History
Koios Associates was founded by Charles Krakoff in 2005. Since then, the firm and its principals and consultants have carried out assignments in more than 50 countries in Africa, Asia/Pacific, the Caribbean, Europe, and the Middle East. Our public sector clients have included The World Bank, The Asian Development Bank, The African Development Bank, several UN agencies, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.K. Department for International Development, and numerous national and subnational governments and public agencies. Our private sector clients have included industrial, mining, agribusiness, and telecommunications corporations, commercial and investment banks, and top-tier consulting firms.
Koios Associates: what’s in a name?
In ancient Greek mythology, the Titans were the elder gods, born of Uranus (the sky) and Gaia (the earth). Their offspring were the Olympian gods (Zeus, Hera, Athena, Apollo, et. al.), who grew up to overthrow their parents and become the rulers of the universe. Much like the Olympians, each Titan was associated with a trait or natural phenomenon.
Koios, also known as Coeus, was the Titan god of intelligence, knowledge, learning, and questioning intellect. He married Phoebe, the Titan goddess of wisdom and the original goddess of the oracle at Delphi, which she subsequently gave to Apollo. Koios and Phoebe gave birth to Leto, the mother of Apollo and Artemis.
Koios would probably have been the god of consulting and research, if those professions had existed in ancient Greece.
Staff
managing Partner
Charles Krakoff
Charles Krakoff is an international financial, investment, and trade expert with over 30 years of experience in more than 60 countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the Caribbean. He has helped companies enter and expand in international markets and has helped national and regional governments attract direct investment, divest state-owned assets, and increase exports.
Before setting up Koios Associates, Charles worked as a senior trade and investment policy advisor to the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, Africa Bureau Chief at the International Trade Center in Geneva, as head of a pan-African advisory unit of Standard Bank of South Africa, and as a senior investment advisor to a Johannesburg-based private equity fund investing in telecommunications, media, and financial services throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Earlier in his career, he was a Senior Associate with Abt Associates, a leading development consultancy, and a senior officer with the Botswana Development Corporation.
Charles has advised governments on trade, investment, and industrial development policy and policy implementation, as well as on development of industrial parks and special economic zones. He has also provided direct technical assistance in the establishment, strategic refocusing, institutional restructuring, capacity development, and operations of investment and trade promotion and economic zones development agencies in more than 30 countries.
Charles has deep experience in agriculture and agribusiness value chains, evaluating competitiveness, improving the regulatory environment, preparing and implementing investment and export development strategies, conducting feasibility studies, structuring public-private partnerships, and developing essential supporting infrastructure.
Charles is fluent in written and spoken French and has a basic knowledge of Russian and Spanish.
Married with two grown children, Charles is an avid skier and cyclist.
Education
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, NEW YORK
MBA, Finance & International Business, 1982
REED COLLEGE, PORTLAND, OREGON
B.A., Anthropology, 1978
UNIVERSITÉ DE PARIS VII
Independent Studies in Ethnology, 1975-1976
Partners, Staff, and Associates
Koios Associates consistently works with a small number of trusted associates, most of whom are internationally recognized experts in their fields of expertise. We assemble teams of experts who possess the requisite sector, geographical, and technical skills and experience to meet each client’s unique needs.
Koios Associates also works in partnership with other firms, including IOS Partners (USA), Landell Mills (UK), GDSI (Ireland), ProAnd Associates (Australia), Linpico (France), RMDA (France), Aydon Consultants (UK), Africa Advisory (South Africa), Counterhouse Consultants (Nigeria)…