SAM OWORI IS SELECTED TO BE 2018-19 ROTARY PRESIDENT
SAM OWORI IS SELECTED TO BE 2018-19 ROTARY PRESIDENT
Samuel Frobisher Owori, a Ugandan businessman and a member of the Rotary Club
of Kampala, will become president-nominee on 1 October.
The 2016-17 Nominating Committee for President of Rotary International has unanimously
nominated Samuel Frobisher Owori, of the Rotary Club of Kampala, Uganda, to
be the president of Rotary International in 2018-19. He will be declared the
president-nominee on 1 October if no challenging candidates have been suggested.
Owori says he sees in Rotary "an incredible passion to make a difference."
As president, he plans to "harness that enthusiasm and pride so that every
project becomes the engine of peace and prosperity."
Owori's chief concerns as a Rotary leader are membership and extension. Since
he served as district governor, the number of clubs in Uganda has swelled from
nine to 89. He urges past, present, and future leaders to work together to engage
more women, youth program participants, alumni, and community members to increase
Rotary's membership in the coming years.
"There are many places which need Rotary and numerous potential members
who have never been invited," he says. "The problem is Rotarians who
got in and closed the doors."
Owori is chief executive officer of the Institute of Corporate Governance of
Uganda. Before that, he was executive director of the African Development Bank,
managing director of Uganda Commercial Bank Ltd., and director of Uganda Development
Bank.
He has studied law, employment relations, business management, corporate resources
management, microfinance, and marketing at institutions in England, Japan, Switzerland,
Tanzania, and the United States, including Harvard Business School.
Since becoming a member in 1978, Owori has served Rotary as regional Rotary
Foundation coordinator, regional RI membership coordinator, RI Representative
to the United Nations Environment Program and UN-Habitat, and RI director. He
has been a member or chair of several committees, including the International
PolioPlus Committee, the Drug Abuse Prevention Task Force, and the Audit Committee.
Most recently, Owori served as trustee of The Rotary Foundation, chair of The
Rotary Foundation's Finance Committee, and a member of the Investment Committee.
Owori is a Benefactor of The Rotary Foundation, and he and his wife, Norah,
are Major Donors and Paul Harris Fellows.
The Nominating Committee members are Sudarshan Agarwal, Rotary Club of Delhi,
Delhi, India; Safak Alpay, Rotary Club of Istanbul-Sisli, Turkey; Ronald L.
Beaubien, Rotary Club of Coronado, California, USA; John B. Boag, Rotary E-Club
of District 9650, New South Wales, Australia; Elio Cerini, Rotary Club of Milano
Duomo, Italy; Luiz Coelho de Oliveira, Rotary Club of Limeira-Leste, São
Paulo, Brazil; Frank N. Goldberg, Rotary Club of Omaha-Suburban, Nebraska, USA;
Kenneth W. Grabeau, Rotary Club of Nashua West, New Hampshire, USA; Jackson
S.L. Hsieh, Rotary Club of Taipei Sunrise, Taiwan; Mark Daniel Maloney (chair),
Rotary Club of Decatur, Alabama, USA; Barry Matheson, Rotary Club of Jessheim,
Norway; Kazuhiko Ozawa, Rotary Club of Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan; Ekkehart Pandel,
Rotary Club of Bückeburg, Germany; Noraseth Pathmanand, Rotary Club of
Bang Rak, Thailand; Robert S. Scott, Rotary Club of Cobourg, Ontario, Canada;
John C. Smarge, Rotary Club of Naples, Florida, USA; Michael F. Webb, Rotary
Club of Mendip, Somerset, England.
To learn more about Sam Owori, read this interview and vision statement outlining
his goals for Rotary.