Mimi Kalinda

About

Nearly three decades. Four continents. One mission: to move the people who matter, to do what matters. I am a strategic communications advisor, storyteller, and entrepreneur. When the stakes are high and the message has to land — when boards need to align, governments need to act, or investors need to believe — leaders and institutions call me. I've had the privilege of advising some of the world's most influential organizations, including the Bezos Earth Fund, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, WHO, Mastercard Foundation, and the African Development Bank. Whether navigating reputation crises, positioning executives as global thought leaders, or architecting communications strategies that shift behavior, my work is always about one thing: stakeholder action. I lead two global ventures. Storytelling & Leadership is a global platform that equips executives and institutions with the human-centered skills that drive influence, alignment, and change — storytelling, communication, negotiation, and trust-building. Africa Communications Media Group is a fully integrated strategic communications firm operating across multiple markets. My multicultural lens is not a talking point. Working across the United States, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, I bring rare cultural intelligence into every boardroom, keynote, and leadership conversation. I've coached executives at LinkedIn, the Obama Foundation, and Absa Bank. I teach at IE University and serve as a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Oxford's Africa Oxford Initiative, GIBS, and the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business. I serve on global boards including The Hunger Project and the African Capacity Building Foundation, a specialized agency of the African Union. I am a LinkedIn Top Voice, a published author, and a sought-after speaker on strategic communications, narrative leadership, and stakeholder influence. I believe “soft skills” are power skills. They turn knowledge into influence, data into decisions, and strategy into change. If you need stakeholders to move, let's talk.