United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced the appointment the appointment of Sanda Ojiambo, a leader in sustainable development innovation in Africa (Kenya), as new Executive Director of the United Nations Global Compact.
Sanda Ojiambo will replace Liz Kingo, who has chaired the UN Global Compact since 2015, and will take up her duties on June 17, 2020, following the UN Global Compact Leaders Summit, dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the initiative. Over the past 20 years, Ms. Ojiambo has worked in partnership with the UNGC and is now ready to share her experience as an executive director of the initiative to continue mobilizing a global movement of sustainable companies and stakeholders and bring the full weight of the private sector to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Ms. Ojiambo holds a Master of Arts in Public Policy from the University of Minnesota, USA, and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and International Development from McGill University, Canada. The first 11 years of her career, Ms. Ojambo devoted to the non-profit sector and cooperation with the UN, starting with CARE International in Somalia and then UNDP Somalia, responsible for programs on education, safe motherhood, environmental protection, and landmine management. In 2008, Ms. Ojambo joined Safaricom Plc, a Kenyan mobile communications company, where she led several public-private partnership initiatives between Safaricom and the UN System organizations. Since 2010, she has served as Head of Sustainable Business and Social Impact, Safaricom Plc, Kenya. Ms. Ojambo inspired her company to make a corporate contribution to sustainable development through technology, innovation and partnerships. She provided technical guidance to teams that were among the first in the region to incorporate the SDGs into business strategies and reporting.