Kase L. Lawal

Kase L. Lawal is the chairman and chief executive officer of CAMAC International Corporation and chairman of Allied Energy Corporation. He also serves as a member of the board of directors and is a significant shareholder in Unity National Bank, the only federally insured and licensed African-American-owned bank in Texas.

As chairman and chief executive officer of CAMAC International Corporation, Dr. Lawal leads a diverse group of affiliate companies that comprise the second largest African-American owned company in the United States with more than 1,500 employees worldwide and approximately $1.4 billion in revenue for 2006. CAMAC's principal business activities include energy exploration and production, crude oil/natural gas/electricity trading, and transportation services.

Nigerian-born Lawal has guided this oil exploration, refining and trading company to international prominence. His expertise in the field of international energy has led to appointments by both the Clinton and Bush Administrations to the United States Trade Advisory Committee on Africa, where he was responsible for crafting African trade policy.

In addition, Dr. Lawal also serves as a commissioner on the Port of Houston Authority, the largest foreign tonnage port in the United States, and as vice chairman of the Houston Airport Development System Corporation, the sixth largest international airport system in the world. In 1994, he was a finalist for the United States Business Entrepreneur of the Year and also served on the President of the United States Business Advisory Council. He is a graduate of Texas Southern University with a bachelor's degree in chemistry and a master's degree in business administration, finance and marketing from Prairie View A&M University of Texas. He was most recently awarded an honorary doctorate in philosophy from Fort Valley State University.

Camac is a family business, 80 percent owned by Lawal, his wife and three children. The remaining 20 percent is divided among his brothers and sisters.