Sandie Okoro

Dr. Sandie Okoro is Senior Vice President and General Counsel for the World Bank Group. As the first British national and 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. Prior to joining the World Bank, Dr. Okoro was General Counsel for HSBC Global Asset Management, Deputy General Counsel of HSBC Retail Banking and Wealth Management, and Global General Counsel at Barings.

Dr. Okoro 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 recognized as Britain’s 5th most influential person of African and African Caribbean heritage (2019) by the Powerlist.

Dr. Okoro holds Honorary Doctorates in Law from City University London (2014), London Southbank University (2018), and her alma mater Birmingham University (2019). She received a lifetime achievement award from the UK Black Solicitors Network (2016) and was named one of the Power 100 Women by City A.M. and 100 Women to Watch by Female FTSE Board. She is an ardent defender and champion for women’s empowerment, gender equality, and justice for all. Outside of work, 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.