For Immediate Release
Cambridge, MA.
January 26th, 2024
African Diaspora Nation President, Kwabena Boateng today announced the appointment of Dr.-Ing. Franck Adjogble as ADN's Chief Innovation Officer. This appointment takes immediate effect. In this new role, Dr.-Ing. Franck Adjogble will have strategic oversight of ADN's X-Africa STEAM and Leadership Advancement Initiative and build the programming and organizational capability required to deliver results as conceptually envisaged. He will also sit on the ADN Global Advisory Board as Chair for the Technology and Innovation Management Committee. In these roles, Adjogble will drive innovative partnerships among higher education institutions (HEIs) in the US, Europe, Africa and beyond; facilitate the training of 100,000 students, educators and professionals in STEM workforce relevant skills by end of 2027, establish collaborative platforms employing AI, LLMs, Digital Twins, and NVIDIA Omniverse or like technology for research, training, and experiential learning; nurture leadership and entrepreneurial acumen, prepare participants for the global digital economy, and strengthen alliances among academia, industry, and government to drive technological innovation.
Dr. Franck Komi Lolonyo Adjogble, a native of Togo brings with him a wealth of experience and accomplishments in the realms of technology, innovation management, and computer science. He holds a Ph.D. in Technology and Innovation Management from the University of Hagen, Germany, in collaboration with the esteemed Fraunhofer Institute of Industrial Engineering, where he developed the “Computer Assisted Technology Intelligence” System, along with a Master's in Computer Science from the University of Siegen.
Dr. Adjogble has made significant contributions in various leadership capacities across the steel and aluminum rolling industries. His roles have included General Manager of Digital Technologies and Digital Solutions at SMS-Digital, Chief Engineer and Business Development Manager at SMS-SIEMAG LLC, and Manager of Automation Systems and Process Models at SMS-SIEMAG GmbH. His expertise in commissioning and managing rolling mills and automation systems, especially in hot strip and plate mills, is globally recognized, with project involvements spanning numerous countries including Germany, Sweden, India, Finland, Denmark, Saudi Arabia, China, and the United States.
His passion for education and mentorship is evident from his tenure as a lecturer at the TÜV Akademie Rheinland GmbH in Siegen, Germany, and as a faculty member at the University of Hagen. Dr. Adjogble has supervised and mentored several cohorts of students in Technology and Innovation Management, enhancing their skills and guiding them to successful degree completions.
Dr. Adjogble's ambition to blend practical industry knowledge with academic research is manifested in his aspiration for a long-term tenure as a university professor. His scholarly work has been recognized with numerous accolades, including the James Farrington Award and the Hunt-Kelly Award from the Association for Iron and Steel Technology (AIST), and the AIST Board of Directors Award. His research, encompassing areas such as the Industrial Internet of Things, Natural Language Processing, and Artificial Intelligence applications in Metals Industry, has been presented and published internationally.
His multilingual proficiency in German, French, English, and Ewe complements his global perspective and is a testament to his ability to engage with diverse groups effectively.
"I am excited to play a pivotal role in driving innovation, leveraging my extensive industry experience and academic acumen to foster sustainable economic development and community empowerment", says Dr.-Ing Adjogble
"Dr.-Ing Adjogble's appointment marks a significant step towards realizing the vision of a global African Renaissance and the transformative power of technology, integrated talents and resources in pursuit of the self-transcendent goal of shaping a prosperous Africa", says Boateng.
African Diaspora Nation is a Cambridge, MA based culturally responsible Pan-Human sustainable development organization that has a priority focus on catalyzing human development in Africa and its diaspora, and as such sees Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), globally minded universities, professional/technical associations, governments, the United Nations, the African Union and technology companies as priority partners of choice in delivering upon its mandate. ADN's X-Africa STEAM and Leadership Advancement Initiative (SLAI) marks its strategic pivot into STEAM Innovation in acknowledgement of the once in a 200+ year opportunities to leapfrog Global African development.