Mizinga Melu is a Zambian

businesswoman A businessperson, businessman, or businesswoman is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial or industrial) for the ...

accountant An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy. Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certifi ...

, and bank executive. She is the current

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

, of

Absa Bank Zambia Plc Absa Bank Zambia Plc, formerly Barclays Bank of Zambia, is a commercial bank in Zambia. It is licensed by the Bank of Zambia, the central bank and national banking regulator. Location The headquarters and main branch of Absa Bank of Zambia are lo ...

, effective February 2017, based in

Lusaka Lusaka (; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was ab ...

, the capital and largest city in the country. Prior to her current assignment, she served as the CEO of Barclays Africa Management, responsible for overseeing the "development of stakeholder relationships with governments, regulators, the Boards and customers" in the subsidiaries on the African Continent, outside of South Africa. All Barclays Africa Group managing directors, outside of South Africa, reported directly to her. She took office effective 1 October 2014. Prior to that, she was the

managing director A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

National Bank of Commerce (Tanzania) National Bank of Commerce (Tanzania), whose full name is National Bank of Commerce (Tanzania) Limited, sometimes referred to as NBC (Tanzania), or as NBC (Tanzania) Limited, is a commercial bank in Tanzania. It is one of the commercial banks l ...

. She was appointed to that position in March 2013, and assumed office on 20 May 2013. Before that, she served as the managing director and CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Zambia, from January 2008 until May 2013. In 2020, she was awarded CEO of the year by Global Banking and Finance Review. In January 2021, she released a book she wrote titled "Braving the Odds". It was a bestseller on Amazon.

Overview

She is the first

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

n and the first woman to hold the position of managing director and chief executive officer at Standard Chartered Bank Zambia and during her tenure, was the only female

in the thirteen

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

n countries where

Standard Chartered Bank Standard Chartered plc is a multinational bank with operations in consumer, corporate and institutional banking, and treasury services. Despite being headquartered in the United Kingdom, it does not conduct retail banking in the UK, and around ...

maintains subsidiaries.

History

She was born on 17 March, in

Mazabuka Mazabuka is a town in the Southern Province, Zambia, Southern Province of Zambia. It is the capital of Mazabuka District, one of the thirteen administrative units in the Southern Province. The name Mazabuka originates from a Tonga local languag ...

Mazabuka District Mazabuka District is a district of Zambia, located in Southern Province. The capital lies at Mazabuka Mazabuka is a town in the Southern Province, Zambia, Southern Province of Zambia. It is the capital of Mazabuka District, one of the thirtee ...

, in

's Southern Province. She worked at Zambia National Commercial Bank in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 1993, she joined

and over the years worked at the bank's subsidiaries in different countries, including the following:

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

, the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

and 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 continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. Prior to becoming managing director and CEO at

Standard Chartered Zambia Standard Chartered Zambia, officially Standard Chartered Bank Zambia Plc, commonly known as is a Stanchart Zambia, is a commercial bank in Zambia and a subsidiary of Standard Chartered. It is licensed by the Bank of Zambia, the central bank and na ...

, she served as ''Global Head of Development Organizations'' at the bank's international headquarters in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, UK.

Education

She attended ''Roma Girls Secondary School'', graduating in 1985. After obtaining her first degree from the

University of Zambia The University of Zambia (UNZA) is a public university located in Lusaka, Zambia. It is Zambia's largest and oldest learning institution. The university was established in 1965 and officially opened to the public on 12 July 1966. The language of ...

(UNZA), she obtained the degree of

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 accounti ...

(

MBA 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 accounti ...

) from

Henley Management College Henley Business School is a business school which now forms part of the University of Reading. It was formed by merging the previously independent Henley Management College (formerly the Administrative Staff College) with the existing business ...

, of the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...

, in the

Awards

She has been the recipient of the following awards: * 2022 Lab Awards by the OHNS * 2022 Most influential African Woman Banke

* 2020 Southern African Women in Leadership Trailblazers Awards, * 2019 Banking CEO of Year Zambia by International Business Magazine. * 2017 Transformational Leadership Award. * 2013 The All Africa Business Woman of the Year Award. * 2013 CEO of the year across all industries by the Zambia Institute Chartered Accountants. * 2013 Business Woman for the year by Africa Business Leaders Awards (AABLA).

Other responsibilities

She is married to ''Chipepo Melu'', an

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

and

real estate developer Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to others. R ...

. Together they are the parents on one daughter, Ruthmary and one son, Matthew. Mrs. Melu also serves as

chairperson The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of the ''

Zambia Daily Mail The ''Zambia Daily Mail'' is an English-language daily broadsheet newspaper published in Zambia. It is one of two state-owned papers of the Zambian government. History and operations The newspaper arose from the ''Central African Mail'', which ...

''.

References

External links

Website of National Bank of Commerce Tanzania

Website of Barclays Africa Group

{{DEFAULTSORT:Melu, Mizinga 1968 births Living people Zambian bankers Zambian businesspeople Zambian accountants Women accountants University of Zambia alumni Alumni of Henley Management College People from Mazabuka District Zambian women in business Absa people Zambian women chief executives Zambian business executives Zambian chief executives