World Bank Group has appointed HSBC Global Asset Management general counsel (GC) Sandie Okoro as its senior vice president and GC.
Okoro served has served as Global GC of HSBC Global Asset Management for almost three years, having previously been Global GC of Baring Asset Management for six years. Prior to this she was head of legal for corporate at asset management firm Schroders, having joined the in 1991.
The World Bank Group provides financial assistance to developing countries with the aim of ending extreme poverty by 2030. Headquartered in Washington DC, the bank employs more than 10,000 people in 120 offices around the world.
As well as her work as GC, Okoro is a member of the management board of the Panel of Recognized International Market Experts in Finance in the Hague, which assists in the settlement of international financial disputes.
World Bank Group president Jim Yong Kim said: ‘Sandie Okoro is a highly regarded thought leader with a strong track record of developing new legal approaches in the field of international finance’
Okoro will replace the bank’s current GC Anne-Marie Leroy. Okoro will be the principle adviser to the fimr on legal matters and join the bank’s board as well as chief executive of the bank’s global environment facility programme.
Speaking to GC Magazine earlier this year, Okoro said: ‘Diversity and inclusion make great business sense. You need diversity through your organisation and through your leadership team. Lawyers have a skillset of seeing what’s not there. Lawyers can be invaluable in getting diversity metrics that are viable and meaningful.’
In August, the African Development Bank appointed Hélène N’Garnim-Ganga as GC, promoting her from her position as the representative of the bank in Mali.
matthew.field@legalease.co.uk