Professor Kenneth Kalu, newly appointed Secretary to the State Government, Abia State, is a native of Atan Abam in Arochukwu Lcal Government Area of Abia State.
Prior to his appointment, he was with the Department of Global Management, Ted Rogers School of Management, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada.
He joined Ryerson University from The University of Texas at Austin, USA where he was a Visiting Research Scholar with research focus on Africa’s development and political economy. Prior to going into academia, Dr. Kalu held several executive positions in the private and public sectors in Nigeria and Canada.
He was the Group Head of Economic and Business Intelligence, and later a Relationship Director at the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc. From UBA, he joined the Federal Civil Service where he was Deputy Director (Finance) as at the time he voluntarily left the civil service in 2015. A Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN).
Prof. Kalu obtained a B.Sc. degree in Accountancy from the University of Nigeria in 1995; M.Sc. (Finance) from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada in 2002; MA (Economics) from the University of Ottawa, Canada in 2004; and a PhD (Public Policy) from Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada in 2007. A political economist of distinction, Dr. Kalu was a Senior Policy Analyst with the Government of Saskatchewan in Canada.Over the past two decades
Prof. Kalu has advised regional and national governments on economic development policies and programs. He has also worked on several development projects funded by multilateral organizations such as The Geneva-based Global Fund, as well as the World Bank.
Besides his activities in the public sector, Prof. Kalu played major roles in the private sector in Nigeria, working as a banker, auditor and a consultant. He continues to act as a valuable resource for firms in different sectors. Drawing from a rich professional experience and several years of painstaking research.
Prof. Kalu has authored or co-authored six books and numerous journal articles on a broad range of disciplines including Africa’s political economy, banking sector development, international business and foreign direct investment, among other areas. He is passionate about the transformation of Africa’s economic and political institutions for inclusive growth and development.
Prof. Kenneth Kalu is happily married to a wonderful wife, Ify, and the marriage is blessed with very lovely children – Chidinma, Chinenye, Ogechi, and Tobechi
