John Sisay

John Bonoh Sisay (born July 3, 1969 [1]) is a Sierra Leonean Businessman and public figure committed to improving the economic and social outcomes of Sierra Leone. Mr Sisay is the former Chief Executive Officer of Sierra Rutile [2][3][4], a large privately owned rutile mining company in Sierra Leone[5]. He regularly speaks worldwide on the role of the private sector in Sub-Saharan Africa with a particular focus on Sierra Leone.

Mr Sisay is passionate about improving the lives of all Sierra Leoneans. He has spearheaded a peoples movement within Sierra Leone; the 'Join 4 Betteh Salone" movement is aimed at fostering community engagement through civic participation. The movement has over 40,000 members across the country and regularly hosts "Betteh Tok" community conversation sessions. These sessions are the first of their kind in Sierra Leone, and encourage all community members regardless of age or gender to participate in conversations about how to improve Sierra Leone. The Join 4 Betteh Salone movement has also introduced scholarships for education and launched micro-credit schemes to economically empower women in Sierra Leone.

With John at the helm, Sierra Rutile was consistently one of the largest employers in the country and was dedicated to the social and economic wellbeing of thousands of Sierra Leoneans. The company employed 2500 people, of which over 95% were Sierra Leonean. During the Ebola crisis, Mr. Sisay played a leading role in combating the epidemic. The protocols SRL implemented alongside the community led to zero cases of Ebola in the Sierra Rutile mining area. Over US$1.5m was invested annually in the local community. Through a wholly owned subsidiary- African Lion agriculture partnership between Sierra Rutile and Carmanor- Mr. Sisay spearhead the development of palm oil, rubber, and cacao plantations employing low skilled national workers. In 2016, Mr. Sisay managed the successful merger of Sierra Rutile Limited with Iluka resources worth GBP£125 million.

Sisay is an independent advisor to the Sierra Leone Government on Mining Affairs; and he is also the President of the Sierra Leone Chamber of Mines [6], an organization that is made up several mining companies in Sierra Leone.

A mining engineer by profession and practice, Sisay worked at Sierra Rutile Limited since 2001. Before becoming CEO of Sierra Rutile on February 3, 2009, Sisay headed various departments at Sierra Rutile Limited, including Vice President of Corporate Affairs.

Sisay holds a Bachelor's degree in Mining from the Goldsmiths, University of London and Masters' degree in Business from the European Business School. Sisay started his career as a Trainee Graduate and Employee at the Central Selling Organization of De Beers Consolidated Mines, where he worked mainly in the diamond field department.

Sisay has also worked for the America Minerals Fields (subsequently Adastra Minerals), and was assigned to various departments, primarily in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Sisay has also been an executive director of several other mining companies including, Director of Taia Lion Resources Inc, Executive Director of Titanium Resources Group Ltd, since March 2008, and Director of Diamond Fields International Ltd from October 2, 2007 to February 2009.

Sisay is a Christian of the Pentecostal Church and a ethnic Biriwa Limba from Kamabai in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. Sisay is a biological brother of the notable musician Sampha. Sisay is a paternal first cousin of Sierra Leone's president Ernest Bai Koroma.[7].