The Secretary-General of the United Nations has confirmed that Lagos Business School Alumna, Ms Bola Adesola, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Standard Chartered Nigeria, will serve as one of the two Vice-Chairs of the Board of the United Nations Global Compact, the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative. Mr Paul Polman of the Netherlands, Chief Executive Officer of Unilever, will serve as the other Vice-Chair.
According to a statement issued on the 20th of April, Ms. Adesola and Mr. Polman succeed out-going United Nations Global Compact Board Vice-Chair, Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, Former Chairman of Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies and of Anglo American plc.
Both Ms. Adesola and Mr. Polman have served on the Board of the United Nations Global Compact previously, and will bring to the position a wealth of experience in the private sector, in the corporate sustainability space and specifically with the United Nations Global Compact itself.
Ms. Adesola has served as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Ltd since 2011. She has over 25 years of banking experience, including at First Bank of Nigeria and at Citibank. Ms. Adesola is an alumna of both Lagos Business School and Harvard Business School, as well as having obtained a law degree from the University of Buckingham.
The statement concluded by saying “as Chair of the Board of the United Nations Global Compact, the Secretary-General looks forward to working closely with Ms. Adesola and Mr. Polman, along with United Nations Global Compact Executive Director, Lise Kingo, as they lead the United Nations Global Compact, the entry point for business within the broader United Nations system”.
