Born Jonathan Christopher Koney, he is a silent achiever! Chris Koney, as he is widely known, is a self-motivated person and a young African with the dream of changing the world around him. A thought leader in Marketing Communications, Brand, Talent and Stakeholder Relationship Management, Chris strongly believes in adopting strategic communication and tailor-made marketing solutions to achieve organizational effectiveness.
Chris has transitioned from a journalist to a Marketing Communications professional and has rebranded his image to reflect the output of his products. From serving as Media Officer for talent hunt shows to spearheading communications for state funded initiatives, Chris has made tremendous impact in the last 10 years within Africa’s corporate communications space; working with two multinational companies within that space.
He previously worked with the Customer Experience team at Vodafone Ghana and served as Senior Media Officer at Charterhouse Productions before joining pan-African cable television company, MultiChoice Ghana (DStv and GOtv) as the Public Relations and Publicity Executive. Chris moved to Groupe Nduom, a privately held business group with operations in Africa, Europe and America before being appointed as the Head of Communications for the Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS) Africa. He later joined Ghana’s leading media conglomerate, Media General as Group Head of Corporate Affairs. He is currently responsible for International Cooperation as Ghana Exim Bank and also serves as Assistant Manager, Corporate Affairs.
Very passionate about writing, Chris has for the last ten years been a columnist in the weekend edition of the Business and Financial Times newspaper and also contributes articles to various magazines and lifestyle portals around the world on creative arts and socio-cultural issues. He holds a Master of Arts degree (Public Relations) from the Ghana Institute of Journalism and a Bachelor of Arts degree (Philosophy & History) from the University of Ghana.
In 2020, Chris was announced as panellist for the Global Discussion on Emancipation Day organised by the Commonwealth Society of Canada. Prior to that, the City of Toronto extolled Chris in 2019 for excellence achieved in his fields of endeavour, leadership and devotion to others, which are contributions that serve to strengthen the community. Chris was selected by the Netherlands and U.S. Governments for the 2019 Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) in The Hague, during which he participated in a one week Press Visitors Programme for selected media and communications professionals around the world. He participated in a Turkish Airlines Press Trip to Istanbul in 2018 and monitored the 2018 Turkish General Election as a Foreign Observer. In 2017, he was announced as Ghana’s representative for the Environmental Protection & Sustainable Development (Tourism) Programme in Berlin organized by GIZ Berlin and the German Federal Foreign
Creative Arts
Chris’s desire and passion for the arts can be traced to his undergraduate days at the University of Ghana where he was a regular panellist on a weekly entertainment magazine show on radio. He took up a part-time job as a reporter with the entertainment newspaper, Jive. He went on to become the Acting Editor before joining Ghana’s biggest event production company, Charterhouse Production. At Charterhouse Productions, Chris worked on the annual Ghana Music Awards, Stars of The Future and Miss Malaika Beauty Pageant. He later joined MultiChoice Ghana, where he managed various key projects by Viacom Networks (BET, MTV, MTV Base) and served as in-country coordinator for Channel O.
Creative art in general has moved from the era when it used to be for leisure, fun and enjoyment to become a multi-billion-dollar industry. Aware of the spending power of the entertainment industry around the world, Chris has moved with the times; improving his understanding of the market trends and associated professionalism in the sector. He is incorporating latest global solutions into the local arts, giving them a cutting edge reflective and acceptable around the world, though locally produced.
Passionate, skilled and hungry for personal and corporate growth, he believes an economically viable show business industry across Africa is possible. Very knowledgeable but down to earth, Chris has a deeper understanding of the entertainment industry from working with several talents, the latest being one of Africa’s biggest music stars, Shatta Wale who featured on “The Lion King” album by American musician, Beyoncé.