This week on the podcast returning guest, Baze Mpinja takes us nearly five years to the date on a flashback forward journey to her new now as a podcaster and Phoenician. Her new podcast, Reflections with Baze Mpinja comes at a time when she’s now calling one of her childhood hometowns home again and she’s finding a new sense of home in the work of translating and transcribing a career in beauty onto a new platform.
true to form, she describes adaptability as her superpower. She’s navigated startup-style multicultural magazines, national media powerhouses, and the creative side of theatrical advertising. Along the way, she’s honed the ability to dive into unfamiliar topics, collaborate cross-functionally, deliver clean, accurate work on tight deadlines, and tailor her writing to resonate with diverse audiences.

As a project-based writer and strategist, brands trust her to shape their voice, develop storytelling strategies, create compelling branded content, and craft executive communications. Her latest project, Reflections with Baze Mpinja is a sharp, witty podcast that holds up a mirror to beauty and society—exploring what’s beautiful, complex, and everything in between. The show goes beyond trends and product talk to unpack how beauty shows up in pop culture, sports, media, and everyday life. Listen and learn about how we’re both navigating the wide world of podcasting and more!

Where to find Baze and Reflections?
bazempinja.com
On Apple Podcasts
On Glocal Citizens

What’s Baze reading, watching and listening to?
Loneliness & Company by Charlee Dyroff
The Diplomat on Netflix
The Pitt on HBOMax
The Agency: Central Intelligence on Showtime
In the Dark, a New Yorker podcast

Other topics of interest:
The Phoenician Resort
About Paradise Valley
About Tempe
Who is Curtis Flowers?
Revisit our conversation on AI in healthcare with David Hutchful

Special Guest: Baze Mpinja.

This week we have a Glocal Citizens first so keep reading!
I first met my guest, Robert “Bob” Bush, Jr., more than 15 years ago in a cute bistro in the Meat Packing District in New York City. At the time, he had been living in the Middle East for a couple of years as Managing Director and Senior Advisor for the Corporate Office of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoumis, Prime Minister of the UAE. As you’ll hear in the conversation this was in many ways a culminating role, that started to take shape while backpacking around the world after university.

He continues to “live” in the Middle East, but in true Glocal Citizens style, his work and life have taken him through Europe, back to the US, Africa and the far East. Bob is now President and CEO of Cajary Majlis, the exclusive distributor of Mutombo Coffee, co-founded by NBA Hall of Famer and Global Humanitarian Dikembe Mutombo. Cajary Majlis, an international trader of commodities and a distributor of food and feed products from around the world, uses its networks, talents, and resources to solve challenging problems related to building commodity businesses in emerging markets.

Throughout his 30+ year professional career, he’s established himself as a seasoned senior investment executive with experience across industries (advanced manufacturing, financial services, energy, ICT, e-health, life sciences, security, and retail), geographies (USA, Europe, China, Middle East and Africa), as well as asset classes (venture capital, private equity, Islamic finance). He also advises the European Commission on Public Private Partnerships and is an SME advisor for the EC’s Horizon 2020 Initiative. In the spring of 2020, he became an advisor to Ahmed bin Sulayem, the executive chairman of the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre in the UAE. He speaks frequently to governments, universities, and corporates and is a contributing writer to Forbes Middle East online edition.

So now the treat! For all of you coffee lovers and lovers of coffee lovers, Mutombo Coffee is offering an exclusive perk for GC listeners. Use GLOCAL10 discount code at checkout and receive a 10 percent discout on your order. Buy now here!
As an added perk, from now until June 15, 2024, Mutombo Coffee will donate 10 percent of sales for those using the Glocal10 code to the Glocal Citizens platform. This is great timing as our community is growing and we love any and all the support that helps to inspire action.

Where to find Bob?
MutomboCoffee.com
On LinkedIn

What’s Bob reading?
Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas R. Hofstadter

Other topics of interest:
East St. Louis' Challening Past
Gateway Arch
See Dubai’s Transformation
About [Dikembe Mutombo](linkhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dikembe_Mutombo) and understanding his health challenge
Dikembe Mutombo’s - We Are Family Foundation
Coffee Science
About Mohka Port in Yemen
Africa and Coffee
Regenerative Agriculture 101

Special Guest: Robert Bush, Jr..