Chinwe Esimai

Chinwe Esimai is a multiple award-winning Harvard-trained lawyer, trailblazing corporate executive,  author, and keynote speaker. She is Managing Director and Chief Compliance Officer for Legacy  Franchises at Citigroup, Inc. In this role, she oversees the regulatory and compliance aspects of Citi's divestiture of consumer banking businesses around the globe. 

Prior to that, she was Chief Anti-Bribery & Corruption Officer at Citi. As the first to hold this title in Citi's  history, she is a visionary executive who has overseen the effective implementation of significant enterprise-wide controls, covering over 200,000 employees and over 160 countries where Citi does  business. 

Chinwe spent five years at Goldman Sachs in various regulatory risk management roles, and also served as a law professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, where she taught Securities  Regulation, Law & Finance in Emerging Markets, and Business Law. She began her career as a  corporate associate at LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae LLP. 

Chinwe has received numerous awards, including: American Banker’s Most Powerful Women in Banking; Crain’s New York Business Notable Diverse Leaders in Banking & Finance; Most Powerful  Africans Shaping the Future of Africa; Trailblazer of the Year; Corporate Leadership Award; Mark of  Excellence; and Elite 100 Women Changing the Face of Corporate America. 

Chinwe is passionate about helping women leaders unlock their genius and live with joy, impact, and fulfillment. She is the author of Brilliance Beyond Borders (Harper Horizon, 2022, an inspiring book that highlights 17 trailblazing women leaders from around the world, and provides an actionable blueprint  for women leaders), and she is the host of the Brilliance Beyond Borders podcast. 

She is an executive council member of the Ellevate Network, has served as a Cherie Blair Foundation mentor, and is a member of Apollo Theater’s EmpowHer (a group of women leaders driving a variety  of the theater’s strategic empowerment initiatives). She served as Chair of the Harambee USA Foundation board from 2014-2020. She serves on the Advisory Boards of Paradigm LP and Menagerie. She is a member of Black Women on Boards and the Women Inspiration Enterprise (WIE) Suite. 

Chinwe’s leadership insights have been featured in leading publications, including Forbes, Thrive Global, Black Enterprise, Medium, and Knowledge@Wharton. She has spoken and delivered keynotes  to prestigious audiences, including Time100, Forbes Power Women’s Summit, SXSW, Essence Festival of  Culture, and the Female Quotient, and has spoken three times at the United Nations. 

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