I am honoured to be nominated for the position of Director-at-Large and look forward to the opportunity to serve on the ICSB board. I have been a member of SEAANZ for over 15 years and have served at the national and international levels in a number of capacities. I am currently an Associate Editor of the Journal of Small Business Management, a Director of SEAANZ and have been an editorial board member of both the Journals of Small Business Management and Small Enterprise Research for over five years. I was also a member of the teams that organised the PhD colloquia for the 2005 SEAANZ and 2006 ICSB conferences and was commended for my contributions.

I will bring to the ICSB board, management skills and experiences from my position as the head of the accounting and finance discipline at the University of New England in Australia, my training in academic leadership in Harvard, and as a Certified Practising Accountant. The strategic management skills developed from these backgrounds have enabled me to initiate changes that have enhanced operational efficiency in the business school in which my discipline is located and to introduce new programs in small business management. ICSB will benefit from my pro-activeness if I am provided the opportunity to serve on its board.

As an academic specializing in small business management, part owner of a farm that exports native Australian flowers to the United States and Japan, and advisor to small business owners and organisations, I have become aware of the large gap between research publications and the practice of small business and entrepreneurship. It is my aim to encourage research that serves the needs of the small business and entrepreneurship community and thereby strengthen the links between practitioners and the academic community. My efforts at narrowing the gap between research and small business practice led to the Armidale Chamber of Commerce award for Business Innovation Research in 2010. It is also my aim to work towards building ICSB membership in Africa. I am originally from Ghana and have ties in a number of African countries. In addition to the above, I am willing to assist in any capacity that the Board sees fit.

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