Ahmed Kellow

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{{Infobox person

| name = Ahmed Kellow

| image =

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| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1944|09|12|mf=yes}}

| birth_place = Harar, Ethiopia

| death_date =

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| alma_mater = Addis Ababa University
{{small|(Bachelor of Commerce)}}
State University of New York at Albany
{{small|(Master of Business Administration)}}
University of Manchester
{{small|(Doctor of Philosophy in International finance)}}

| occupation = Corporate Executive

| years_active =

| nationality = Ethiopian/British

| citizenship =

| known_for = Management, Leadership

| title = Chief executive officer at Ethiopian Airlines Group

| spouse =

| party = None formerly Harari National League

}}

Ahmed Kellow is an Ethiopian businessman and academic. He served as CEO of Ethiopian Airlines and later Chairman of Coca-Cola Ethiopia.{{cite book |last1=DAHLBURG |first1=JOHN-THOR |title=90 Die as Hijacked Airliner Crashes Into Indian Ocean |date=24 November 1996 |publisher=LA TIMES |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-11-24-mn-2609-story.html}}{{cite book |title=Ethiopia: New Coca-Cola Bottling Company formed to develop Business in Ethiopia |publisher=Addis Tribune |url=https://allafrica.com/stories/199905210023.html}}{{cite book |last1=Getachew |first1=Samuel |title=One year on, Ethiopian Airlines was set to recover from its worst tragedy—then coronavirus hit |date=11 March 2020 |publisher=Quartz |url=https://qz.com/africa/1816670/before-coronavirus-ethiopian-airlines-getting-past-boeing-737-crash}}{{cite book |title=News from Ethiopia Volumes 6-7 |date=1997 |publisher=Embassy of Ethiopia |page=3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VBgQAQAAMAAJ&dq=ahmed+kellow&pg=RA7-PA3}}

Early life

Ahmed Kellow was born into a Harari family on September 12, 1944. He began his professional journey in 1972, taking on various management positions in state-owned enterprises, including the Imperial Highway Authority, Central Press & Paper Converting Company, and the Glass & Bottle Company.{{cite book |last1=Verdier |first1=Isabelle |title=Ethiopia The Top 100 People |date=1997 |publisher=Indigo Publications |page=34 |isbn=978-2-905760-12-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dcMtAQAAIAAJ&q=ahmed+kellow}} During the Ethiopian Revolution, he emerged as a prominent leader in organizing the 1974 Ethiopian Muslim protests, which played a crucial role in advocating for the rights of Ethiopian Muslims to observe the Holy Month of Ramadan and to have Eid al-Adha recognized as an official public holiday in a country where Orthodox Christianity was constitutionally established as the state religion.{{cite book |title=The 1974 Ethiopian Muslim Rally |page=3 |date=2003 |publisher=Badr newsletter}}

After escaping the communist regime in 1980, he sought refuge in the United Kingdom, where he earned his PhD. In 1986, he held the position of lecturer in Accounting and Finance at Cardiff Business School, which is affiliated with Cardiff University.{{cite book |last1=Milliot |first1=Eric |title=Doing Business in Africa From Economic Growth to Societal Development |date=December 2020 |publisher=Springer International Publishing |page=xvii |isbn=978-3-030-50739-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HlQMEAAAQBAJ&dq=ahmed+kellow&pg=PR17}}{{cite book |title=Country Report |date=1993 |page=18 |publisher=The Unit |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q88bAQAAMAAJ&q=ahmed+kellow}}

Career

In 1994, following the collapse of the Communist Derg regime, Ahmed Kellow returned to Ethiopia from the United Kingdom and was appointed as the CEO of Ethiopian Airlines by the ruling EPRDF government.{{cite book |last1=Guttery |first1=Ben |title=Encyclopedia of African Airlines |date=January 1998 |publisher=Mcfarland |page=68 |isbn=978-0-7864-0495-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KBmGpaD36cMC&dq=ahmed+kellow&pg=PA68}}{{cite book |last1=Demessie |first1=Laeke |title=ETHIOPIA-TRANSPORT: Shake-up in the Skies |date=16 July 1997 |publisher=IPS |url=https://www.ipsnews.net/1997/07/ethiopia-transport-shake-up-in-the-skies/}} Ahmed's dual approach of reducing unnecessary expenses while boosting revenue had begun to yield positive results. In the financial year concluding in 1995, the airline achieved a net profit of 186 million Birr ($35 million), which is more than double the previous year's profit of 91 million Birr. During the same timeframe, the airline's annual revenue rose to 1.6 billion Birr, up from 1.26 billion Birr, and the passenger load factor improved to 58.5%, compared to 55.7% the year before.{{cite book |title=Ethiopian birthday |publisher=Flight Global |url=https://www.flightglobal.com/ethiopian-birthday/9650.article}}

Later, he held the positions of managing director and Chairman of Coca-Cola Ethiopia. In 2006, he took on the role of chairman at First Consult, a consulting firm established by his son, Nebil Kellow.{{cite book |title=Our Leadership |publisher=First Consult |url=https://firstconsultet.com/about_us}}

Ahmed Kellow was also an adherent of the now defunct Harari National League.{{cite book |title=Ethiopian register Volume 4 |date=1997 |publisher=Ethiopian register |page=12 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AGrxAAAAMAAJ&q=ahmed+kello+dr.+member+of+harari+national+league}}

Education

He earned his B Com in 1966 from Addis Ababa University. Ahmed would go onto receive his Master of Business Administration from the State University of New York at Albany (1969). In 1980 he obtained a PhD in International Finance from Manchester Business School of the University of Manchester.

Selected publications

2006: "Decomposition of Stock Returns", Journal of Business Finance & Accounting 481-494 p.
2020: "A Review of Corporate Social Responsibility Practices in Ethiopia" with Nebil Kellow, Doing Business in Africa: Springer 191-211 p.