Tewodros Ashenafi is the Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of SouthWest Energy (HK), Africa's leading indigenous oil and gas exploration and production company. He is also Chairman of SouthWest Development, a leading Ethiopian oil and gas service provider company, and Chairman of Ambo Mineral Water, one of the leading beverage brands in Ethiopia. Ashenafi started his career at Merrill Lynch & Co. and engaged in international, political and economic advisory work. He serves on the Board of the EastWest Institute, a leading security think. He is also on the International Advisory Board of Atlantic Council, a non-partisan institution devoted to promoting transatlantic cooperation and international security, and the Advisory Board of Development Partners International (DPI), a leading Africa-focused private equity firm. Ashenafi holds a degree in Economics from Columbia University and is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School.