Head of Research and Communications at the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, Derek Barnabas Laryea has resigned after exactly ten years at the mobile industry advocate.
Derek Laryea is a pioneer of the Chamber, having started it with his former boss, Kwaku Sakyi-Addo, a multiple award-winning Ghanaian journalist of international repute, and recently appointed Board Chair of the Minerals Development Fund.
After serving for six years as CEO of the Chamber, Kwaku Sakyi-Addo left Derek and moved on to take up a national assignment as Board Chair of the National Communications Authority, the regulator of the very industry he was an advocate for.
Derek held the fort for a few months, until Ing. Dr. Kenneth Edem Ashigbey, another renowned Ghanaian media personality was appointed CEO of the Chamber after he left post as Managing Director of the nation’s leading state-owned print media, Graphic Communications Group.
Under both Kwaku and Ken (as they are affectionately called), Derek served as a strong pillar of support with his research and communications prowess, making the tough job of advocating for the mobile industry in the Ghanaian environment seem like a joy ride.
Together with his bosses, they have churned a number of evidence-based reports that informed fruitful engagements with policy makers, leading to a number of policy adjustments in support in the interest of the public.
During his ten years with the chamber, Derek, on many occasions delivered very intriguing, informative, educative and thought-provoking presentations on the mobile industry’s impact on national development, at various fora (home and abroad) with journalists, tertiary education students, policy makers, Parliamentarians, and the international community.
There is still a lot of work to be done regarding the mobile industry’s advocacy for more favorable policies, but the immense contribution of Derek Laryea in bringing some key issues to the fore to drive policy change cannot be overemphasized.
In a Facebook post, Derek noted that the 10 years at the Chamber came with the good, bad and the ugly. He spoke of threats, insults, intimidations from the high and low; but also spoke of unlimited access to opportunities, places, people and things which do not come ordinarily.
He, for instance, hinted of receiving a WhatsApp message from the president, but did not say which president, whether a former one or the sitting one.
Find the full text of his Facebook post below:
MOVING ON!!!!
A decade ago I took a leap of faith to start Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications with the venerable Kwaku A. Sakyi-Addo.
It’s not been rosy as every day came with its challenges, opportunities, new ministers, new insults, new threats and oh lots of bountiful access. President WhatsApp you before?
Lol you see its not been too bad.
But growth births experience and experience comes with new challenges and at some point in time you start to suffocate and lose interest even unintentionally because the challenges become mundane and your mental sanity is all you have.
Steve Jobs said “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is GREAT WORK. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking and DONT SETTLE. As with all matters of the heart, you will know when you find it.”
10years is a great part of my life and I will always cherish my time working at the chamber. I can only thank my CEO Edem Ashigbi for his support and leadership up until this point and to all my team members internal and external.
I made a vow that 10years will be enough to move on. Thankfully, I have the full support and alignment of my present bosses to move on and pursue other new interests.
The next couple of weeks will see me in transition.
It’s an emotional moment for me but life itself is about progress so our paths will continue to cross as we progress steadily and positively.
To Whom It May Concern! 🔥🙏
I wish the industry the very best into the future.
Side Bar: Who has the number of the Unemployed Graduates Association? I have a business idea 🙈
#BootsLaced
TechGH24 salutes Derek Barnabas Laryea for his immense contribution to telecom industry advocacy, particularly in the areas of educating journalists, students and even Parliamentarians.
