Andrews Kwame Pianim is a celebrated Ghanaian business economist and investment consultant. After ten years as a political prisoner, he made a 1996 bid to run for the presidency of Ghana. Switching gears, he found success as a businessman in Accra.
He was married to a Dutch woman named Cornelia Pianim. Their youngest son Elkin Kwesi Pianim, a Vassar College trained corporate financier, married global media magnate Elisabeth Murdoch; Kwame Pianim has two grandchildren in common with Rupert Murdoch, namely Cornelia and Anna Pianim.
Political career
He was arrested with a group of soldiers including Sgt. Akata Pore on 23 November 1982 following the capture of part of Gondar Barracks, Burma Camp in an apparent abortive coup attempt. His attempts to contest the 1996 presidential elections on the ticket of the centre-right New Patriotic Party were scuppered when the Supreme Court ruled to uphold a controversial law preventing individuals convicted of treasonous acts from holding public office, even if such acts were committed during periods of unconstitutional rule. Following the Court's decision, he resigned from politics to focus on private activities within the realm of development economics.
Economic and finance career
As an economist, his philosophy is multi-dimensional, but a consistent theme has been the essential incompatibility between the economic agenda of poor nations, or what ought to be their economic agenda, and the priorities of the Bretton Woods system. He served as an Economic Research Officer at the United Nations, New York, and was Acting Principal Secretary, Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning of Ghana,. He later served as Deputy Managing Director, Ghana Aluminium Products Limited, Tema and as the CEO of New World Investments, now NewWorld Renaissance Securities a brokerage and investment banking house. He is a former Chief Executive of Ghana Cocobod.
Recent activities
He was once the chairman of the Public Utility Regulation Council of Ghana, a high-level commission tasked with the responsibility of overseeing and regulating electricity and water utilities. He however resigned in December 2007 as a result of differences with the then ruling NPP government of John A. Kufuor. He is the President of Old Achimotans Association. Kwame Pianim is chairman of the Board of Directors of United Bank for Africa Ghana Limited, Airtel Communications, Bayport Financial Services and Ghana International School, Ghana’s premier multicultural and multinational pre-university education institution.
