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Christopher M Mvunga

Opportunity, variety and mobility are core themes of Christopher Mvunga's curriculum vitae. It makes inspirational reading for young people. With a career which has taken him from his native Zambia to South Africa and encompassed auditing, insolvency, consultancy, strategic and financial management in both public and private sector organisations.

Christopher started out with Deloitte & Touche as an auditor. Exposure to a diverse portfolio of industries helped prepare him for a wider role with a business consultancy firm where his projects included the preparation of business valuations of state owned enterprises under the Zambian government's privatisation programme.

A move to DevCorp brought a change in focus from the development of a national economy to the development within Southern Africa region and extensive travel throughout the region. As consultant, then director: corporate finance and finally managing consultant, Christopher was closely involved in helping business clients large and small prepare business plans, source finance and liaise with foreign investors.

All this prepared him well for his next career move - a freelance career in South Africa as an independent financial consultant which included a spell as acting financial director and business strategy consultant for Tepco Petroleum, now a subsidiary of Shell, where he formulated the company's five year business plan and the acquisition of new business.

In his present role as regional manager responsible for Standard Bank's retail banking business development in Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi, Christopher is drawing on, and reinforcing, his substantial understanding of business dynamics and challenges in Africa. His experience confirms the great potential for people with accountancy qualifications to use their financial knowledge and skills to pursue international business careers.