Bishop Javier Echevarría, Prelate of Opus Dei
Bishop Javier Echevarría Passes Away
Elective General Congress
From the Prelate and the Auxiliary Vicar
Addresses and Other Statements
Pontifical Appointment
Establishment of New Centers of the Prelature
Some Diocesan Assignments Entrusted to Priests of Opus Dei
Isidoro Zorzano Is Declared Venerable
Interview with Msgr. José Luis Gutiérrez Gómez, Postulator for the Cause of Isidoro Zorzano
Investigative Phase of Dora Del Hoyo’s Cause of Canonization Concluded
The University of Navarra Bible Goes Digital
Sixty Years of Apostolic Work in Uruguay
Documentary “Ernesto Cofiño, All Can Be Saints”
Other Publications of Interest
Number 63News
Who was Isidoro Zorzano?
Isidoro Zorzano was an engineer who worked diligently in an exemplary way, with loyalty and a spirit of service towards his colleagues. He promoted initiatives to help the needy, and demonstrated great faith and charity in his life as a Christian. Those who knew him remember his serenity, equanimity, optimism, and his reflective and thoughtful manner. One witness testifies that during Isidoro’s years at the university, his companions “would go to him as a ‘peacemaker’ to resolve the arguments they sometimes had.”
He was born on September 13, 1902, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, of Spanish parents. In 1905 the family moved to Spain, where Isidoro earned the title of industrial engineer. He worked in the Railway Company, first in Malaga and afterwards in Madrid. He also gave classes in the Industrial School in Malaga. In 1930 he met with St. Josemaría Escrivá, a former high school classmate, and after a long conversation with him, Isidoro asked to join Opus Dei, which had been founded in 1928. In this path of the Church, Isidoro discovered the possibility of fulfilling his desire to give himself to God in the midst of the world.
His unwavering fidelity was always a great support to the founder of Opus Dei, in both the difficult years of the Spanish Civil War (1936 - 1939) and also in the development of Opus Dei’s apostolic works in the early 1940s. In January 1943 he was diagnosed as having malignant lymphoma. It was an extremely painful illness, which had begun months before and which he had bravely borne with abandonment to the will of God. He died with a reputation for sanctity on July 15 of the same year, at the age of 40. One of his colleagues in the railway offices in Madrid remembers: “When we talked about our bosses, it was common for someone to say: ‘Don Isidoro is a saint.’” Another person who worked with him declared: “We felt his loss in an extraordinary way, because his passing was for us like losing a father.”
Pope Francis has approved the publication of a decree about the virtues Isidoro lived to a heroic degree. Can you speak to us about some of them?
Isidoro’s perseverance in ordinary things was outstanding, an expression of his loyalty. He always fulfilled the commitments he had taken on, right up to last moment of his life on earth. This might appear easy because of a mistaken idea of what “heroism” means. This word is not synonymous with extraordinary deeds or surprising accomplishments. Heroism means practicing the virtues constantly and during a sufficiently long period of time, right where one happens to be, in everyday realities, in the fulfilment of one’s obligations as a worker, citizen, friend, member of a family, etc. This is what Isidoro did.
He loved his profession, and he knew that God called him to seek holiness in his work. His love for God, for example, spurred him to be the first to get to work in his office in the morning; he accepted with good humor and supernatural outlook the occasional annoyances and injustices of his bosses; he sought to do everything with professional competence and tried to be pleasant in his dealings with others. He was well-known for his sense of justice and closeness to the people who worked for him. They knew that “with Don Isidoro shabby work wouldn’t do,” because he always made sure personally that the job had been done conscientiously. Isidoro also gave classes in the Industrial School of Malaga. His pupils recall his great patience, and that they could approach him to ask questions, even going to his home. Among the students “it was frequently said that he was a saint.”
He made his work compatible with an intense life of prayer. He had a great love for the Eucharist, and got up early every day to go to Mass and receive Holy Communion. He helped out in social works and tried to lead his friends and colleagues closer to God.
How can Isidoro help a worker in our day and age?
From the examples I’ve just given, Isidoro can be held up as a model for the worker of our day, whether an engineer or a laborer, or a mother of a family who cheerfully “multitasks” every day. Blessed Alvaro del Portillo knew Isidoro quite well and left a written testimony that he had learned from him to “sanctify the work of each day, with order and perseverance; to carry out with perfection, with Love, the little things of each moment. Isidoro was always working. I don’t think anyone can say that they ever saw him wasting time. But even more, he combined this industrious spirit with an exceptional spirit of humility. Isidoro never got in anybody's way; he worked silently and humbly, trying not to draw attention to himself.”
I think Isidoro also gives us an example of Christian integrity; he was not bothered by what other people thought or said, even though this might bring problems or difficulties. One of his sisters tells us that he had a boss who opposed Isidoro’s promotion at work saying: “What kind of engineer is someone who goes to Mass every day!”
Do people today have a devotion to Isidoro? How did they get to know about him?
Isidoro died 73 years ago. There is hardly anyone alive today who knew him personally. Nevertheless, even before his death, those who knew him spoke about Isidoro’s reputation for sanctity. And this reputation has been growing, spreading rapidly among people in many countries of all ages and social conditions. For example, a friar who knew him quite well, Fray José López Ortiz, on being named bishop asked for a piece of the ring Isidoro wore so it could be melted as a relic into his own Episcopal ring.
Many people go to Isidoro’s intercession to obtain graces and favors from God, and sometimes true miracles. In the office of the postulator we have received more than 5,000 accounts of favors attributed to his intercession. They vary a great deal, touching on the thousands of events that come up in the ordinary life of any person. There are, of course, lots of engineers and people of related professions who address Isidoro as a colleague, to ask him to help solve problems in their specialty. Many have recourse to him as “their engineer” whenever they encounter a technical difficulty, for example, getting a computer to work that refuses to start. But Isidoro’s intercession isn’t confined to the technical world; he is ready to help wherever necessary.
Besides, in the last ten years, some 390,000 prayer cards for private devotion to him have been printed – not only in languages of the western world, but also in Arabic, Cebuano, Chinese, Japanese and Tagalog, as well as 300,000 copies of his newsletter.
So there are lots of people who are confident that Isidoro is in heaven and who make him known to those around them as a model and intercessor to obtain help from God.
For the Church to declare a person as blessed, it is necessary to establish that through his intercession a miracle has been obtained. Have there been any miraculous favors attributed to Isidoro?
The office of the postulator has received accounts of several possible miracles attributed to the intercession of Isidoro. One example is the cure of a young priest who after a series of coughing attacks, accompanied by expectorating blood, was taken to the hospital urgently, where they diagnosed a possible cancer. They suggested immediate surgery to determine the nature of the tumor, and if possible to proceed with its removal. The priest entrusted himself to Isidoro, asking for a cure. At the same time, several people began to pray for him, through Isidoro's intercession. During the operation, after exploring the right lung and examining the mediastinum (the space between the membranes of the heart and the lungs and other organs in the thorax), the surgeon found no lesion or alteration. There was no sign of the nodular mass. The priest was completely cured.
I invite people who have a devotion to Isidoro, and those who find out about him now thanks to the news of this new step towards his beatification, to ask for favors and miracles through his intercession.
Romana, No. 63, July-December 2016, p. 349-352.
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ABLA’s faculty are a global African network of respected practitioners, thought leaders and academics across disciplines and industries. Collectively they bring a rich blend of proven insights and experience gained at the coalface of building brands in Africa.
Our ABLA faculty help participants in our programmes to shape their perspectives and sharpen their insights and approaches in building purposeful brands in Africa.
Feyi Olubodun
Feyi Olubodun is one of the leading authorities on understanding the African marketplace. He is the Founder and Managing Partner of Open Squares Africa, a marketing strategy consulting firm focused on advising multi-nationals and indigenous businesses on how to win in the African marketplace.
He is the author of the seminal book “The Villager: How Africans Consume Brands”. The book sets out the only proprietary framework for understanding African consumer. A seasoned business leader, Feyi was previously the CEO of Insight Publicis, Nigeria's foremost, and arguably, West Africa’s largest marketing communications firm.
Olubodun is a Global Executive MBA alumnus of the Duke University Fuqua School of Business, alumnus of Lagos Business School, and a BSc Psychology graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU). An inspiring speaker, facilitator and teacher, he is considered a leading authority on the African Consumer.
- MBA
- BSc in Psychology
Specialisation/s
- The African Marketplace
- The African Consumer
- Marketing Strategy
CONSUMER INSIGHTS AND STRATEGY
Dr. Sergey Sheykhetov
Kenya/Russia
Dr. Sheykhetov is a business leader with a strong passion for cross-cultural studies. He has spent the past 18 years advising marketers of the leading local, regional and global brands in Sub Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East, on how they can build sustainable businesses based on enduring consumer needs and market conditions. He has been based in Kenya since 2014, leading a team of researchers in Sub-Saharan Africa who undertake leading-edge qualitative research across Africa at Kantar, the world’s largest information and insights research firm.
He is a strategic and execution-driven leader with a proven track record of successfully turning around businesses. Sergey holds a BA in History (Novosibirsk State University, Russia), MA in History (Central European University, Hungary) and PhD in Economic History (University of California, USA).
- BA in History
- MA in History
- PhD in Economic History
- Cross-Cultural Studies
- Qualitative and Quantitative Research
Milton Nkosi
Milton Nkosi is an award-winning journalist and media thought-leader. He joined the BBC in the late 80s just before the release of Nelson Mandela, covering all the township wars and the subsequent political negotiations, major stories across continent and interviewing all consequential African presidents and CEO’s until he retired in 2020 as Africa Bureau Analyst and Correspondent.
As founder and chairman of MMN International Consulting, he brings to bear a wealth of practical experience in media, communication and reputation management.
In a lauded 25-year career with the most watched and listened media global channel in Africa, the BBC, he has been based in the United Kingdom and in South Asia Bureaux Editor based in Delhi, India and South Africa as Africa Bureaux Chief.
He has covered major stories in Angola, the then Zaire which is present day DRC, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Rwanda, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran and many more others.
Nkosi has interviewed Walter Sisulu, Harry Belafonte, former US President Bill Clinton, Former UK Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, F.W. De Klerk, Former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo, Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, former President Jacob Zuma, President Thabo Mbeki, President Cyril Ramaphosa, Winnie Mandela and many other leaders.
He is a Trustee on the board of Warwick University’s Africa Project and has lectured at the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism. He was instrumental in the publishing of the book “Soweto Inside Out” and wrote a chapter in the world acclaimed book “Something to Write Home About”.
In 2020 he went on a road trip with former BBC colleagues around South Africa giving talks about story-telling, investigative journalism, solutions journalism and deep listening at leading South African universities.
In 2017 Nkosi travelled to Dubai to interview Duduzane Zuma on allegations of State Capture. He is still the only journalist to have done so. His video went viral on social media and has over 1,2 million hits on Youtube.
Nkosi studied journalism at the BBC Academy's College of Journalism in London and management and leadership at Ashridge College in Hertfordshire.
Nkosi is married to Paediatric-Neurologist Dr. Dorcas Wilson and they are blessed with two children, Kgosietsile and Khanyisile. He’s happiest when seen through the lens of a proud father, husband and an ordinary township boy from Orlando West, Soweto, who supports Orlando Pirates.
- Journalism
- Management and Leadership
- Media, Communication and Reputation Management
Dr Nimrod Mbele
Dr Mbele helps organisations and leaders to solve complex business-related problems and achieve synergy by aligning organisational strategies with culture, structure, processes, and human and financial resources.
A managing partner at Knowledge Anchors Group (KAG), he blends a wealth of experience in strategy consulting, academia and the public sector having held various leadership roles at Dual Point Holdings Pty, Wits Business School, Regenesys Management where he headed the Centre for Local Government as head of the National Development Agency (NDA) in Mpumalanga and Jet Education Services and Workplace Innovation (Pty), Ltd. Since 2017, Mbele has been one of the judges on Integrated Reporting (IR) awards co-hosted by PwC, Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and the Chartered Governance Institute of Southern Africa (CGISA).
Mbele anchors a thought leadership radio show called “Beyond Governance with Dr Mbele” on ChaiFM and has hosted numerous high-level interviews with captains of industry, legislators and senior government official on numerous leadership and management issues facing the country.
He holds Bachelor of Art (BA) in Political Studies, African Political Studies, History and Sociology, Posts Graduate Diploma in Management, Master’s degree in Management and a PhD in Corporate Governance from School of Governance from Wits University. He has published widely on governance, leadership and management. He also wrote a chapter in book on Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) published by the Human Science Research Council (HSRC).
Over the past 15 years, Mbele has delivered keynotes in numerous national and international conferences on corporate governance.
- BA in Political Studies, African Political Studies, History and Sociology
- Post Graduate Diploma in Management
- Masters in Management
- PhD in Corporate Governance
- Governance
- Ethical Leadership
Dr. Puleng Makhoalibe
Lesotho/South Africa
Dr. Puleng Makhoalibe is recognized as a global thought leader and practitioner in creativity, design thinking and innovation. She has over twenty years of experience working in the private sector, government and in higher educational institutions.
She established and lead the center of Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship (ICE) at Henley Business School between 2015 and 2020. She co-founded the Alchemy Inspiration and Upside Global to help global organizations across diverse fields accelerate innovation.
Makhoalibe launched the first virtual creativity conference - World Creativity and Innovation Day, in 2020, which attracted participation from 41 countries.
In 2016, she received an Africa Social Innovation Leadership Award and in 2019 received an award to be part of the Women Leaders of the World and became a lead for the cohort. She is a member of the Women leaders of the World Council.
Makhoalibe holds a BSc in Computer Science and Statistics, an MBA and a PhD in Business Management and is an alumnus at Singularity University (Executive Programme on exponential technologies).
She is a passionate speaker, published author, facilitator, and an innovation and design thinking advisor.
- BSc in Computer Science and Statistics
- PhD in Business Management
- Creativity, Design Thinking and Innovation
- Excellence in Creativity Award (2014)
- Africa Social Innovation Leadership Award (2016)
- Women Leaders of the World (2019)
DESIGN THINKING AND INNOVATON
South Africa/Singapore
Dave Holland is a strategic brand thinker, narrator and designer, with over 20 years’ international branding and design experience. With a skill set covering brand narrative, positioning, design expression and identity guardianship, his strengths lie in broad-view conceptual approach to branding, writing and also hands-on-design.
Holland has worked across Africa, the US and Asia, with project experience covering financial services, consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, hospitality, city branding and sports. He has designed and led the creative direction for numerous standout institutions’s branding, notably UBA’s merger with Standard Trust, WEMA Bank, Skye Bank, Diamond Bank - all in Nigeria. Other African exprience includes Standard Bank in South Africa, BPR Atlas Mara in Rwanda, EFG-Hermes in Egypt, Indonesia's shariah Bank Muamalat, and the Rogers Group in Mauritius.
He is adept and experienced in C-suite relationships and holding brand conversations at the most senior and core organisational levels. Dave trained in design and holds a Master of Arts in Digital Media Management from Teesside University where he researched the depth of the social web today in uncovering audience needs. Dave is currently based in Singapore where he leverages its geographic platform to connect with similarly global-minded businesses. Dave co-founded and leads BBH Singapore's BLACK SHEEP DESIGN product vertical - an intrapreneurial strategic design practice within BBH Communications.
- MA in Digital Media Management (Teesside University)
- Digital Media
Creativity and Digital Media
Professor Ernest Abaho
Professor Abaho is an Associate Professor and Head of Department, Entrepreneurship in the Faculty of Entrepreneurship and Business Administration at the historic Makerere University Business School and is the managing director of ABNEST Consultancy in Uganda.
A respected academic and practitioner in Entrepreneurship, Abaho earned a PhD in Entrepreneurship at the University of Dar es Salaam, an MBA, Post Graduate Diploma in Microfinance and a Bachelor’s degree in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management, all at Makerere University.
- PhD in Entrepreneurship (University of Dar es Salaam)
- MBA (Makerere University)
- Post Graduate Diploma in Microfinance
- Bachelor's Degree in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management
- Entrepreneurship
Professor Adré Schreuder
Professor Schreuder is considered to be the subject matter specialist in the field of customer experience measurement and management. He has over 25 years of experience and advises companies across multiple industries both locally and internationally. He founded the independent national benchmark for Customer Satisfaction, the South African Customer Satisfaction Index (SAcsi) in 2012.
He completed his Bachelor’s, Honours and Master’s degree in Marketing cum laude at the University of Pretoria (UP), and subsequently his doctoral studies at the University of Johannesburg. Schreuder held various academic positions up to Professor and Head of Department levels before he became a full-time practitioner in leading Consulta – a Customer Experience Advisory Consultancy - as Founder and CEO and CVO for 20 years until he sold it at the end of 2019.
Schreuder specializes in Customer Experience Measurement and Management, Customer Satisfaction, Customer Engagement, Customer Loyalty, Customer Service, Service Quality, CVP Design and Testing, Conjoint Analysis, Brand Fitness Analysis, Market Research Leadership.
- B Com
- B Com Honors
- M Com
- Customer Experience Measurement and Management
- Experience Management
- Research
Dr. Alistair Mokoena
Dr. Mokoena is a well-rounded marketer with deep client and agency experience, and a strong passion for client-centric service. He has spent over 20 years in various senior corporate marketing roles at Unilever, Tiger Brands, SABMiller, Cadbury, Barclays from Brand Manager to Marketing Director and in advertising agencies where he was Managing Director of FCB Johannesburg, Managing Director of Ogilvy Johannesburg and Chief Executive Officer of Ogilvy South Africa. He is country director for Google South Africa.
He serves on various South African marketing bodies, including as chairman of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) South Africa and is a visiting Professor of Practice at the University of Johannesburg’s Joburg Business School (JBS).
Mokoena holds BCom, LLB, MBA and PhD degrees and is a Chartered Marketer (SA).
- BCom
- LLB
- PhD
- Agency/Client Relationships
- Digital Disruption
Agency/Client Relationships and Digital Disruption
Dr Titilayo Adebola
Nigeria/UK
Dr Titilayo Adebola is a law academic and policy advisor with special interests in international economic law, in particular, intellectual property rights. She is a lecturer at the University of Aberdeen, where she is affiliated with three of the School's research centres: Centre for Commercial Law, Centre for Energy Lawand Centre for Constitutional and Public International Law. She co-ordinates and teaches varied Intellectual Property Law and International Economic Law courses at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
Before joining the School of Law, Dr Adebola taught Global Intellectual Property Law and Policy at the University of Warwick.
She has practised law in Nigeria, where she is called to the Bar with dual qualifications as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
Adebola holds a PhD and LLM (University of Warwick), Bachelor of Law (Nigerian Law School), LLB (Olabisi Onabanjo University), AFHEA (Higher Education Academy) and GradICSAN (Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria) qualifications.
- LLM
- Bachelor of Law
- AFHEA
- GradICSAN
Nnamdi Oranye
Nigeria/South Africa
Nnamdi Oranye is the author of Disrupting Africa: The Rise and Rise of African Innovation andTaking On Silicon Valley: How Africa’s Innovators will change its future. He has been named one of the 100 most influential people of African descent, an initiative by the United Nations.
His many travels and business experience across the continent have greatly contributed to his huge optimism for Africa and its bright future. He has explored how African Innovation truly has the potential to change the African narrative, as well as global and pan-African trends shaping the landscape in Africa. More recently he has begun to explore the overlap between Social Sciences, particularly Anthropology and the rise of African technology, arguing that we may have underestimated the value of African Innovation.
He features frequently as a presenter and chairperson across conferences internationally, contributes regularly to think-tanks on the subject of innovation, and has been named amongst the 100 most influential names in Africa's telecoms, media and ICT industry by the AfricaCom100 Research Board.
He is also the founder of the Disrupting Africa Encyclopedia, an online platform dedicated to identifying the 30 million Africans who can change the narrative and legacy of Africa.
He is a writer for CNBC Africa, focusing on the social and technological trends in African Innovation.
THEBE IKALAFENG
Thebe Ikalafeng (South Africa) is arguably the foremost global African branding authority. In a distinguished corporate career which started at Colgate Palmolive in New York and concluded as chief marketing officer for NIKE for Africa, he won over 75 awards in branding and marketing communication globally. He has travelled to over 100 countries globally, every continent in the world and to every country in Africa. This experience has provides him with an advantageous global African perspective on African consumers and building brands in Africa. He has been recognized by New African Magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential Africans.
He is the founder of the award-winning Brand Leadership Group and has worked on over 100 corporate, nation and political brands across Africa. The Brand Leadership pan-African branding and reputation advisory firm has been recognised by Fin Week Magazine as “Marketing Services Agency of the Year” in 2008 and was inducted into the Rebrand “Hall of Fame” for Excellence in Branding in 2015.
He is the founder of the non-profit Brand Africa initiative to mobilize Africans and the diaspora to proactively drive a brand-led African agenda and the widely regarded Brand Africa 100: Africa’s Best Brands initiative to survey, understand and celebrate leading brands in Africa.
A fellow of the Institute of Directors, he is a non-executive director at South African Tourism, Cartrack Group and WWF South Africa. He has held directorships in the public and private sector, including a 15 years tenure on the board of Mercantile Bank Group, and full terms on the Brand South Africa, Foodcorp and Nike boards, and is a former council member of the Durban University of Technology and advisory council member of the Vega School of Branding Leadership.
Ikalafeng has summited Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, the highest free-standing mountain in the world, and Mount Elbrus in Russia, the highest mountain in Europe.
Ikalafeng holds BSc. and MBA degrees from Marquette University in the USA, completed executive education at Wits Business School and Harvard Business School and is a Chartered Marketer.
Based in Johannesburg, South Africa, he advices, writes and speaks on Africa-focused branding, leadership and related matters. Africa is central to everything he does.
- BSc
- CM (SA)
Specialization/s
- Brand Strategy
Malawi/UK/Belgium
James Woods is an award-winning African achiever with significant experience dealing with governance issues, reputation management, strategic media, and communications. He has served in the Malawian diplomatic corp.
He has served as a communications advisor to two African governments; worked in the diplomatic field; The Mo Ibrahim Foundation; Navigate Response and has consulted for numerous international entities such as Ras Al Khaimah Gas and Surestream Petroleum.
He has placed a number of clients in leading global media, developed their branding, cultivated a strong business and leadership portfolio and handled issues around reputation management, media, communications, and brand-awareness.
James is a Founder and Co-Founder of numerous businesses with operations in the United Kingdom; The Balkans and Malawi focussing on providing tailor-made services to corporations, individuals and governments on complex issues which are usually at the nexus of the political, business, and media worlds.
As an avid lover of sports he serves as a Director and Southern Africa Partner at Rainbow Sports Investments, a sports company that identifies, develops and manages talented African athletes to ensure they reach the elite level of sport. He is also a FIFA registered football intermediary with the Football Association of Malawi.
- Bachelor Degree with Honours in Politics, Philosophy and History
- Master of Science in Social Policy and Development, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE
- Executive Leadership Programme, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
- Certificate in Global Diplomacy, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) joint programme with the University of London
- Executive Certificate in Shipping Economics, Investment and Finance, CASS Business School and Baltic Exchange
- Certificate in Job Creation for African Youth, Ashoka Changemakers
- Diplomatic Training, Clingendael Institute in The Netherlands
- International Relations
- National Identity
- African Achiever, 2015
- Young African Leader, 2015
- Malawian Achiever, 2016
International Relations and National Identity
Elikem Nutifafa Kuenyehia
Ghana/United Kingdom
Elikem Nutifafa Kuenyehia (“ENK”) is a leading international corporate lawyer and is considered a thought leader on entrepreneurship. A Solicitor & Barrister admitted in Ghana and England & Wales, he has previously been an adjunct lecturer on entrepreneurship at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration and Executive-in-Residence at University of Ghana Business School. His first book “Kuenyehia on Entrepreneurship’ is considered a ground breaking resource on African entrepreneurship.
ENK is most noted for starting Oxford & Beaumont (now ENSafrica|Ghana) with just US$5,000 seed capital. He grew Oxford & Beaumont to become an undisputed leading law firm in Ghana and was the first Ghanaian law firm to open in the City of London. After successfully initiating and executing a merger with ENSafrica, ENK stayed on as Chairman of ENSafrica|Ghana until December 2020 when he exited the firm.
Before starting his own law firm, ENK was part of the founding team of United Bank for Africa Ghana Limited where he spearheaded UBA’s Ghana market entry strategy.
He has been recognised by Legal500 in its Hall of Fame as a lawyer “at the pinnacle of the legal profession in Ghana based on consistent feedback from clients,” Forbes and CNBC “West Africa Young Business Leader of the Year” (2012), “Ghana’s Most Promising Entrepreneur (2013)” World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and one of Africa’s 40 under 40 achievers (2010).
ENK has been nominated by the President of Ghana onto the Governing Board of State Interests and Governance Authority which oversees and administers the State’s interest in 144 State-owned entities, joint ventures and regulators. His directorships include Intrepid Investment and Asset Management, Luno Money Ghana and Mindfull Creative Agency. He has previously hed directorships in Google Ghana, Chase Petroleum and Hollard Insurance.
ENK holds BA and MA degrees from Oxford University and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
-	BA
-	MA
-	MBA
-	Solicitor & Barrister in Ghana and England & Wales
-	Entrepreneurship
-	Small business management
-	Leading professional service firms
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Bob Jones University Drops Mixed-Dating Ban
Posted By: August 2, 2018
INTERRACIAL DATING ATTITUDES AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS
Interracial Dating Was Illegal in the US Not Too Long Ago — Here’s the Important History
Anti-miscegenation laws in the United States
INTERRACIAL DATING DIVIDES ALABAMA SCHOOL PROM IN 2
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First They Lost Interracial Dating Bans, Now…
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The Civil Rights Era has come and gone and despite the removal of this unconstitutional law, society still stigmatizes mixed-race couples. The ethical and emotional fence straddling interracial dating remains divided and black and white is not yet an equal opportunity phrase. To some, Bull Connor, who was a member of the Ku Klux Klan and a strong advocate of racial segregation, and white supremacy are more alive than ever. According to the opposition, it is black or white and not something to be mixed. Yet the state of Alabama did not legally endorse the meaning behind this religious tune until when it became the last state to overturn its anti-amalgamation laws, which had prevented whites and blacks from being married. Although law states that people of different race can now marry, date and procreate with their person of choice, it remains a divided issue today. Several students at Stillman College and the University of Alabama expressed their opinions about interracial dating. While some say it is not taboo anymore, they all agree that it isn’t something that is endorsed and openly practiced.
Bob Jones University is dropping its ban on interracial dating in the wake of the criticism that followed George W. The school then began admitting blacks, but the IRS said the dating policy still constituted discrimination. The school fought the IRS action in court and did not actually forfeit its tax-exempt status until
interracial couples and families historically and how they collectively facilitate racial Virginia and the Continued Pursuit of Racial Equality held at Fordham University School of That is, the marriage markets in Birmingham, Alabama, like in.
In the United States , anti-miscegenation laws also known as miscegenation laws were laws passed by most states that prohibited interracial marriage and interracial sexual relations. Some such laws predate the establishment of the United States, some dating to the later 17th or early 18th century, a century or more after the complete racialization of slavery. Most states had repealed such laws by , when the U.
Supreme Court ruled in Loving v. Virginia that such laws were unconstitutional in the remaining 16 states. Typically defining mixed race marriages or sexual relations as a felony , these laws also prohibited the issue of marriage licenses and the solemnization of weddings between mixed race couples and prohibited the officiating of such ceremonies. Sometimes, the individuals attempting to marry would not be held guilty of miscegenation itself, but felony charges of adultery or fornication would be brought against them instead.
All anti-miscegenation laws banned marriage between whites and non-white groups, primarily blacks, but often also Native Americans and Asians. In many states, anti-miscegenation laws also criminalized cohabitation and sex between whites and non-whites. In addition, Oklahoma in banned marriage “between a person of African descent” and “any person not of African descent”; Louisiana in banned marriage between Native Americans and African Americans and from —, concubinage as well ; and Maryland in banned marriages between blacks and Filipinos.
Although anti-miscegenation amendments were proposed in United States Congress in , — and , [7] [8] a nationwide law against mixed race marriages was never enacted. Prior to the California Supreme Court’s ruling in Perez v. Sharp , no court in the United States had ever struck down a ban on interracial marriage.
This paper discusses how online interracial dating communities function in the 21st century. About 75 year ago, my then approximately 8-year old grandfather slammed the door shut when he saw a black man in front of him, who was trying to sell nuts to people in the neighbourhood. He told me he had never seen a person with a different skin colour than white in his life, which scared him and made him run away from the man. During this time, he could have never imagined that only two generations later, one of his closest family members would get into a relationship with someone with another skin colour: interracial relationships were not usual then, definitely not in the village where he lived.
However, this does not mean that racism has disappeared: the discourse of my grandmother and grandfather is still with us today. The development of digital technologies has provided new knowledge on all kinds of romantic relationships.
This paper discusses how online interracial dating communities function in the 21st century. Alabama, the US Supreme Courts announced that ”[I]f any white person and any negro, Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
Interview Q Southern Oral History Program Collection Granville County, North Carolina, resident Floyd Alston and his mother, Ethel Thorpe Alston, remember their lives in the area in an interview that touches on, among other topics, racial identity and the struggles of post-emancipation African Americans to find economic and social security.
Oral History Interview with E. Dacons, March 4, Interview M Dacons recounts his career as a black administrator of segregated and desegregated public high schools in Wilkes County, North Carolina. Interview K Southern Oral History Program Collection Leslie Thorbs describes growing up in a tenant farming family in eastern North Carolina, during the s and s. Thorbs describes his experiences with poverty, farming, factory work, race relations, and family life. He concludes the interview by discussing the devastating impact of Hurricane Floyd’s flooding on his family and his community.
Interview R
Then, for a year period, interracial dating was prohibited. Now the university has announced that its polices were wrong. Lost in the spectacular news accounts of the election of a black man as president of the United States is another event — this time in higher education — that stands as a milestone in racial progress. Consequently, for far too long, we allowed institutional policies regarding race to be shaped more directly by that ethos than by the principles and precepts of the Scriptures.
Coye Cheshire at University of California, Berkeley. Coye Cheshire in Alabama. Clearly acceptance of interracial dating and marriage by.
I am interested in the automatic processes of learning and attention, as well as the neurological bases of those processes. Additionally, I am specifically interested in how these processes may function differently in persons with Autism, and how those differences may be related to symptoms of the disorder. I also research topics in the social-cognitive domain, specifically related to how people automatically process social information, and how that affects our decision-making and behavior.
Kana, R. Neural networks underlying language and social cognition during self-other processing in Autism spectrum disorders. Neuropsychologia , , —
Gallery: Interracial in Alabama: One couple shares their journey. It was the late s, so, not surprisingly, race was the powder keg amid every encounter between whites and blacks in the tiny town–which, of course, boasted a chapter of the Ku Klux Klan. Once, Reggie befriended an African-American boy from across town, often inviting him to his all-white neighborhood.
Yet Reggie’s mother wasn’t upset–just concerned, that he might get beaten up by the white kids on his street for having a black friend. Stokes’ parents–dad was a school teacher; mom cared for their three boys, at home–didn’t poison their sons with racial hatred or prejudice, maybe, in part, because their paternal grandmother was mixed-race, something their parents probably knew, Stokes says, but didn’t talk about.
It was only with the rise of the Civil Rights Movement that interracial couples 28 “5th Amendment,” Cornell University Law School, accessed 12 September In , Tony Pace and Mary Cox, both residents of Grove Hill, Alabama, were.
Interracial marriage in the United States has been legal throughout the United States since at least the U. Supreme Court Warren Court decision Loving v. Virginia that held that “anti-miscegenation” laws were unconstitutional. The number of interracial marriages as a proportion of all marriages has been increasing since , so that by Interracial marriage has continued to rise throughout the s. The proportion of interracial marriages is markedly different depending on the ethnicity and gender of the spouses.
The first “interracial” marriage in what is today the United States was that of the woman today commonly known as Pocahontas , who married tobacco planter John Rolfe in The Quaker Zephaniah Kingsley married outside the U. He also had three black common-law enslaved wives; he manumited all four. In he published a Treatise , reprinted three times, on the benefits of intermarriage, which according to Kingsley produced healthier and more beautiful children, and better citizens.
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Bob Jones University, the Bible college in Greenville, South Carolina, did not admit Then, for a year period, interracial dating was prohibited. Bibb Graves, who had just been elected governor of Alabama with the official backing of the.
The first serves as a state to the Israelites not to marry the Alabama. The term “intermarry” causes some to think of race automatically, but it was the Canaanites way of life that was concerning-not their start color. In fact, Biblical and ancestral statistics point to the fact that Alabama and Canaanites are the same start. Though they wouldn’t have wanted to connect themselves to the Canaanites, the Israelites and said the group is ethnically identical.
So, if it wasn’t their race that was the problem, what was Israel’s beef with the people of Canaan? They didn’t worship the same God. Israel saw the start of Canaan as that was evil and cruel. God’s issue was with religion and race, not interracial marriage. The Corinthians verse mimics this sentiment as it urges believers in Christ then to yoke with non-believers unequally. Unfortunately, these verses have been misinterpreted and taught incorrectly for many years, leading many Christians to believe in the myth that the Bible bans the interracial marriage.
So, what does the Bible say about interracial marriage? While there isthen a specific verse that says verbatim “interracial marriage is okay,” there is an old advice story that solidifies this fact.
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Review: ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter: A Tribute To Loretta Lynn’
Posted by Aryl Watson at 4:30 pm	Add comments
“Coal Miner’s Daughter” wasn’t just a song to Loretta Lynn; it was the story of her life. Lynn grew up in poverty, married at 13, had four children by 19. For most, it would be a recipe for disaster, but not for Lynn. When her husband Moony (named for the moonshine he ran) gave Lynn a guitar for her 24th birthday, she taught herself to play and began her journey towards country stardom. Loretta Lynn has written hundreds of songs, released over 70 albums and was one of the first women in Nashville to write songs from a woman’s point of view. Lynn was unafraid to be a liberated woman, releasing songs about birth control (“The Pill”), teen sex (“Wings Upon Your Horns”), and the Vietnam War (“Dear Uncle Sam”).
It’s no surprise that contemporary female artists felt inspired to contribute to Coal Miner’s Daughter: A Tribute to Loretta Lynn. Lynn’s songs translate well to the pop sound dominating current country music. On “Don’t Come Home a Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind),” Gretchen Wilson’s vocal swagger imbibes the song with girl power. For “You’re Looking at Country,” on the other hand, Carrie Underwood tries too hard—polishing the rough edges of Lynn’s song with denser instrumentation, extra vocal twang and studio slickness, ensuring that we’re not looking at Loretta Lynn’s country. Faith Hill makes the same mistake on “Love Is the Foundation.”
Lynn and Conway Twitty’s famous duets dominated the country music scene for most of the ’70s, with five #1 songs and seven top 10 hits. Alan Jackson and Martina McBride have a great time recreating the pairing with “Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man,” a standout track. Jackson and McBride’s vocals and harmonies highlight the song’s lyrics; adding accordion and omitting electrical guitar make the song more enjoyable. On the closing track, Miranda Lambert, Sheryl Crow, and Lynn trade verses on “Coal Miner’s Daughter.” Lambert and Crow willingly take a backseat on the chorus, letting Lynn tell the story her way.
It’s no surprise that The White Stripes contributed a song to honor Lynn. After producing her 2004 release Van Lear Rose, Jack White called Lynn “his favorite singer.” “Rated X”—stripped down to acoustic guitar, tapped drums and tambourine—fits nicely into The White Stripe’s catalog next to “It’s True that We Love One Another.” In this arrangement, Meg White’s background cute vocals add rather than detract from the song. Surprisingly, Kid Rock’s version of “I Know How” works well with his rough-hewn vocals. Dueling guitars, honky-tonk piano and Hammond organ transform this song into a raging country boogie. It’s one of the best songs on the album.
Although most of the songs on Coal Miner’s Daughter: A Tribute to Loretta Lynn are country, it would be a shame to miss out on the new versions of Lynn’s iconic, well-written songs just because you’re not a fan of the genre. Hopefully, these covers will create a new legion of Loretta Lynn fans, because this coal miner’s daughter deserves it.
Coal Miner’s Daughter Track Listing:
01. Gretchen Wilson, “Don’t Come Home A Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ On Your Mind)”
02. Lee Ann Womack, “I’m A Honky Tonk Girl”
03. The White Stripes, “Rated X”
04. Carrie Underwood, ” You’re Lookin’ At Country”
05. Alan Jackson and Martina McBride, “Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man”
06. Paramore, “You Ain’t Woman Enough (To Take My Man)”
07. Faith Hill, “Love Is The Foundation”
08. Steve Earle and Allison Moorer, “After the Fire Is Gone”
09. Reba featuring The Time Jumpers, “If You’re Not Gone Too Long”
10. Kid Rock, “I Know How”
11. Lucinda Williams, “Somebody Somewhere (Don’t Know What He’s Missin’ Tonight)”
12. Sheryl Crow and Miranda Lambert (Featuring Loretta Lynn), “Coal Miner’s Daughter”
Check out more from Loretta Lynn at her website.
Lera Lynn and John Paul White Cover Country Standard “Almost Persuaded”
Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, and More Cover Roger Miller on New Tribute Album
Robbie Fulks and Linda Gail Lewis Cover Don Gibson's "Who Cares"
Album Review, Feature Tagged with: Alan Jackson, Allison Moorer, Carrie Underwood, Faith Hill, Gretchen Wilson, Jack White, Kid Rock, Lee Ann Womack, Loretta Lynn, Lucinda Williams, Martina McBride, Miranda Lambert, Paramore, Reba McEntire, Sheryl Crow, Steve Earle, The Time Jumpers, The White Stripes
2 Responses to “Review: ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter: A Tribute To Loretta Lynn’”
joeyC says:
have you heard Eilen Jewell’s “Butcher Holler?” A fine set of Lynn covers that came out this year as well.
Aryl Watson says:
Yes. I found it doing research for this review. The songs are well done, but the arrangements are too consistent for me, making the songs run together. Good, but not as good as this album.
Rubblebucket’s “Michelle” Blends “A Day in the Life” with 2001: A Space Odyssey Jack White Produces Laura Marling on Two Old-School Covers


December 5, 1892 -- Supreme Court Decision on Riparian Rights Published
December 5, 1892 – There are four stars on the flag of Chicago, each star corresponding to a key event in the city’s history. If there were to be a fifth star – and it was not assigned to the 2016 World Series victory of the Cubs – it might very well be given to a case decided in the United States Supreme Court, the results of which were published on this date in 1892. The case pitted the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago against the Illinois Central Railroad in an effort to “obtain a judicial determination of the title of certain lands on the east or Lake-Front of the City of Chicago, situated between the Chicago River and Sixteenth street, which have been reclaimed from the waters of the lake and are occupied by the tracks, depots, warehouses, piers, and other structures used by the railroad company in its business, and also of the title claimed by the company to the submerged lands constituting the bed of the lake, lying east of the tracks, within the corporate limits of the city for a distance of a mile, and between the south line of the south pier near Chicago River extended eastwardly, and a line extended in the same direction from the south line of Lot 21, near the company’s round-house and machine shops.” In a lengthy explanation the court found that the city was not deprived of its riparian rights by a previous decision to allow the Illinois Central to construct tracks and a breakwater along the lakefront between Randolph Street and Park Row. The court said, “With this reservation of the right of the railroad company to use the tracts on ground reclaimed by it and the continuance of the breakwater, the city possesses the same right of riparian ownership, and is at full liberty to exercise it, which it ever did.” [Chicago Daily Tribune, December 6, 1892] Writing for the majority, Justice Stephen J. Field stated, “It is the settled law of this country that the ownership of and dominion and sovereignty over lands covered by the waters, within the limits of the several states, belong to the respective states within which they are found, with the consequent right to use or dispose of any portion thereof, when that can be done without substantial impairment of the interest of the public in the waters, and subject always to the paramount right of congress to control that navigation so far as may be necessary for the regulation of commerce with foreign nations and among the states.” The case has tremendous implications for the future of the city’s lakefront, which up to this point, had been expanded through landfill with parcels from north to south being claimed by property owners claiming that because they owned land adjoining the lake, they also owned the riparian rights and therefore could expand their property as far as they desired. In short, the city would look far different today if the case in 1892 had turned in a different direction. The photo above shows the lakefront just north of today's Art Institute probably in 1891 or early 1892. The portion of the lake that we can see, which is west of today's Columbus Drive, is part of the property included in the suit before the Supreme Court.
Labels: 1892, Chicago Events, Lake Michigan, Lakefront
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Lowell General and Winchester Hospitals named 2014 Best Places to Work winners (Boston Business Journal)
Boston Business Journal announces 2014 Best Places to Work winners
by Eric Convey
The Boston Business Journal today announced the 2014 Best Places to Work, a list of companies whose employees had the best things to say about their employers in confidential surveys.
“Our Best Places to Work event will again recognize the importance of cultivating a great workplace culture as a competitive advantage," said Chris McIntosh, publisher of the Boston Business Journal. "Companies on our list can be justifiably proud of creating a high level of workplace satisfaction during an economy where traditional rewards like big raises and bonuses aren't as easy to give. In good times and in bad, our results validate how the creation of the right corporate culture can create powerful business advantages. Employees are proud to work for companies that are about more than just business.”
LGH Excels in Patient Safety – Awarded an “A” in Spring 2014 Hospital Safety Score (Lowell.com)
by Elliot Silver on Apr 29, 2014
Lowell, Massachusetts, April 29, 2014 – Designed to rate how well hospitals protect patients from accidents, errors, injuries and infections, the latest Hospital Safety Score honored Lowell General Hospital with an “A” – its top grade in patient safety. The Hospital Safety Score is compiled under the guidance of the nation’s leading experts on patient safety and is administered by The Leapfrog Group (Leapfrog), an independent industry watchdog. The first and only hospital safety rating to be peer-reviewed in the Journal of Patient Safety, the Score is free to the public and designed to give consumers information they can use to protect themselves and their families when facing a hospital stay.
Tufts, Lowell Hospital uniting (Boston Globe)
Tufts, Lowell hospital uniting Tentative deal adds to trend in health alliances
By Robert Weisman | Globe Staff April 14, 2014
Tufts Medical Center and Lowell General Hospital are joining forces to form a new health care system they say will offer lower-cost medical services from Southern New Hampshire to south of Boston at a time of changes sweeping through the industry.
The alliance would link a 415-bed Boston teaching hospital that has been scrambling for a niche in the fast-consolidating market with one of the state’s largest community hospitals. Lowell General, which two years ago took over a crosstown rival, Saints Memorial Medical Center, has 434 beds on two campuses.
Massachusetts Council of Community Hospitals Announces New Executive Director
Braintree, Mass. – The Massachusetts Council of Community Hospitals (MCCH) announces Steven Walsh as its new executive director. Walsh currently serves as State Representative for the 11th Essex District and is the House Chairman of the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing. He will begin his new role at MCCH in March.
“Steve will ensure that MCCH continues to advocate for the advancement of community medicine and community hospitals throughout the state,” said Donald Thieme, who has served as executive director for the past 12 years.
Formed in 1991, MCCH is a non-profit corporation that advocates for the Commonwealth’s community hospitals, which play a vital role in providing convenient, high-quality health care at a reasonable cost. Massachusetts community hospitals care for 50% of acute care patients in the Commonwealth. MCCH consists of 17 community hospitals from throughout the state.


5 Dividend-Paying Stocks That Delivered 100%-Plus Total Returns in One Year
By: Ned Piplovic, December 31, 2019
Investors looking for equities that offer balanced returns from dividend income and asset appreciation should consider one of the five dividend-paying stocks that have delivered a total return of more than 100% just over the trailing one-year period.
While nearly 50 equities doubled shareholders’ investment over the past year, the securities included in the list below meet additional criteria. This ensures that the companies included here are more likely to offer sustainable dividend income and capital gains.
Each of the five companies below has a market capitalization in excess of $2 billion. The market capitalizations range from $2.49 billion on the low end to $65.14 billion as the upper limit. The simple, unweighted average market capitalization of all five equities is $15.9 billion.
All five companies offer dividend yields in excess of 2%. Ranging from 2.05% to 4.37%, the simple average of all five yields is 3.24%. While three of the five companies have not raised their dividend distribution in the past 12 months, one company has a current streak of eight consecutive annual dividend hikes, and one company has boosted its annual dividend for the past 51 consecutive years. Despite no recent dividend hikes from two-thirds of companies in this group, the one long streak pushes the average streak of consecutive dividend boosts to nearly a dozen years.
To ensure sustainability of dividend income payouts, the highest dividend payout ratio among the five securities listed below is 57%. Generally, investors consider 50% to be the upper limit of the sustainable range. A ratio that is too low indicates that the company does not distribute a significant portion of its earnings to be attractive to income-seeking investors. While there are certainly exceptions to the rule based on specific situations and specific individual portfolio goals, investors generally look for a minimum payout ratio of 30%.
Alternatively, a payout dividend ratio in excess of 50% indicates that the company uses more than half of its earnings to cover dividend distributions. While most companies can occasionally pay more than 50% of its earnings as dividends, it is nearly impossible to sustain a payout ratio in excess of 50% over extended periods. However, the 50% is just a general guideline for overall markets. The upper limit for a sustainable payout ratio also varies by sector, industry and other factors. The five equities below have payout ratios right around that upper limit and range from 42-57%, with a simple payout ratio average of 49%.
While asset appreciation delivered bulk of the gains over the past year, dividend income contributed between 2.2% and 6.1% of total gains. For the five companies on the list below, these combined gains from dividend income and asset appreciation averaged more than 105% and ranged between 100.13-113.08%.
Another important characteristic of these five equities is that the robust one-year asset appreciation resulted from a share prices recovering after recent pullbacks. Three of the five companies here have higher total returns over the past year than over the last three years. Moreover, the one-year total returns of all five equities outperformed their total returns over the last five years.
In ascending order by their respective one-year return, here are the five dividend-paying stocks that delivered 100%-plus total return in one year
5 Dividend-Paying Stocks That Delivered 100%-Plus Total Return in One Year: #5
OneMain Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:OMF)
OneMain Holdings — a financial service holding company — began delivering dividend distributions to its shareholders only in 2019. The company’s $0.25 quarterly dividend converts to a $1.00 annualized payout and yields 2.32%. In addition to its regular quarterly dividend distributions, OneMain Holdings also paid a special dividend of $2.00 per share in September 2019.
The company’s share price experienced above-average volatility and declined from its all-time high above $53 in March 2015 to its all-time low under $20 by November 2016. After another significant decline in late 2018, the share price nearly doubled over the trailing one year. The combined regular and special dividends paid during the year were just enough to push the total return marginally over the 100% mark of the last 12-month period. Without any dividends before 2019, the 60%-plus share price pullback from early 2015 through late 2016 delivered a total return of less than 26% over the last five years. The timing of the all-time low in late 2016 resulted in a total return of 106% over the last three years.
Seaspan Corporation (NYSE:SSW)
Based in Hong Kong, the Seaspan Corporation operates as an independent charter owner and manager of containerships. The company’s current $0.125 quarterly dividend payout is equivalent to a $0.50 annualized payout and a 3.5% dividend yield at the current share price level. While only slightly lower than the 3.9% average yield of the overall Shipping industry segment, Seaspan’s current yield is almost 65% higher than the 2.12% yield average of the entire Services sector.
During the first half of the trailing five-year period, the company’s share price declined more than 70%. However, since reversing direction in May 2017, the share price rose almost 170% and recovered nearly 70% of its previous losses. Dividend income covered the gap and managed to maintain the five-year total return in positive territory with 1.5%.
The recovering share price contributed most of the gains and combined with the dividend income for a total return of 83% over the last three years. The share price accelerated growth to deliver a total return of 101.5% over the trailing 12 months.
Aircastle Ltd. (NYSE:AYR)
Aircastle — a holding company that acquires, leases and sells commercial jet aircraft — has been paying dividends since 2006. While forced to cut its dividend payouts in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, the company began its current streak of nine consecutive annual dividend hikes in 2011. Over the past nine years, Aircastle has enhanced its annual payout amount more than three-fold, which corresponds to an average annual dividend growth rate of 13.8% per year.
The most recent dividend hike for the December 2019 distribution raised the quarterly payout 6.7% from $0.30 in the previous period to the current $0.32 quarterly payout amount. This new distribution amount is equivalent to an annualized payout of $1.28 per share. This annual payout corresponds to 4% forward dividend yield, which is 90% higher than the 2.12% average yield of the company’s peers in the entire Services sector.
The company’s share price traded relatively flat for five years before surging in the second half of 2019. Because of the flat share price, dividend income contributed the majority of the 65% total returns over the last three years and 75% over the past five years. However, the share price surge limited the dividend contribution towards the 105% total return over the last years to slightly more than 6%.
The Carlyle Group LP (NASDAQ:CG)
After initiating dividend distribution in 2012, the Carlyle Group has increased its annual dividend distribution more than six-fold over the first three years. Unfortunately, after paying its peak dividend of $3.39 per share in 2015, the company cut its annual payout more than 60% over the subsequent two years and then paid a flat annual dividend of $1.24 in 2017 and in 2018.
However, the company has increased its annual payout this year. The $1.36 annual dividend per share in 2019, corresponds to a 4.35% forward dividend yield, which is 8.6% higher than the 4.02% simple average yield of the Asset Management industry segment, as well as 5.6% above the 4.12% yield average of the overall Financials sector.
A share price drop of nearly 60% from mid-2015 through early 2016, limited the five-year total return to less than 50%. The rising share price drove the total return to nearly 107% over the trailing 12-month period and above 127% over the last three years.
Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)
As one of just 16 S&P 500 Dividend Kings, the target corporation has rewarded its shareholders with more than five decades of consecutive annual dividend hikes. Just over the past two decades, the company has boosted its annual dividend payout more than 13-fold. This advancement pace is equivalent to an average annual dividend growth rate of nearly 14% per year.
The current quarterly dividend of $0.66 is 3.1% higher than the $0.64 payout from the same period last year. This new quarterly amount corresponds to a $2.64 annualized payout and currently yields 2.05%, which is in line with the average yield of the overall Services sector but outperformed the 1.32% simple yield average of the Discount & Variety Stores industry segment by more than 55%.
The share price more than doubled on its own and combined with the dividend income distributions for a total return of 113% over the trailing 12-month period. Driven by a share price pull back from 2015 to 2017, the total returns over the last three and five years were slightly lower in the mid-80% range.
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