Carole Wamuyu Wainaina

Carole Wamuyu Wainaina
Chief Operating Officer, Africa50
Kenya

 A citizen of Kenya, Ms. Wainaina is a well-respected senior executive with global experience in the private and public sectors at senior levels, including strategy formulation, leading multi-disciplinary teams, and driving organizational change. As Chief Operating Officer of Africa50, the pan-African infrastructure investment platform capitalized by the African Development Bank, 23 African countries, and two African Central Banks, she leads a multi-disciplinary team across Investor Relations, Strategy, Communications, HR & Administration as well as Environmental & Social Governance.

Before joining Africa50, she served as the Assistant Secretary General for Human Resources of the United Nations, leading transformational initiatives for the Secretary General and member states and prior to joining the United Nations in 2014, Ms. Wainaina held senior positions for more than two decades at multinational corporations in Turkey, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Kenya.

She served for three years on the Executive Committee of Royal Philips in the Netherlands as Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer. She worked for 13 years at Coca-Cola in senior roles, including Chief of Staff of the Chairman and CEO, Group HR Director Eurasia and Africa, and President of the Coca-Cola Africa Foundation. She started her career at Price Waterhouse Coopers in Kenya.

In addition to her corporate responsibilities, Carole serves on the boards of the Discovery Learning Alliance, The international Executive Service Corp (IESC)and The Harvard Africa Research Centre Advisory Board.

Ms. Wainaina was named among the Inaugural List of 100 Most Influential African Women in 2019 by Avance Media.

Photo Credit: Capital FM