Meet the Team
Vindel Kerr, DBA - GovStrat Founder, CEO & Lead Expert: CG/ESG, Strategy & Corporate Turnaround
Vindel Kerr, DBA, a Jamaican and University of Manchester (UK), Rutgers University (USA) and The UWI, St Augustine, Trinidad & Tobago trained pracademic, internationally respected corporate governance expert and public policy consultant. Dr. Kerr is Founder of GovStrat Limited — Latin America & the Caribbean’s pioneering and leading Corporate Governance (CG) and Corporate Secretaryship training and consulting firm. Dr Kerr is an international award-winning CG expert, Scholar and trusted advisor. He has developed and/or made significant contribution to multiple national CG Codes, including being sole consultant/author of the Corporate Governance Framework for Public Bodies of Jamaica (2012).
Prior to founding GovStrat Limited in 2005, Dr. Kerr held multiple senior management roles in two publicly listed Jamaican firms and obtained his early grounding at the Food & Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations as a Farm Management Farming Systems Specialist. Dr. Kerr is a Nominee Director of the IFC/World Bank Group and an Expert/Advisor to the National Committee developing Zimbabwe’s Second Draft CG Code. He is also former NED on The Board of Solarda Pty. Ltd, (Melbourne, Australia), a firm in the renewable energy industry. Dr. Kerr’s past Board Leadership roles include Chairman, Vice-Chairman and/or Director at five (5) Public Bodies of Jamaica. Dr Kerr has trained more than 10,200 Board Directors, Corporate Secretaries, Senior Civil Servants, Politicians and C-Suite Executives and completed nearly 300 consulting assignments since 2003, spanning 25 countries and on 4 Continents, through GovStrat Limited.
Prior to founding GovStrat, Dr. Kerr has also spent nearly a decade in academic teaching, research and publishing within the Caribbean and the UK. His seminal book, Effective Corporate Governance (2005), was the first peer-reviewed body of work (364 pages) on CG by an author from the developing world and emerging market economies. During his studentship, Dr. Kerr was the recipient of five (5) full academic scholarships in addition to many bursaries. He has obtained numerous community service awards for his role and impact on young people across Jamaica and the ‘feed and care’ of the indigent during his decades of service to the Jamaica 4-H Clubs, and as former member of the Kiwanis Club of Liguanea, Kingston, Jamaica.
MS. Chisom Obiudo - LEAD AI, CYBER SECURITY & POLICY GOVERNANCE LEARNING
MS. Chisom Obiudo is Namibian, a corporate and policy governance specialist, law reformer, and an admitted legal practitioner of the High Court of Namibia. With over a decade of experience, she enhances Namibia’s evolving governance and legal landscape through her work in legislative reform and governance advisory. She is currently the Chief Legal Officer and researcher at the Namibian Law Reform and Development Commission, where she leads transformative national legal reform projects and helps shape policies that modernise Namibia’s legal and regulatory frameworks. Chisom is also the founder of Directed Governance Consultancy, a platform that promotes corporate governance through board training and advisory services.
The consultancy introduces innovative tools, including generative AI, to support and enhance the board’s governance role, improving board effectiveness, oversight, and long-term strategic value. She previously served as Deputy Chairperson of the Namibia Investment Fund’s governance committee, providing strategic governance oversight and contributing to its ethical and effective leadership. Chisom is also a member of the United Nations Ad Hoc Committee on Cybercrime and recently represented Namibia in drafting the first-ever UN Convention on Cybercrime, showcasing her influence on the global stage. Chisom delivers board-level training for directors and executives, equipping them with tools for effective governance in dynamic environments.
As a governance thought leader, Chisom develops educational materials for the Namibian Institute of Corporate Governance, promoting sound board practices and raising national governance standards. She holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from Rhodes University and a Master’s degree in Corporate Governance from the University of Cape Town. In addition, she holds professional certificates in Non-Executive Directorship, Legislative Drafting, AI Professional Skills, and AI Policy and Governance.