Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Access Bank Plc has been elected into the Board of Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GBC).

GBC, the world’s largest group of businesses dedicated to fighting HIV/AIDS and promoting the health of employees and the communities where they work, announced the election of Aig-Imoukhuede, as the new Director and also the appointment of two senior Advisors in advance of World AIDS Day.

Widely regarded as the preeminent organization for businesses engaged in major workplace and public health issues internationally, GBC is a network of over 220 businesses that fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in their workplaces or in communities where these issues loom large.

According to a statement by the group, the Coalition’s headquarters is based in New York and provides strategic advice and support for Coalition member companies and creates public private partnerships with leading international organizations, donors, governments and NGOs.

The statement reads, “Elected to the Board of Directors of the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GBC) is Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, of Nigeria.  Aig- Imoukhuede is Managing Director and CEO of Access Bank, one of Nigeria’s financial institutions with an extensive network of branches and subsidiary businesses in nine countries across Africa and the United Kingdom.

“Aig-Imoukhuede, 45, is widely recognised as a successful business leader and proponent of corporate social responsibility in the African business community.

Earlier this year, he spearheaded a first-of-its-kind initiative among African businesses, Gift from Africa, aimed at raising funds for the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.  “In September, along with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Aig-Imoukhuede announced the first pledge of $3 million to that group.

“In announcing Aig-Imoukhuede’s election to the GBC Board, the Coalition’s co-Chairman, Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, said, “From 2011, GBC will be introducing an aggressive strategy to rally more businesses and support their work in global health.
“Africa is of course a top priority, and Aig-Imoukhuede’s success at growing businesses, his stature in Nigeria, Africa and among international leaders, and his track record on fighting HIV/AIDS and other health challenges makes him a natural choice for the GBC and I am delighted to have him join us.  I know he will play an important role in taking the GBC to the next level.”
“It’s an honor for me to be elected to the Board of the GBC.  For over a decade, we have been advancing employee and community health in Nigeria and the other countries where we work, but GBC engages businesses in HIV/AIDS and other diseases at a global level,” said Aig-Imoukhuede.   “I look forward to doing my part to help the Coalition expand its network, achieve greater levels of impact, and ultimately improve the lives of millions of people around the world.”
The Coalition also announced the appointment of two new members of its Corporate Advisory Board, a group of leading CEOs that advises the Coalition’s management on programmatic priorities and business development matters and supports the Coalition’s advocacy efforts.
GBC President and CEO John Tedstrom noted that these appointments, along with the election of Imoukhuede to the Board of Directors, are part of a broader strategy to inject new energy, creativity and capacity into the Coalition as it launches a new campaign to grow its membership and tackle a broader array of health challenges around the world.
Appointed to the newly-created post of Chairman of the GBC Corporate Advisory Board is Bill Roedy, Chairman and CEO of MTV International.
According to the statement, Roedy, a veteran of the international AIDS battle for over two decades, is known for the rapid and successful expansion of the MTV network around the globe and for using that platform to advance leading humanitarian and social causes, most prominently the fight against AIDS.
It said, “In the mid-1990s, he helped create the Global Business Council on HIV/AIDS which is the predecessor to today’s GBC.  He is the recipient of numerous awards including the United Nation’s Humanitarian of the Year Award and serves on the Board of AmfaR.”
Tedstrom also announced the appointment of Rajat Gupta to the Corporate Advisory Board.  Gupta, former world-wide Managing Director of McKinsey.  Gupta is a long-time leader on issues of global health and development within the corporate community.
He is a co-founder of the public health institute in India, and until recently served as Chairman of the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.  He currently serves on the Board of Procter and Gamble and Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce.