Rosalind Kainyah works with passion

Story: Salome Donkor
The story of Ms Rosalind Kainyah, Vice President, External Affairs and Corporate Social Responsibility of Tullow Oil plc, is inspirational and worthy of emulation by the up and coming youth, especially the girl-child. Extolling the virtues of hard work, commitment and resolve to attain greater heights in education, she pursued her career with passion and has carved a niche for herself.
Born in London some five decades ago, Ms Kainyah has a wealth of experience in business, international law, public affairs and corporate communications, which gives her a rare appreciation of both the economic and social impact of companies doing business in Africa.
Until she joined Tullow Oil one-and-a half months ago, she worked with the De Beers Group in the United States for seven years, first as Corporate and Commercial Legal Counsel at the Diamond Trading Company (DTC), then later as Executive Director of Corporate Communications at DTC and finally as Director of Public Affairs for De Beers.
Her office is responsible for the company’s external relations and corporate relations globally, maintaining and building new relations with governments, special interest groups, the media, civil society organisations and stakeholders in the oil and gas industries in countries where Tullow Oil operates.She also co-ordinates the management and development of the company’s global social responsibility programmes.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Accra on her vision and mission for Tullow Oil, Ms Kainyah said she did a lot of due diligence before joining the company, and realised that over the last two decades the company had proved itself as a successful business entity, and that she intended to build on the good foundation as well as manage the expectations of the industry.
She said she was also looking at how the company’s operations were contributing to the creation of employment, the tax element as well as royalties, by building a broader economic base.
She said she was a great believer and held the conviction that education was key to success in life, stressing that “education, upholding social values and listening to elders have sustained me”.
She was educated in Ghana and in England, and holds a degree in English Firm the University of Ghana, Bachelor of Law and Masters in Law degrees from the University of London.
She is a member of the Bar of England and Wales, a member of G50, a self-help African business group based in London, consisting of African professionals focused on the repatriation of financial and intellectual capital to the continent.
She also serves as a trustee on the boards of The African-American Institute, based in New York, and the Africa Centre for Economic Transformation, based in Accra.
She practised law in various ways and in corporate law, and with her interest in the role of companies and operations of companies in Africa, she decided to take the appointment at Tullow.
According to Ms Kainyah, her mother, who was a nurse in the army, is her first role model, adding that the exploits of women like Madam Barbara Baita of Flaire Catering Services, female ministers like Ms Hannah Tetteh, Minister of Trade and Industry, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Mrs Betty Mould-Idrusu, as well as the first female President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, are all sources of inspiration to her.
She advises women to take education seriously and acquire knowledge to build a strong foundation to enhance their development, stressing that “we need to be assertive, brave and feel proud that we are women and prove that we can do it without resentment”.
Established in 1985, Tullow Oil plc is one of the leading independent oil and gas exploration and production companies with operations in over 20 countries across four core areas, namely, Africa, Europe, South Asia and South America. It is the parent company of Tullow Ghana Limited and it is a key player in the development of Ghana’s upstream petroleum industry.