Sanda OJIAMBO

Bio

Sanda Ojiambo is an ardent advocate for the role of responsible and sustainable business in delivering on purpose, principles, and profit.  She is currently the Executive Director and CEO of the United Nations Global Compact and is an Assistant Secretary-General.

Born and bred in Kenya, Sanda has over twenty years of experience across Africa and globally, focused on sustainable development and sustainable business

She graduated with a Master’s degree in Public Affairs and Development Economics and had a firm conviction to be part of transformation in the world of sustainable development.

Sanda spent the first 11 years of her career working in the NGO sector and the United Nations, starting off in CARE International in Somalia and moving to UNDP Somalia, leading programmes in diverse areas such as Education, Safe Motherhood, Environmental Conservation, Governance and Capacity Building.

Some highlights from her time in Somalia include being part of the team that delivered Somalia’s first United Nations Human Development Report which was used extensively to guide development funding to Somalia; and starting up some of the first ever reproductive health programmes in underserved areas of the country.

After five years in Somalia, Sanda moved on to the IPPF Africa Regional Office, working on pan African programming that focused on women’s health and rights. She provided technical advisory for service delivery, accreditation standards; financial management, governance, and advocacy, and enjoyed the challenges of working in and through 40 countries across Africa over a further five years, rising to the role of Director of Programmes for Africa.

In 2008, Sanda joined Safaricom Plc, a Kenyan mobile telecommunications company with a clear desire to drive corporate contribution to the development and sustainable business agenda through technology, innovation, and partnerships. She provided technical guidance and leadership to teams that pioneered integration of the Sustainable Development Goals into Safaricom’s business strategy and the delivery of the first ever True Value reports for an African corporate; both of which are of immense interest to a broad ecosystem of stakeholders.  Sanda also led the corporate philanthropy work of the business.

In her current role as Executive Director and CEO of the UN Global Compact, Sanda leads the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative, building the strategic partnerships needed to drive impact and advocacy at local and global levels for the private sector.  She advises the UN Secretary-General and the Deputy Secretary-General on the contributions of the private sector to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, on the engagement of the UN with business and on key organizational partnerships with the private sector.

She has served on a number of boards, including a Kenyan state corporation focused on attracting domestic and foreign investment to the country;  and several other organisations working in impact investing, technology and gender equity.