President of Seacom and former vice president of development for Global Alumina Corporation in Guinea.
Born in the United States, Brian Herlihy's career began in the United Kingdom in 1994 in the health waste sector. He joined the Bank of America as a marketing analyst in 1997, and from 1999 to 2003 he worked on the Africa ONE project where he gained valuable African experience.
In 2003, Herlihy was appointed vice president of development at Global Alumina Corp., a large alumina refinery project in Guinea before leaving to initiate Seacom. As president, he is responsible for overseeing the full funding and implementation of the US $600 million fibre optic undersea cable project.
Over the years Herlihy has gained extensive experience in mega-infrastructure projects in Africa spanning a number of disciplines including power generation, chemical processing plants, ports and telecommunications. He has experience in project development, financing and governmental liaison supported by a strong understanding of African economics.
Herlihy holds a MSc (Development Studies African Economics) and BA (Economics and Philosophy) from the London School of Economics and Boston College respectively.