The 2016-17 Nominating Committee for President of Rotary International has unanimously nominated Samuel Frobisher Owori, of the Rotary Club of Kampala, Uganda, to be the president of Rotary International in 2018-19. He will be declared the president-nominee on 1 October if no challenging candidates have been suggested.
Owori says he sees in Rotary "an incredible passion to make a difference." As president, he plans to "harness that enthusiasm and pride so that every project becomes the engine of peace and prosperity."
Owori's chief concerns as a Rotary leader are membership and extension. Since he served as district governor, the number of clubs in Uganda has swelled from nine to 89. He urges past, present, and future leaders to work together to engage more women, youth program participants, alumni, and community members to increase Rotary's membership in the coming years.
"There are many places which need Rotary and numerous potential members who have never been invited," he says. "The problem is Rotarians who got in and closed the doors."
Owori is chief executive officer of the Institute of Corporate Governance of Uganda. Before that, he was executive director of the African Development Bank, managing director of Uganda Commercial Bank Ltd., and director of Uganda Development Bank. He has studied law, employment relations, business management, corporate resources management, microfinance, and marketing at institutions in England, Japan, Switzerland, Tanzania, and the United States, including Harvard Business School.
Since becoming a member in 1978, Owori has served Rotary as regional Rotary Foundation coordinator, regional RI membership coordinator, RI Representative to the United Nations Environment Program and UN-Habitat, and RI director. He has been a member or chair of several committees, including the International PolioPlus Committee, the Drug Abuse Prevention Task Force, and the Audit Committee. Most recently, Owori served as trustee of The Rotary Foundation, chair of The Rotary Foundation's Finance Committee, and a member of the Investment Committee. Owori is a Benefactor of The Rotary Foundation, and he and his wife, Norah, are Major Donors and Paul Harris Fellows.
The Nominating Committee members are Sudarshan Agarwal, Rotary Club of Delhi, Delhi, India; Şafak Alpay, Rotary Club of Istanbul-Sisli, Turkey; Ronald L. Beaubien, Rotary Club of Coronado, California, USA; John B. Boag, Rotary E-Club of District 9650, New South Wales, Australia; Elio Cerini, Rotary Club of Milano Duomo, Italy; Luiz Coelho de Oliveira, Rotary Club of Limeira-Leste, São Paulo, Brazil; Frank N. Goldberg, Rotary Club of Omaha-Suburban, Nebraska, USA; Kenneth W. Grabeau, Rotary Club of Nashua West, New Hampshire, USA; Jackson S.L. Hsieh, Rotary Club of Taipei Sunrise, Taiwan; Mark Daniel Maloney (chair), Rotary Club of Decatur, Alabama, USA; Barry Matheson, Rotary Club of Jessheim, Norway; Kazuhiko Ozawa, Rotary Club of Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan; Ekkehart Pandel, Rotary Club of Bückeburg, Germany; Noraseth Pathmanand, Rotary Club of Bang Rak, Thailand; Robert S. Scott, Rotary Club of Cobourg, Ontario, Canada; John C. Smarge, Rotary Club of Naples, Florida, USA; Michael F. Webb, Rotary Club of Mendip, Somerset, England.
