Adefunke Adeyemi, Secretary General of the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC), the specialized agency of the African Union mandated to oversee matters related to civil aviation across Africa.
With an international career spanning over 20 years, Adefunke began her career as a practicing lawyer in Nigeria and then as Company Secretary and General Counsel to Virgin Nigeria Airways before joining the International Air Transport Association (IATA) where she has worked in different roles over the last 12 years. In her current role as Regional Director, External Affairs and Sustainability for Africa, she advocates for the sustainability of air transport, trade, tourism and business across the region, highlighting its positive socio-economic impact and value as strategic enablers and accelerators of development and growth across Africa and beyond.
Up until her appointment, Ms. Adeyemi has been the IATA focal point for the implementation of the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) and a Private Sector Champion of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA), two strategic policy initiatives of the African Union designed to promote intra-African connectivity and trade to secure Africa’s integration and prosperity.
Ms. Adeyemi is a lawyer and advocate, with extensive experience in regional and global strategy and policy development. She is also a global air transport and trade facilitation expert, focused on driving value, policy reform, best practices and international standards to air transport and related sectors, businesses and government. She holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B. Hons) from the University of Lagos, a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Nanyang Business School, Singapore in collaboration with Wharton Business School, Philadelphia and Berkeley Hass Business School, California.