Claire Ighodaro

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

is a British-born Nigerian chartered management accountant. She was the first female president of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and previously the financial director of BT Broadband. Ighodaro is presently a non-executive director of

Flood Re Flood Re (short for flood re-insurance) is a levy and pool system in the United Kingdom, which replaced the Statement of Principles agreed between the government and insurance companies to provide flood insurance coverage to domestic properties d ...

, XL Catlin Insurance Company UK Limited, and the Pennon Group PLC. She is a trustee of the British Council and an independent board member of the UK Trade & Investment Executive Board. She is a board member and Audit Committee Chair of Lloyd’s of London and a non-executive director and Governance Committee Chair of

Merrill Lynch Merrill (officially Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated), previously branded Merrill Lynch, is an American investment management and wealth management division of Bank of America. Along with BofA Securities, the investment bank ...

. In 2008, she was awarded with a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (

) for services to business.

Education and early career

Ighodaro studied at Queens College Yaba Lagos Nigeria from 1964 to 1968, and at

St Anne's School Ibadan St Anne's School, Ibadan is a secondary school for girls in Ibadan, Nigeria. The school took its current name in 1950, after a merger between Kudeti Girls School, founded in 1899, and CMS Girls School, Lagos, founded in 1869. It can therefore clai ...

from 1969 to 1970. She studied accounting at the University of Lagos. She started her career at Otis Elevators in London in 1979. In 1984, she moved to

British Telecom BT Group plc (trade name, trading as BT and formerly British Telecom) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered in London, England. It has operations in around 180 countries and is th ...

to work as a Management and Development Accountant. She was subsequently promoted to senior project manager in 1988, where she led the development of one of the first handheld job-reporting systems for field engineers. In 2000, Ighodaro was made financial controller of British Telecom Open world, the United Kingdom's first mass-market broadband internet launch, and of portal, channel and interactive TV development.

Non-executive directorships and advisory roles

Since becoming Chartered Institute of Management Accountants first female president, and Chair of the executive board, Ighodaro has served on a variety of directorships and advisory positions. At

, she served as a non-executive director and chair of the governance committee. At the

University of Surrey The University of Surrey is a public research university in Guildford, Surrey, England. The university received its royal charter in 1966, along with a number of other institutions following recommendations in the Robbins Report. The institut ...

, she served as a council member and audit committee member. She served as a non-executive director and chair, audit committee of Lloyd's of London. She is also a board member of the

International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) develops and promotes the International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards). The IESBA also supports debate on issues related ...

. Ighodaro is a member of the FCO Diplomatic Excellence External Panel and Iddas (Savile Group PLC). At Lending Standards Board, she serves as a non-executive director and chair of the audit committee. She is also a council member and chair of the audit committee of The Open University. She is a board member and chair, audit committee of

The British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...

and the chair of the London Learning and Skills Council. Ighadaro is a non-executive board member and chair, audit committee of the UK Trade & Investment.

Honors and awards

In 2007, Ighodaro was ranked 5th in the

New Nation ''New Nation'' was a weekly newspaper published in the UK for the Black British community. Launched in 1996, the newspaper was Britain's Number 1-selling black newspaper. The paper was published every Monday. ''New Nation'' was initially lau ...

’s power list of 100 leading black role models. In 2008, she was awarded a

for services in business. In 2015, Ighodaro was granted a 'doctor of the university' from

Open University The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...

Personal life

Ighodaro is married with three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ighodaro, Claire Living people Year of birth missing (living people) British Nigerian Nigerian accountants Nigerian women accountants University of Lagos alumni British Telecom people Merrill (company) people Commanders of the Order of the British Empire People associated with the Open University