Cecilia Akintomide is a seasoned executive with expertise in Development Finance, Corporate Governance, Law, and General Management.  She is the Senior Executive Adviser to the Group CEO of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, in Lome, Togo, Africa’s Pan African Bank operating in 33 African countries.  She also serves as Chairperson of the Global Sanitation and Hygiene Fund, and an Independent Director on the Boards of (i) CcHUB Growth Capital, Nigeria’s first social innovation fund, supporting high potential early-stage businesses; (ii) SWAgCo, an agricultural sector investment company; (iii) Ondo State Development and Investment Promotion Agency (ONDIPA), a state government agency, focused on promoting development and investments; and (v) Dorman Long Engineering Ltd. Cecilia is a member of the Board of Regents of Covenant University, one of Nigeria’s leading universities, and the Board of Trustees of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library. She was also an Independent Non-Executive Director on the Board of FBN Holdings Plc., one of Africa’s leading financial services holding companies, headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria, and operating in various African countries and the United Kingdom. Cecilia is also a member of the Institute of Directors, Nigeria.  

She has served in other senior roles including Vice President Secretary General of the African Development Bank (AfDB), a development finance institution established to contribute to the development of African countries. In that role, she provided leadership for the dynamic relationship between the AfDB and its then 80 member states, and served as Secretary to the 80-member Ministerial Boards of Governors and 20-member resident Boards of Directors. Cecilia also served as Head of Public and Private Sector Operations and Policy, in the General Counsel & Legal Department of the AfDB, leading a brilliant team in the legal aspects of design, documentation, negotiation, closing and portfolio management of projects and policy-based financing transactions all over Africa, as well as in the formulation of operations policies and compliance monitoring.  At the AfDB, Cecilia was a member of the Presidential Council, the Senior Management Coordination Committee, Operations Committee and the Executive Crisis Management Committee. She was also Vice Chairperson of the Operations Crisis Management Committee and Chairperson of the Annual Meetings Committee and the Committees for the Elections of the President and Executive Directors. Prior to the AfDB, Cecilia practiced law in Lagos, Washington D.C., and New York, at the law firms of O. Thomas & Co.; Thompson & Co.; and Weil, Gotshal & Manges, with a focus on Business Reorganizations, Corporate Law and Commercial Law.  

Cecilia holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Ife (now OAU); Master of Laws from the University of Miami Law School; Master of Laws from the University of Pennsylvania Law School; and an Executive MBA from TRIUM (a combined program by LSE, NYU and HEC). She was also admitted to the Nigerian Bar and the New York State Bar. 

Cecilia is an ardent champion of Girls and Women’s Economic Empowerment, and is passionate about corporate governance, the accelerated and sustainable development of African countries, as well as innovation and entrepreneurship.  She is a member of WIMBIZ (Women in Management and Business and Public Service), and serves on the WimBoard Committee and the WimBiz Endowment Fund Committee. She mentors, is a deacon, and a member of a church choir. She received national gold and bronze medals in swimming, and was accorded the National Award of the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) by the Federal Republic of Nigeria, in recognition of her contribution to sustainable development.  In addition, in 2019, Cecilia received the African Business Law Icon of the year award.