Our Team
Our core leadership team and deployment experts bring a wealth of experience and expertise to the African Collaborations Group (ACG).
Executive Chairman
Nicolas Pompigne-Mognard
Executive Chairman, African Collaborations Group (ACG)
Nicolas Pompigne-Mognard is a Franco-Gabonese entrepreneur and the founder and 100% owner of APO Group. He has been recognised among the 100 Most Influential Africans in 2023 and again in 2024, and has been featured in international media including CNN, Forbes, Forbes Africa, and CNBC Africa.
In 2022, Nicolas was appointed by then FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura to the FIFA Task Force for Infrastructure Development in Africa, established to advance FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s vision of enabling at least one FIFA-standard stadium in every African country.
Within this mandate, Nicolas led the formation of a multi-stakeholder consortium to develop a comprehensive, ecosystem-based approach to sports infrastructure.
The consortium brings together recognised leaders across key disciplines and is supported by leading advisory partners.
Nicolas holds advisory and governance roles across the wider sport, business, and Africa investment ecosystem. He serves as a Senior Advisory Board Member of the Canada-Africa Chamber of Business, Strategic Advisor to the Chief Executive Officer of the Royal African Society of the United Kingdom (RAS), and Strategic Advisor to the European Union–Africa Chamber of Commerce (EUACC). He is also a Member of the Africa Tech Festival/AfricaCom Leadership Council.
He sits on the Advisory Boards of the African Energy Chamber (AEC), the Critical Minerals Africa Group (CMAG), the World Football Summit (WFS), the Future Hospitality Summit (FHS) (formerly the Africa Hotel Investment Forum, AHIF), and the Africa Women Innovation & Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF).
He is a Council Member of the Africa No Filter Foundation, a Member of the Pan-African Ubuntu Circle of The ONE Campaign, and an International Committee Member of the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA). He also serves as Special Advisor to the President of Rugby Africa, the governing body of rugby in Africa.
Previously, Nicolas was an Advisory Board Member of the EurAfrican Forum (2019–2025), a Member of the Sports Africa Investment Summit (SAIS) Advisory Committee (2024–2025), and an Advisory Board Member of the Bloomberg New Economy Gateway Africa conference (2023). He also served as a semi-final judge of Africa’s Business Heroes (also known as the Jack Ma Prize for Africa) in 2020 and 2021.
More information at www.Pompigne-Mognard.com
Founding Chief Executive Officer
Paulo J. Cruz
Founding Chief Executive Officer, African Collaborations Group (ACG)
Paulo J. Cruz is the Founding Chief Executive Officer of African Collaborations Group (ACG), where he leads the development of a pan-African platform for structuring institutional-grade sport and entertainment district ecosystems.
Former Senior Vice President of DAMAC Group, with over 28 years of experience across real estate, infrastructure and large-scale development in Africa, the Middle East and Europe, he has originated projects ranging from USD 50 million to over USD 5 billion.
His expertise lies in transforming early-stage concepts into financially structured, investable developments.
He has held senior roles at DAMAC Group, BlackIvy Group, BP and Cushman & Wakefield, and served as Group CEO of LandAfrique.
At ACG, he leads the execution of the Victory District™ framework, driving investment and sustainable growth while advancing integrated district ecosystems across Africa.
Our Advisory Board
ACG is supported by an Advisory Board of senior, highly experienced leaders who bring independent perspective, credibility, and real-world execution insight to the development of Victory District™ and future projects.
The Advisory Board exists to strengthen decision-making at the earliest stages of project origination – helping ACG stress-test assumptions, accelerate stakeholder alignment, and ensure the concept evolves into a model that is technically credible, commercially viable, and institutionally deliverable.
Advisory Board members serve in a non-executive, strategic advisory capacity.
They do not manage day-to-day operations; instead, they provide guidance, introductions, and constructive challenge across the core dimensions that make or break complex infrastructure programmes, including governance, bankability, sport ecosystem fit, and long-term operational sustainability.
Fatma Samoura
Former Secretary General of FIFA
(2016-2023)
Paulo Gomes
Chairman of the Orango
Investment Corporation;
Former Executive Director
of The World Bank
Carlos Carrión
Former Head of the
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium
Renovation Project
Jan Alessie
Co-Founder & Managing
Director of the World
Football Summit (WFS)
NJ Ayuk
Executive Chairman of
the African Energy
Chamber (AEC)
Rick Taylor
Founder of The Business
Tourism Company
Herbert Mensah
President of Rugby Africa;
World Rugby Executive Board
Member; Chair of the World
Rugby Regions
Andrew Skipper MBE
Former Chair of the Hogan
Lovells Africa Practice
Grégoire Ndjaka
CEO of the African Union
of Broadcasting (AUB)
Lee Martin
Senior Advisor of Getty Images
Kenny Jean-Marie
Former Chief Member
Associations Officer of FIFA
(2021-2024)
James Williams
Former Senior Director
of Events of Informa Tech
(Africa Tech Festival)
Mike Dada
Founder of
All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA)
Diamil Faye
Acting General Manager
of the Riyadh 2034 –
Asian Games
Jonathan Worsley
Chairman and
CEO of The Bench
(Future Hospitality Summit)
Joâo Peseiro Monteiro
Broadcast and Media
Sports Events Consultant;
Former Head of Service
of Euronews
Jason Jennings
Former Chief Operating Officer
of Event Horizon (Afro Nation)
Gianni Merlo
President of the
International Sports Press
Association (AIPS)
Dr. Adesegun Adeosun Jr
(King SMADE)
Co-Founder of Afro Nation
Aida Diarra
Former Senior Vice President of
Sub-Saharan Africa of Visa (2018-2025)
Fleur Tchibota
Former Chief of Staff,
Office of the CEO of Africa50
(2022-2026)
Ahmed Abas
Head of Sports, Leisure and Entertainment MEA of JLL (Jones Lang LaSalle)
Aïcha Diop
Former Head of Brand Marketing & Advertising of NBA Africa and Basketball Africa League (BAL) (2020-2026)
Our Research and Impact Advisory Panel
To complement our Advisory Board, African Collaborations Group (ACG) is establishing a Research and Impact Advisory Panel: a focused group of independent researchers and practitioners who strengthen the evidence base behind Victory District™ and ensure ambition is translated into measurable, credible and bankable outcomes.
The Panel supports the feasibility phase by providing independent challenge, helping define a robust theory of change, and validating an impact framework that DFIs, investors and government counterparts can rely on for institution-grade decision-making.
Composition of our Research and Impact Advisory Panel
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