Manny Ohonme

To walk in Manny Ohonme’s shoes requires first imagining life without shoes. Like the 600 million people around the world today who don’t own shoes, Manny grew up in Nigeria without many of the basic necessities that create the opportunity to escape poverty and hardship.

A new world of possibility opened for him when a chance encounter with a missionary gave him the opportunity to win his first pair of shoes in a basketball competition. From a childhood spent selling water on the streets of Lagos, Manny’s new shoes put him on an unlikely path to earning a university scholarship in the U.S. and building a prominent career in global business.

Manny has leveraged his success and unique perspective to drive social impact on a visionary scale. In 2003, he founded Samaritan’s Feet with his wife, Tracie, as a way of providing kids in need with the same catalyst to opportunity that he received. Together, they have distributed more than 10 million pairs of shoes in 111 countries and over 560 U.S. cities. Samaritan’s Feet and Manny have worked with organizations such as Walmart, Turner, General Motors, Skechers, Sanford Health, Truist, NCAA, NFL, and the NBA, along with world leaders, presidents, mayors, and global partners to help develop strategies to eliminate public health risks associated with not wearing shoes.

Samaritan’s Feet has provided the proof-of-concept for World Shoe, Inc., which represents the strongest expression of Manny’s ambitions to merge product function and health services that create unlimited potential for millions of people. With the launch of the first factory in Africa producing antimicrobial, biodegradable shoes and the creation of a world-class management team, World Shoe has the potential to serve as an ambassador for African brands that create large-scale market opportunity and social impact.

As the author of Sole Purpose, and recipient of the 2021 Pontifical Hero Award for Inspiration from the Vatican and the Cura Foundation, Manny is a regular speaker to leaders and communities around the world. He currently serves as the Chair of the International Board of Directors for Sanford Health and the North Carolina USGLC Advisory Board.

Kojo Benjamin Taylor

Kojo Benjamin Taylor, a native of Ghana, has been a market disrupter and driver of sustainable growth in Africa and the United States for nearly three decades. Throughout his career he has been at the helm of several financially successful businesses in the health and technology sectors.

From founding a tech company – The Pelican Group - that grew to $70 million in less than 10 years to advocating for healthcare access in the rural areas of Ghana, Kojo thrives at being at the intersection of business and philanthropy. Beyond his direct work, Kojo’s passion for service can be seen by the multiple boards that he has served, including the Urban Initiative Board, Educate Tanzania, Sanford Health World Clinics.

Over the years, Kojo has been recognized by prestigious institutions such as The Harvard Business School-OPM, where he was invited to give the commencement address, and the University of St Thomas, from which he was awarded an honorary doctorate.

As president and co-founder of World Shoe, based in Ghana, Kojo plays a central role in developing and implementing the long-term strategy of the organization and ensuring it is quickly recognized by governments and retail partners as an innovation powerhouse in Africa and on the global business stage.

Scott Woods

There is a shared trait among the most effective social impact enterprises: the best organizations marry passion for the mission with financial and organizational discipline. Without that rigor, the passion is wasted.

Scott Woods understands this more than most financial professionals. As the Chief Financial Officer of World Shoe, Inc., he brings more than 30 years of accounting and C-level experience helping influential companies unlock their potential and growth through optimizing their operational and financial processes, creating a culture of excellence and building a solid foundation for maximum profit.

In addition to his engagement as CFO, Scott is a Partner at Silverback Ventures, a mentor at Clemson University’s College of Business, and a frequent speaker to college students and business owners. He is an avid hiker and golfer who lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, is married to his high school sweetheart and is the proud father of two grown children.

Luther Coipel

When COVID-19 hit and the world stopped, millions of people came to appreciate the importance of a well-functioning, resilient global supply chain. The ambition of World Shoe to build demand for its revolutionary footwear, and then deliver on its promise, requires a logistics operation fit for a decades-old company.

Which is why World Shoe relies on Luther Coipel to ensure that the company’s supply chain is up to the task. As VP of Supply Chain and Logistics, Luther leads all companywide logistics functions including transportation, network design and infrastructure, as well as all freight and hub operations.

Luther understands that a company’s ability to meet product demand is an essential element to building trust in the brand among investors, partners and customers. For nearly three decades, he has led vital logistics projects for some of the biggest names in the business, including Home Depot Supply, CVS, Polaroid and John Bean Technologies.

Through the course of his career, Luther has been involved in every major aspect of supply chain design and management for global operations, including distribution center construction, network solutions and software selection, inventory management and global trade compliance. The result of his work is a track record of multimillion dollar cost savings and streamlined operations for his companies and partners along the value chain.

STeve Kays

Steve is a transformational leader with an impressive track record of over 30 years in multi-channel management, product creation, merchandising, and sales at Nike and Nordstrom. His extensive experience is marked by his exceptional ability to develop talent, set a visionary course, create effective strategies, and drive sustained, profitable growth.

Throughout his career, Steve has demonstrated himself as a highly successful merchant with full product responsibility spanning multiple geographic regions, including North America, Asia Pacific and Europe. His expertise in navigating diverse markets and cultures has enabled him to make a significant impact on global businesses.

Steve is renowned for his unwavering optimism and his ability to serve as an invaluable thought partner. He possesses a unique talent for connecting with others and motivating them to realize their full potential. His leadership style is characterized by thoughtfulness, always prioritizing the well-being and development of his team members.

As a dedicated father of two, Steve is driven by a profound commitment to ensuring his work positively impacts others. He joined World Shoe, in part, to provide a firsthand example to his children of the power of social impact and to encourage them to always put purpose at the heart of everything they do.

Charles Johnson

Most people look at design as an aesthetic element. Charles Johnson looks beyond the simple look of a product or brand. In effective design, he sees a powerful vehicle to tell a story, deliver functionality, and create an emotional connection. Charles believes that the best designs provide a product with the ultimate attribute: personality.

Charles brings a veteran’s perspective to World Shoe’s mission. Beginning with a design degree from Carnegie Mellon University, He has more than three decades of innovation experience from the most storied sports, fashion and gaming brands in the world, including Addidas, Converse, Puma and Crocs.

During this span, he has led global teams on strategy development and branding. In his last role at Puma SE in Germany, Charles led a team of researchers, designers, material engineers and a host of industry specialists to create new performance enhancing technologies and experiences for athletes and consumers.

World Shoe provides Charles with a unique opportunity to elevate footwear as a social good. This is the ultimate expression of his design ideals: creating a line of high-quality, eco-friendly shoes that can protect wearers while transforming their potential in life and connecting millions of people in the pursuit of a more equitable world. Through his work at World Shoe, Charles is bringing innovative shoe design into reach. In this way, footwear becomes one of the greatest ways to level the playing field for everyone.

Astor Chambers

Astor Chambers knows the power of shoes to unlock human potential. As one of the world’s leading experts on footwear branding and marketing, he has applied his lessons as a veteran influencer during the early days of Air Jordan to create an extraordinary legacy of shaping consumer habits and impacting lives.

From a humble upbringing that reinforced the importance of art, diversity and family bonds, Astor harnessed his passion for sports and entertainment to drive a 25-year career that has included leadership roles at Nike, Apple and Adidas. During this time, he worked with some of the world’s greatest influencers – Beyoncé, Michael Jordan, Pharrell Williams, Yara Shahidi, among others – on campaigns for several global brands, including IVY Park x Adidas, Jordan Brand, and Billionaire Boys Club. Along the way, he has been recognized for his industry and social impact with several awards and profiles, including the Ebony Power 100 and the Black Innovator Award by Impact Magazine.

Astor’s experience working with iconic brands and his commitment to helping marginalized communities has led to his next act at World Shoe: creating a revolutionary footwear brand intended to improve the health and economic potential for millions of people. As World Shoe’s VP of Marketing, he is responsible for defining and implementing the marketing strategy for the first African footwear brand made for global consumers, grounded in social purpose. A proud father of three daughters, Astor is dedicated to supporting the boundless possibilities of his family and showing how the positive impact of his work and energy can help change the world, for them and countless others.