Sandie Okoro joined the Bank as Group General Counsel in April 2022. In the role, she leads the Bank’s Legal, Group Corporate Secretariat and Shared Investigative Services functions.
She has also launched a Diversity and Inclusion Taskforce, which aims to drive inclusion, equity and diversity in the legal profession in the United Kingdom.
In collaboration with five international law firms – A&O Shearman, Eversheds Sutherland, Simmons & Simmons, Sullivan & Cromwell and Fountain Court – the taskforce will focus on improving opportunities for minority talent and aligns with Standard Chartered’s overall approach to diversity and building a culture of inclusion.
Career
Sandie is a pre-eminent lawyer, having served as General Counsel and Senior Vice President, and Vice President for Compliance, at the World Bank Group. Prior to joining the World Bank, Sandie was General Counsel for HSBC Global Asset Management and Global General Counsel at Barings. Sandie is an Honorary Bencher of Middle Temple in the United Kingdom (2018) and was named one of the Upstanding 100 Leading Ethnic Minority Executives (2016), Top 20 Global General Counsel (2019) by the Financial Times, and was recognised as Britain’s 10th most influential person of African and African Caribbean heritage by Powerlist (2023).
Sandie received a lifetime achievement award from the UK Black Solicitors Network (2016), was named one of the Power 100 Women by City A.M., 100 Women to Watch by Female FTSE Board and received an OBE for services to Diversity in International Finance in 2024.
On 1 August 2024, Sandie became the first woman to be appointed as Chancellor of the University of Birmingham.
External appointments
Sandie was appointed inaugural Chair of the UK-based charity Women of the World Foundation in June 2021, she received an honorary lifetime Emeritus membership of the Law Societies’ Compact and Forum for Sustainable Development Goal 16 in June 2022, and she is a Governor of the Royal Shakespeare Company.
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