Ms Phyllis M. Christian is the founder of ShawbellConsulting and its affiliate entities. She is a seasoned Lawyer and Business Advisory Consultant with 36 years’ local and international expertise in the provision of legal and other professional services in Ghana and other countries. She has extensive experience serving international investors in Ghana and has also provided professional services to nearly all Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies in Ghana. She is thoroughly familiar with the Oil & Gas, Financial Services, Mining and Minerals, Judicial, Health, Roads, Railways, and Ports Transportation Infrastructure, and Local Government sectors in Ghana, among others.

As Managing Partner and CEO, Phyllis directs the firm and its services that have ranged legal advisory and support services, strengthening of legislative and regulatory frameworks, due diligence assessments, and government reforms.

Phyllis has served on the Boards of Directors of industrial, consultancy, non-governmental and financial services institutions and has been an advisor to the Ghana Infrastructure Investments Fund. Having qualified as a lawyer in 1981, she is a Senior Member of the Ghana Bar and a Solicitor of the Superior Courts of Judicature of Ghana and Notary Public. Additionally, she holds post-graduate qualifications in International Law & Business from the City University of London and has obtained other continuing educational credentials.

Richard’s local and international expertise in finance and investments strongly complements the work of the firm. 

As an Investments and Investment Banking specialist his deep international experience in the Capital Markets supports his present role as the firm’s key technical financial and development analyst. In his present role, he has conducted strategic services in the petroleum and gas value chains in Ghana and has complemented this with analyses of investment policies in these key sectors of the Ghanaian economy.

He has evaluated the economic impact of such policies on sector performance and national development and has provided governance and strategic advisory solutions to government.

His work in policy formulation and capacity building of public agencies, also affords him a plethora of experiences and analytical tools to render him an invaluable asset to his role as the Director of the firm’s Institute of Consulting.

Richard holds an MBA in Finance from the MIT Sloan School of Management, an MSc in Engineering from the Amherst University, a double Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Engineering from Swarthmore College, plus investment analysis and investment banking experience on Wall Street.

Jane is an Associate with the firm’s law practice providing corporate services to the investors in the petroleum upstream and downstream sectors since she joined in 2007.  Services include due diligence, legal research and compliance advisory services, company secretarial services, license applications and renewals, statutory registrations, and other corporate services. She is also our key liaison with the Ministry of Energy, Petroleum Commission, Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, National Petroleum Authority, and other agencies of government.

Jane also supports the firm’s provision of legislative reform services and was part of the team that undertook a comprehensive review of financial laws and regulations in the context of Ghana’s Public Financial Management reforms, review of eight Health Sector laws, strengthening of the Petroleum Commission and the Ghana Free Zones Board, and several Judicial Sector reform projects, among many other projects.

Jane graduated with a Barrister at Law certificate to practice law, from the Ghana School of Law (2004), an LLB degree from the University of Ghana Law School (2002) and a Bachelor of Arts degree (1999) from the University of Cape Coast in Ghana.