About
Administration
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Dr. Bekele Shanko
FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF REFERENCE, PROFESSOR
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Dr. Michael Whyte, Ph.D.
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, PROFESSOR
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Prof. Rev. Mike Wicker, Ph.D.
CHIEF ACADEMIC OFFICER, PROFESSOR
History of GATL
November 2003:
Selected national leaders of a non-profit global organization from the region of Southern and Eastern Africa met in Harare, Zimbabwe and identified the lack of quality and quantity of leaders as one of the most important challenges of the organization.
June 2007:
The same group of national leaders who met in Harare four years earlier convened again in Pretoria, South Africa, to evaluate the progress made in solving challenges identified in 2003. The group confirmed that the lack of quality and quantity leaders was still the most important challenge in the organization.
October 2007:
Dr. Bekele Shanko developed and presented a proposal to launch the Emerging Leaders Initiative (ELI) for Africa to the national leaders in a meeting held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and the proposal was approved.
March 2008-September 2009:
The first four cycles of ELI Africa were conducted. The comprehensive program was launched in Pretoria, South Africa with 26 emerging leaders selected from nine African countries. Locations of the next three cycles included Rwanda and Ethiopia.
May 2010:
The graduation ceremony for the first cohort of 26 emerging leaders was held in Johannesburg, South Africa. Note: The ELI Africa program was not yet accredited although the program experienced a 100% retention/graduation rate.
September 2010:
The second cohort of ELI Africa was started in Pretoria, South Africa with 31 emerging leaders selected from eleven countries in Africa. This time, students from Nigeria and Ghana joined, making ELI an Africa-wide initiative.
December 2012:
The graduation ceremony of the unaccredited 2nd cohort of 29 emerging leaders was held in Lagos, Nigeria. The program experienced a 94% retention/graduation rate.
September 2013:
The third cohort of ELI Africa was started in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with 20 emerging leaders from eight different countries. Locations of the next three cycles were Zimbabwe and Ghana.
September 2015:
The name of ELI Africa officially changed to GATL (Global Academy for Transformational Leadership). This change was made to position GATL to reach the global community.
October 2016:
GATL received probationary accreditation by ICHE (International Council for Higher Education) to provide MA in Transformational Leadership.
January 2018:
GATL received full accreditation by ICHE.
September 2021:
The global board of directors has made a decision to have Addis Ababa, Ethiopia as a global basis for operations for GATL.
November 2022:
GATL has students or Alumni in over 40 countries in all the continents except Antarctica and is in the process of submitting a proposal to ICHE to start a doctoral program on Holistic Leadership Studies.