Bright Simons makes Fortune's 50 Great Leaders; Merkel, John Legend named

President of mPedigree Ghana's innovation giants has been named in the 2016 edition of the Fortune Magazine 50 great leaders.

Bright Simons was named together with other seasoned global icons including, American singer, song writer John Legend, Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, Canada's young Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, 44 who is hailed for rallying the public behind ambitious plans for climate change—he wants to reduce methane emissions, which trap heat at a far greater rate than CO2—and a pledge to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees. He is also moving to legalize marijuana.

Others are, Tshering Tobgay, 50 also a Prime Minister of Bhutan, Ramon Mendez, 55, Head of Climate Change policy in Uruguay, Mina Guli, 45, CEO of Thirst, Michael Froman, 43, who is the U.S. Trade Representative, Executive Office of the President.

Top of the pack is Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos, with Apple Chief Tim Cook and Pope Francis all making the list as well.

This is the third of such list released by the multinational business magazine, published by Time Inc. and headquartered in New York City.

Noted for its solid Fortune 500 competition which ranks the best 500 companies across the globe, Fortune has over the past three years decided to profile the men, women behind some of these companies and those in academia, politics, entertainment who are still blazing the trail in many ways unimaginable.

A citation that came with the announcement of the 50 Great Leaders said: "In business, government, philanthropy and the arts, and all over the globe, these men and women are transforming the world and inspiring others to do the same."

One of such men is Bright Simons. Through his mPedigree innovation, Simons has saved many lives, and transformed many economies especially in developing countries.

47 on the list, Simons, 34, has won many awards for the stellar role his innovation is playing in fighting the canker of piracy in Africa and across the globe.

"Counterfeit drugs are rife in Africa—one estimate pegs the chances of purchasing one at 30%, and in 2013 more than 120,000 African children died because of poor-quality anti¬malarials," the publication by Fortune said, and applauded the Ghanaian entrepreneur for providing a "simple solution" through the authenticity of medications by sending mPedigree a text message with the special 12-digit code marked on their drug packet.

With the giant strides made in the pharmaceutical industry, mPedigree has spread its tentacles wider, seeking to fight counterfeiting in whatever industry.

A man who hardly talks about his achievements, Bright Simons told Myjoyonline.com the latest inclusion is a "pleasant surprise."