Zimbabwean billionaire Strive Masiyiwa becomes first African to join Netflix board

Netflix has appointed Zimbabwean billionaire Strive Masiyiwa to its board of directors, making him the first African and the third international media executive to join the streaming giant’s board in recent years. His appointment comes weeks after former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice said she was quitting her role on the board to join president-elect Joe Biden’s administration.

“We are delighted to welcome Strive to the Netflix board,” Netflix co-founder, chairman and co-CEO Reed Hastings said in a statement. “His entrepreneurship and vision in building businesses across Africa and beyond will bring valuable insights and experience to our board as we work to improve and serve more members all around the world.”

The Zimbabwean business mogul joins the board with a wealth of experience from Africa and abroad. He serves on a number of international boards such as Unilever, National Geographic Society and Asia Society and the global advisory boards of Bank of America, the Council on Foreign Relations in the U.S., Stanford University and the Prince of Wales Trust for Africa.