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Sanda Ojiambo

Sanda Ojiambo

Assistant Secretary-General and CEO United Nations Global Compact

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Sanda Ojiambo of Kenya as Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations Global Compact.

For the past two years, Ms. Ojiambo served as the Executive Director of the UN Global Compact, leading the development and roll out of an ambitious new strategy to accelerate and scale the global collective impact of business to uphold the Ten Principles of the Global Compact, and deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals.

Ms. Ojiambo brings over 20 years of experience to this position spanning the development, UN and private sectors. She joined the UN from Safaricom Plc in Kenya where she served as the Head of Sustainable Business and Social Impact, leading the implementation of several public-private partnership initiatives between Safaricom and UN organizations at both local and global levels. Prior to this, Ms Ojiambo worked with IPPF Africa, UNDP Somalia and CARE Somalia leading public policy and capacity development work across multiple sectors. Throughout her career, she has cultivated and managed partnerships with key business entities, civil society organizations and philanthropies. 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.

In her role as Assistant Secretary-General, Ms. Ojiambo will be responsible for leading the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative, building the strategic partnerships needed to drive impact and advocacy at local and global levels. She will advise the 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 United Nations with business and on key organizational partnerships with the private sector. She will also manage and coordinate the engagement of the UN Global Compact in United Nations inter-agency affairs, engaging with relevant multilateral and international organizations, alongside developing new, innovative partnerships with the private sector.

Launched in July 2000, the United Nations Global Compact is the Secretary-General’s strategic policy and advocacy initiative calling for the alignment of business operations and strategies with ten universal principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption, and motivates companies to integrate the SDGs into their core business strategy and operations.

With over 16,000 corporate participants and other stakeholders from over 160 countries engaged through 69 country networks, it is the world’s largest voluntary corporate sustainability initiative in the world. Endorsed by chief executives, the Global Compact is a practical framework for the development, implementation, and disclosure of sustainability policies and practices, committing businesses to sustainability and shared responsibility for achieving a better world.