Board of Directors

Chileshe Mpundu Kapwepwe

Chairperson

Chileshe Mpundu Kapwepwe is the Secretary General of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). She was sworn in as Secretary General in July 2018 and became the first woman to serve in this role. She has extensive experience in both the public and private sectors spanning over 30 years in both local and international organisations.

Ms. Kapwepwe joined the Board in June 2019, and in 2022, she was elected as the Chairperson of the Board.

She has a proven track record in leadership, business and operations management with a strong financial and commercial background, and experience in economic development, policy formulation and implementation at regional, continental and global level.

She has served as an Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund as well as Member of Parliament, Deputy Minister of Finance and Managing Director of the National Airports Corporation Limited in Zambia.

Ms. Kapwepwe has served and continues to serve on several boards including the Zambia Revenue Authority, Bank of Zambia, Ecobank Zambia Limited, BP Zambia Limited, Zambia Privatisation Trust Fund, Airports Council International, African Civil Aviation Commission, Financial Sector Deepening Zambia, Global Water Partnership Southern Africa and CABI, an international non-profit organisation for agriculture and environmental research.

She is a Chartered Accountant and holds a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Bath, United Kingdom. She was awarded the Knight of the Order of the Star of Italy by the President of Italy and received the Individual Achievement Award in Aviation in Africa from the Aviation and Allied Business Journal. In 2023, she was listed by Forbes Magazine as one of the 50 most inspirational women leaders aged over 50 in Africa. On 6th March 2025, Ms. Kapwepwe was installed as Chancellor of Eden University.