By Dipo Olowookere
Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr António Guterres, has appointed chief executive of Standard Chartered Bank of Nigeria, Ms Bola Adesola, as vice chairman of the United Nations Global Compact board.
Also appointed into the same position by the United Nations scribe was Chief Executive Officer of Unilever, Mr Paul Polman, a Dutch national.
A statement issued from the office of the spokesperson for the Secretary-General disclosed that Mr Guterres, as Chairman of the board, “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.
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.
In the statement, the scribe extended his great appreciation to Sir Mark for serving in the position for the past ten years and shepherding the United Nations Global Compact into a new era.
The statement said further that 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.
She holds degrees from Harvard Business School and Lagos Business School, as well as a law degree from the University of Buckingham.
On his part, Mr Polman has served as Chief Executive Officer of Unilever since 2009. Prior to joining Unilever, he worked at Nestlé S.A., and at Proctor and Gamble, where he spent 26 years.
He holds degrees from the University of Groningen and from the University of Cincinnati.
The United Nations Global Compact is the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative.
