By: Benjamin Nii Nai Anyetei
Ghanaian communications expert Esther Ambah Numaba Cobbah has been elected President of the International Public Relations Association (IPRA), becoming the first African to lead the 70-year-old global body.
The announcement was made by the Institute of Public Relations (IPR), Ghana, which described her election as a landmark achievement for the continent and a testament to her extraordinary leadership in communications.
Headquartered in London, IPRA is widely recognised as the world’s leading network for public relations professionals.
Ms. Cobbah is the Founder and Chief Executive of Strategic Communications Africa Ltd (Stratcomm Africa), an award-winning agency she has led for more than three decades. Over the course of her career, she has received several distinguished honours including the CIMG Marketing Woman of the Year in 2012, PR Personality of the Year by IPR Ghana in 2013, and the Outstanding Woman of the Year award at the GOWA Awards in 2022. In 2015, PRNews USA named her among the top 50 women in PR, while in 2016 Stratcomm Africa received the IPRA United Nations Award for PR and Sustainable Development.
She has played an active role within IPRA itself, serving as a judge for the Golden World Awards, the association’s flagship recognition for excellence in public relations, and for the past four years she has been the only African on its Governing Board.
Reacting to the news, Peter Martey Agbeko, Chair of the IPR, Ghana International Relations Committee, said her rise to the top of the global body was “both historic and inspirational,” adding that her leadership would serve as a beacon for Africa and for professional communicators across the world.
Educated at Wesley Girls’ High School, the University of Ghana, and Cornell University in the United States, Ms. Cobbah has long been recognised for her commitment to ethical communication and professional excellence. Through Stratcomm Africa, which she established more than 31 years ago, she has built one of the most influential communications agencies on the continent.
Her presidency is expected to herald a new era of inclusion, global collaboration, and innovation in public relations practice worldwide.
