Chileshe Mpundu Kapwepwe, is a

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...

n accountant and corporate executive, who serves as the

Secretary General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), effective 18 July 2018. She was elected at the 20th Heads of State COMESA summit in Lusaka, Zambia's capital city. Immediately prior to her current assignment, she was the chairperson of ''Zambia Revenue Authority''. She replaces Sindiso Ngwenya, from

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

, whose two consecutive terms in office, had expired.

Background and education

Chileshe Mpundu Kapwepwe was born in Zambia on 10 July 1958. (Birthday needs editing. Why a different birthday with her twin sister Mulenga Kapwepwe?) She has a twin sister, Mulenga Mpundu Kapwepwe, who is an author and co-founder of the Zambian Women's History Museum. Chileshe Kapwepwe holds a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accoun ...

and is a

Chartered Certified Accountant Founded in 1904, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) is the global professional accounting body offering the Chartered Certified Accountant qualification (ACCA). It has 240,952 members and 541,930 future members worldwi ...

. She is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered and Certified Accountants (ACCA) of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, and a Fellow of the

Zambia Institute of Chartered Accountants The Zambia Institute of Chartered Accountants (ZICA) is the only professional accountancy body in Zambia. It is the sole organization in Zambia with the right to award the Chartered Accountant designation; and to practice in Zambia, accountants ...

(ZICA).

Career

Ms. Kapwepwe is a professional chartered accountant, with experience in the areas of governance, public policy and financial management. Her career extends over more than a quarter century in local, and international organisations, in both public and private sectors. Past assignments include as the executive director for the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...

for the Africa Group One Constituency, based in

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

. She also served as the Deputy Minister of Finance and National Planning, in the Cabinet of Zambia. She has also served, in the past, as the managing director of the Zambia National Airports Corporation. Before that, she was the contracts manager of

Société Générale de Surveillance SGS (formerly Société Générale de Surveillance (French for ''General Society of Surveillance'')) is a Swiss multinational company headquartered in Geneva, which provides inspection, verification, testing and certification services. It has ...

, based in

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

, Switzerland.

Other considerations

Kapwepwe has in the past, served on the boards of the following companies: (a) Zambia Revenue Authority, the first woman to serve in as the chairperson of that board, since the foundation of the Authority in 1994. (b) She also served on the board of the

Bank of Zambia The Bank of Zambia (BoZ), is the central bank of Zambia. Overview The principal responsibility of the bank is to create and implement monetary policy that will maintain the economic stability of the country. The Bank is active in promoting financ ...

. (c) BP Zambia Plc and (d) the Zambia Privatization Trust Fund.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kapwepwe, Chileshe 1958 births Living people Zambian women in business Zambian accountants Zambian women accountants Zambian chief executives Alumni of the University of Bath Zambian twins Zambian women chief executives

Background and education

Career

Other considerations

See also

References