Advisory Board

Dr. Yvette Appiah is a highly-trained dermatologist who attended the famed University of Chicago’s distinguished Pritzker School of Medicine and trained with the highly competitive and top-rated dermatology residency training program at the prestigious Hospitals of the University of Pennsylvania, where she was selected to co-author the Skin Manifestations of HIV chapter in a published textbook on HIV.

Dr. Appiah is the founder, co-owner and Managing Member of AllPhases Dermatology, LLC., in the Washington, D.C. Metro area since 2004, where she leads a team of 4 dermatologists. For 18 years, she’s specialized in pediatric and adult medical, cosmetic, laser and surgical dermatology.

In addition, Dr. Appiah is a founding member, co-Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Operating Officer of SkynergyMD, a company conceived by a trio of United States Board-Certified, women dermatologists, all of them African. This brand concept focuses on harnessing the synergistic effect of science and nature, in an unprecedented full cosmetics and personal skincare line. SkynergyMD products are ubiquitous, bespoke, have great dexterity, and function both as maintenance and corrective line to achieve conspicuous, desirable results. SkynergyMD products are steeped in African pride and are bent on unearthing, utilizing and showcasing the rich, untapped resources of the African continent.

As the current Vice President of the DC, Maryland and Virginia Chapter of the Ghana Physicians & Surgeons Foundation, in the United States, Dr Appiah is passionate about championing causes involving child welfare, female empowerment and girls’ education in the STEM arena. Her goals include continuing to strive to exhibit, exemplify and raise the stature of women in society through the platforms of education and mentorship.

Peter Akwaboah has over 20 years’ experience in the banking industry, and he is currently a Managing Director of Morgan Stanley. He spent over a decade at Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) in the UK and Asia. His most recent role was the Chief Operating Officer managing wholesale, retail and transaction banking across 11 countries in Asia. Prior to RBS, Peter has held a number of senior positions at Deutsche Bank, KPMG and IBM. A graduate of The University of Birmingham, U.K., Peter is also a keen sportsman having represented Great Britain in Track and Field on a number of occasions.

Cynthia Quarcoo is a legal practitioner with extensive experience as a Corporate and Finance lawyer in Ghana and the United Kingdom. She is the Founder and Managing Partner of CQ Legal and Consulting with over 15 years’ experience representing institutional clients; her early career as an Analyst at Price Water House Coopers has strengthened her ability to provide clients with commercially sound legal advice. She worked as a Senior Associate in the Banking and Finance Practice of an International law firm, Fasken Martineau LLP and as a Consultant Senior Lawyer in the International Finance and Corporate department of Radix Legal & Consulting in London.

Her achievements include recognition by Chambers Global and Legal 500 as a leading lawyer within the field of ‘General Business Law (Ghana)’. (2009 – 2012 editions) and recognition as a leading lawyer by IFLR 1000. She sits on the Advisory Board of Times of Africa, a Contributor to the World Bank’s flagship “Doing Business Project” (2007-2017), Investment Guide to Sub-Saharan Africa: ‘What Chinese Investors Need to Know’ 2011 and The International Trade Centre (Joint WTO and UN Agency), Model Contracts for Small Firms: Legal Guidance for Doing International Business 2010.

She is a board member of CENIT Energy, Ghana India Trade Advisory Chamber (GITAC) and is the Founder of Africa 1 Media Limited.

Yaw Asamoah is a Managing Director at J.P. Morgan. Based in New York, he is a 22 year veteran of the firm and has executed some of the most high profile equity financings for companies in the Energy sector. During his tenure at J.P. Morgan, he orchestrated over 550 deals, helping raise nearly $275 billion of equity capital for clients. Yaw is also involved in a number of public service and philanthropic initiatives. He serves as a member of the board of the Investment Advisory Committee (IAC) in Ghana, the body which advises the Minister of Finance on the management of the Ghana Petroleum Funds. He is also Chairman of the Board of FOCOS, which is a nonprofit that has established a hospital in Ghana and is engaged in the work of treating patients from all over Africa who suffer from severe spinal deformities. Yaw is a graduate of Brown University where he studied Economics.