Sandie Okoro

Dr. Okoro Okoro is Senior Vice President and General Counsel for the World Bank Group, and Vice President for Compliance at the World Bank. She is also Chair of the World Bank Group Anti-Racism Task Force. She is the first black woman to hold this role. She is the principal advisor and spokesperson on all legal matters for the world’s leading development finance institution.

Personal Attributes and Interests

• Dr. Okoro has a son and a daughter.
• In 1997 and 1999 she ran and completed the London Marathon.
• She has said that the two people she most admires are Nelson Mandela and a family member.

Work Experience

• Senior Vice President and General Counsel, World Bank GroupWorld Bank Group, Feb 2017 - Present, 4 yrs 10 months.
• NED and Governor, Royal Shakespeare Company,Nov 2014 - Present, 7 yrs 1 month.
• Global General Counsel, HSBC Retail Banking and Wealth Management, Jan 2014 - Feb 2017, 3 yrs 2 months.
• Director, P.R.I.M.E Finance Foundation, Jun 2011 - Feb 2017 · 5 yrs 9 months.
• Global General Counsel, Barings, May 2007 - Jan 2014 · 6 yrs 9 months.
• Head of Legal for Corporate Services, Schroders, 1991 - 2007 · 16 yrs 1 month.
• Trainee Solicitor, Stoneham Langton and Passmore -Solicitors, 1989 - 1991 · 2 yrs 1 month.
• Mayfair, Graduate trainee, Coopers and Lybrand, 1987 - 1989 · 2 yrs 1 month.

Board and Advisor Roles

Dr. Okoro is a Governor of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and prior to joining the World Bank Group, she was a council member of the human rights organization JUSTICE, Ambassador for the Law Society’s Diversity Access Scheme and sat on the Equality Standards Panel of the Premier League.

Accolades

• Dr. Okoro is an Honorary Bencher of Middle Temple in the United Kingdom (2018)
• She was named one of the Upstanding 100 Leading Ethnic Minority Executives (2016), Top 20 Global General Counsel (2019) by the Financial Times. 
• She was recognized as Britain’s 5th most influential person of African and African Caribbean heritage by Powerlist (2018). 
• Dr. Okoro received a lifetime achievement award from the UK Black Solicitors Network (2016), was named one of the Power 100 Women by City A.M. and 100 Women to Watch by the Female FTSE Board.
• Dr. Okoro was appointed inaugural Chair of the UK-based charity WOW-Women of the World Festivals in June 2021. 
• She received the Howard University 2019 Vanguard Women Award for her accomplishments as a woman of colour who has blazed the trail and her commitment to mentoring young women and advancing the rights of women and girls globally. 
• She is also the recipient of the Beyond the Glass Ceiling Award presented by the Leadership Institute for Women of Color Attorneys (2019), 
• She is a recipient of the Chambers 100 Outstanding Global General Counsel (2019).
• She is an honoree of Harvard Law’s 7th Annual International Women’s Day Portrait Exhibit (2020).

Education

Dr. Okoro holds Honorary Doctorates in Law from City University London (2014), London Southbank University (2018), and her alma mater Birmingham University (2019). 

Dr. Okoro earned a degree in Law and Politics from the University of Birmingham. She also earned a Law Degree from the Inns of Court School of Law. In 2001, the Inns of Court School of Law became part of City, University of London and is now known as The City Law School. She qualified as a barrister in 1988.