Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade, a Cameroonian, has been named by the African Development Bank (AfDB) as the vice president in charge of the complex for regional development, integration, and business delivery. The appointment will take effect on April 1st, 2023.
With nearly 31 years of experience, Akin-Olugbade is a seasoned senior executive who has provided technical, managerial, and strategic knowledge and leadership in the AfDB’s capital markets, treasury, asset management, and product development.
Prior to being appointed, she served as the Bank’s acting vice president and director general of the West Africa region’s business development and delivery office.
Akin-Olugbade oversaw the creation and execution of game-changing plans, initiatives, and deals that established the AfDB as the “Solutions Bank.”
According to a statement from the bank, she was involved in the whole complexity of its loan and non-lending activities in middle-income and low-income nations while working with the largest team of country managers in the organization.
In order to achieve significant and life-changing development impact, she oversaw the accelerated delivery of results on the $9 billion West Africa portfolio, engaging with governments, the private sector, regional economic communities, and non-state actors.
The new vice president began working for the AfDB in 1991 as a finance assistant in the trading room of its Treasury Department, where she remained until 1993 when she was promoted to investment officer.
From 1993 until 1997, she managed the bank’s assets on global capital markets in that capacity.
She then rose to the position of principal financial analyst in the Financial Technical Services Division and was in charge of overseeing the financial solutions for clients all over the continent.
2008 saw the appointment of Akin-Olugbade as Manager of the Bank’s Financial Technical Services Division. He served in that capacity until 2010. She handled the creation of new products, client financial solutions, and risk management services in that capacity.
She also served as the team leader for the 2010 publication of the African Fixed Income and Derivatives Handbook.
She received her master’s degree in applied economics from the Université Paris-Dauphine in France. She also has a postgraduate management diploma from the Panthéon-Sorbonne University.
