Lady Mary Dinah is the Founder and Chief Executive of the Mary Dinah Foundation, one of Africa’s largest international NGOs established in London since 2006. The organisation a focuses on improving the health and welfare of women and children affected by armed conflict, particularly in areas of terrorism and Boko Haram.

Its Zero Hunger Program continues to reduce illnesses and deaths caused by malnutrition and has so far provided 42 million meals to internally displaced persons and refugees living in crisis zones across Nigeria, Cameroon, and Chad. She also focuses on child protection and sexual based violence, working daily with her partners – UNICEF and UNHCR to achieve generational change.

Prior to the Zero Hunger Program, she established Job-Link, Nigeria’s first ever private job centre which connected over 10,000 youths to gainful employment in association with Microsoft Philanthropies. In 2023, the Mary Dinah Scholarship for Refugees was launched in Cameroon, offering fully funded scholarships for refugees to pursue higher education at any university. Lady Dinah’s illustrious career as an awardwinning hotelier creates a good foundation for service excellence in everything she does.

Over the past two decades, she has been in leadership positions including General Manager, Area Director and Co-Founder at some of the world’s most luxurious hotels including Four Seasons and Marriott Hotel Group. Her academic achievements are also worthy of note and include attaining Distinction in Masters Global Business at Saïd Business School, Oxford University and completing a post-graduate program in Entrepreneurship from Harvard University.

She also holds degrees from Nottingham University, University of Surrey and the United Nations where she studied Diplomatic Leadership. She has been a resident speaker at the United Nations Women in Leadership Global Program in Geneva since 2020. Lady Dinah also serves on several global committees and working groups for organisations including The Prince’s Trust, British Council and United Nations Energy sector, where she works with global partners to provide sustainable energy solutions for people living in displaced settings. She is also on the Board of Leaders for Climate Change.

In recognition of her humanitarian efforts, Lady Dinah has won several awards including British Council Social Impact Award, British High Commission Future Leaders Award, Lagos State Governors Award for Outstanding Impact, University of Surrey Vice Chancellors Award and University of Nottingham Special Achievement Award. Her impact also earned her a spot on MIPAD – Most Influential People of African Decent Global Top 100 under 40. In her spare time, she enjoys travelling to new countries and is a dedicated yoga enthusiast.