H. E Ms 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.
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 was the first Zambian woman to serve as Executive Director on the Board of the International Monetary Fund representing 23 African Countries. She was nominated as Member of Parliament and served as Deputy Minister of Finance and the first female Managing Director of the National Airports Corporation Limited, Zambia. She has served and continues to serve on numerous boards including as the first female to Chair the Zambia Revenue Authority Board and the Board of the Zambia Air Services Training Institute. Internationally, she became the first woman and first African to Chair the Board of CABI, an international non-profit organisation for agriculture and environmental research, based in the United Kingdom.
She also served on the Boards of Bank of Zambia, Ecobank Zambia Limited, BP Zambia Limited, Zambia Privatisation Trust Fund, ZEP-RE Re- insurance Company, Global Water Partnership Southern Africa, FSD Zambia, Airports Council International and the African Civil Aviation Commission as the first female Vice President representing Southern Africa.
Ms. Kapwepwe 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.