UGBS Professor of Marketing, Kobby Mensah Named Among Top 12 Global Leaders by the Place Brand Observer

UGBS Professor of Marketing, Kobby Mensah Named Among Top 12 Global Leaders by the Place Brand Observer

University of Ghana Business School (UGBS) Professor of Marketing, Kobby Mensah, has been named among the 2026 Twelve Leaders Shaping Place Branding by The Place Brand Observer(TPBO). This was unveiled on 28th April 2026 by the TPBO’s expert community to recognise and spotlight practitioners, policymakers, and researchers. Prof. Mensah is the only West African tourism development executive featured in this year’s cohort.

According to TPBO, “Prof. Kobby Mensah represents a convergence of academic insight and applied leadership in destination development. His move into leading GTDC signals a broader shift in Ghana’s approach, positioning tourism as part of an integrated system connecting investment, innovation and experience design.” Prof. Mensah joins the TPBO Who’s Who in Place Branding, a peer-recognised global network of over 500 professionals operating at the intersection of place, strategy, and leadership. He is a Chartered Marketer with the Chartered Institute of Marketing, and a leading voice on political marketing, digital engagement, and brand positioning in Africa. He is widely credited for pioneering digital tourism education in Ghana.

Beyond academia, he serves as Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Tourism Development Company integrating academic expertise with practical experience to drive national development. His leadership continues to champion innovation, sustainability, and collaborative stakeholder models within Ghana’s tourism ecosystem. Reacting to the recognition, Prof. Mensah stated:
“I am humbled to stand alongside colleagues who are redefining how nations and cities build credibility. For Ghana, this is a call to action. This recognition belongs to the team at GTDC, to UGBS, and to every young Ghanaian innovator proving that place branding is not about slogans—it is about systems.”
Prof. Mensah was profiled alongside notable global leaders from the Gambia, Estonia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Chile, Thailand, Sierra Leone, and the United States. All twelve honourees were independently nominated by TPBO’s expert community and will be featured in the Place Brand Leaders Yearbook 2026, scheduled for release. UGBS warmly congratulates Prof. Kobby Mensah on this global recognition and commends his continued contribution to advancing place branding, tourism development and marketing scholarship.