WASHINGTON — Sanda Ojiambo took the reins at the UN Global Compact in June, stepping in to lead the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative as it works toward a new strategic plan and contends with a growing number of other efforts.
“I think there are shifts that we will need to make in this business strategy, but I think they're going to be very important shifts,” she told Devex. “I also think that another big shift in focus for the compact is striking that pragmatic balance between delivering business benefit — that I think we do very well — to also delivering societal transformation.”
Ojiambo is the first African CEO of the Global Compact and the first with a development background. She came from Safaricom, where she was head of sustainable business and social impact, and previously worked for CARE International and the U.N. Development Programme in Somalia, in addition to the International Planned Parenthood Federation’s Africa region.