UK-based international banking group Standard Chartered announced the appointment of Nalini Tarakeshwar as its new Global Head of the Standard Chartered Foundation and Corporate Philanthropy.
The Standard Chartered Foundation was launched by the bank in 2019 to address inequality, with a focus on driving impact and prosperity for under-served young people.
In her new role, Tarakeshwar will lead Standard Chartered’s corporate philanthropy agenda and the Foundation’s global strategy, which addresses barriers to employability and entrepreneurship through the development of programs, partnerships and financing solutions that unlock opportunities for young people.
Tarakeshwar said:
“The Standard Chartered Foundation has already had a significant impact, enabling jobs for underserved young people, especially young women. We now have an opportunity to build on this success and achieve impact at scale, working with our networks across the business and partners committed to this goal.
According to Standard Chartered, the new appointment comes amid persistent global youth employment challenges, with global youth unemployment increasing to 12.4% in 2025, and approximately 260 million young people not in education, employment or training. Women continue to face systemic barriers driven by social norms and stereotypes, and are 24% less likely than men to participate in the labor force.
The Standard Chartered Foundation aims to address these gaps by supporting young people in gaining skills and access to sustainable employment, including enabling entrepreneurs to build and scale microbusinesses.
Tarakeshwar brings more than 20 years of experience to the role, most recently serving as Deputy CEO at UBS Optimus Foundation.
Tanuj Kapilashrami, Chief Strategy and Talent Officer at Standard Chartered and Trustee of the Standard Chartered Foundation said:
“Today’s world has the largest generation of young people in history, making them a critical driver of future growth and stability. Yet globally, one in five young people are not in employment, education or training. Corporate philanthropy has a critical role to play in addressing this challenge, and through the Foundation, we’ve to date enabled over 100,000 jobs, impacting more than 700,000 lives. As we scale and leverage our role as a global ‘super-connector’ to deliver transformational outcomes across our markets, Nalini’s experience will be a catalyst for further impact.”
