghanaian Times, 6 June 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 "Ghana: Next Steps | Company Profile: Shawbell Consulting", Forbes Custom, 8 September 2014.
  6. ↑ "Shawbell-Consulting to leverage on expertise -- CEO", B&FT Online, 24 January 2016.
  7. ↑ "Shawbell Consulting advocates incentives for domestic professional firms", Graphic Online, 6 June 2017.
  8. ↑ Sarah Esi Grant-Acquah, "In the beginning was…PAA GRANT - And the UGCC". From Daily Graphic, 14 February 2007, via National Commission on Culture.
  9. ↑ "Bentsifi’s Tattle: A guy about town | 60th birthday bash", Graphic Online, 15 April 2016.
  10. ↑ "Some notable alumni", Admission Prospectus, University of Ghana, p. 32.
  11. 1 2 3 "Phyllis M. Christian", LinkedIn profile.
  12. ↑ "Phyllis M Christian", Who's Who Legal, Law Business Research.
  13. ↑ David Adadevoh, "Shawbell-Consulting optimistic about business prospects", The Ghanaian Times, 21 January 2016.
  14. ↑ "48 companies honored for contribution to oil and gas", CitiBusinessNews, 7 November 2016.
  15. ↑ "Shawbell Consulting to build on recognition–CEO", CitiFM, 11 November 2016.
  16. ↑ "GOGA 2016 Finalist", GOGA (Ghana Oil & Gas Awards).
  17. ↑ "Govt urged to engage local consultancy firms", Accra City Times, 9 June 2016.
  18. ↑ "Organizational structure | Member-directors", Sharecare4U.
  19. ↑ "Governance & Management", Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG).
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