Ashesi Commencement Speaker shares story of how President Kufuor helped shape her career

• The Goldman Sachs' staff was disappointed after being passed over for a promotion she deserved and decided return to Ghana.

• Former President Kufuor admonished her against such a decision and encouraged her to strive on

• Now the the Chief Operating Officer for the Engineering Division of Goldman Sachs, Lisa Opoku says the former president's advice turned out to be a masterpiece

Lisa Opoku, the Chief Operating Officer for the Engineering Division of Goldman Sachs has recounted how words of counsel from former President John Agyekum Kufuor proved pivotal in her life.

Speaking over the weekend at a virtual graduation ceremony of Ashesi University, Lisa Opoku disclosed that having been passed over for a promotion she believes she deserved, she resolved to return home to continue her career.

Having struck up a relationship with the former president through a friend, she sought his advice on whether or not ditching Goldman Sachs for Ghana would be a sound move.

‘Surprisingly’, the former president discouraged her from moving to Ghana with the admonition that she has a task to complete at Goldman Sachs.

Lisa Opoku said she followed the words of the former president and it turned out to be a masterpiece of advice.

“Six years into my career at Goldman Sachs, I was disappointed about being passed over for a promotion. I wanted to leave Goldman and move to Ghana.

"Thanks to my friend Edith, President Kufuor is a dear friend and a mentor of mine so I discussed my plans of moving to Ghana with him and he told me not to move back to Ghana.

"To my surprise, he sent me right back to Goldman Sachs and he lectured me with this Akan proverb about finishing the work. “Edwuma ye, sin ni akatua” which means incomplete work has no reward.”



Lisa Opoku eulogized Kufuor for his wealth of knowledge and willingness to share his experience and readiness to share his knowledge.

She remarked that her role as partner at Goldman Sachs has created a window of opportunities for Africans.

“If you know President Kufuor, you know he has this incredibly brilliant mind and this booming ways and when he talks to you he shares so much sage advises that it is as if he is creating his own 21st-century Akan proverb.

"The wisdom and tone leave you with no option but to heed his word. I listened to President Kufuor and two years later I was promoted to partner at Goldman Sachs but his words still remain true.

“I still haven’t finished the work. There is so much more I hope we can do together. President Kufuor had a dream for me and through his dream, I’m creating a beautiful network of people at Goldman Sachs,” she said.