Many Nigerian women have been making their mark in several global organizations, and Sandie Okoro is not to be left out. Okoro made history in February 2017 when she was appointed as the Senior Vice-President and General Counsel for the World Bank Group.
Sandie Okoro is passionate about gender equality, diversity & inclusion.
Here are eleven interesting facts about the British-Nigerian trailblazer:
1. Sandie Okoro was born in Fulham, London, in 1964.
2. Her father is a teacher from Nigeria, and her mother is a nurse from Trinidad.
3. She studied law and politics at the University of Birmingham, after which she studied at the Inns of Court School of Law, now part of the City University of London, qualifying as a barrister in 1988.
4. She has worked in global corporations like Baring, serving as the General Counsel, and also as the head of Global General Counsel at HSBC Global Asset Management.
5. Okoro was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Law by City University London in 2014 in recognition of her career in business and law and her voluntary work.
6. She was named in the Powerlist 2015 as the fourth most influential Black person in Britain.
7. Okoro was named in the Autumn 2015 edition of Brummell Magazine as one of the top Inspirational Women in the City who are Champions of Diversity.
8. In July 2016, she was named one of the 100 Women to Watch by the Female FTSE Board 2016.
9. Okoro was made an honorary bencher of Middle Temple in the United Kingdom in 2017.
10. In July 2024, she was appointed Chancellor of the University of Birmingham, becoming the first female in the university’s history to be appointed for the role.
11. Okoro is a 2024 officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).
12. She has two children, a son and a daughter.
