Akinola Akinrin

Led people strategy and talent initiatives across Mastercard’s Africa Division as part of the #OneAfrica integration project, overseeing talent pipeline, succession readiness, employee relations, and leadership development for 47 markets. Launched the Ubuntu VP Leadership Development Pathway (up 15% succession readiness; 40% pipeline strength), managed integration of a 102-employee Francophone clu

Owned HR strategic initiatives, workforce planning, talent reviews, and employee relations across Sub-Saharan Africa. Led annual performance calibrations and talent reviews for 106 employees, improving top-tier talent retention to 94%, and designed a Key Account Management structure that drove 11% revenue uplift across the division.

Established organizational readiness and HR infrastructure for Mastercard’s market entry in Ghana and Mauritius. Supported the 2022 Employee Experience Survey design via cross-cluster focus groups and published a quarterly People & Capability newsletter for EEMEA people managers to improve communication and manager capability.

Drove talent and performance outcomes across Sub-Saharan Africa, achieving the lowest voluntary attrition versus Mastercard’s global benchmark through disciplined calibration and talent review. Secured 80% adoption of a new AI talent platform, improving career mobility, learning, and internal project volunteerism, and led employment law and agreement reviews across Nigeria, Kenya, and Francophone

Designed and launched an alternative tech talent internship program, placing 41 graduates as Software Engineers, UX/UI Designers, QA Analysts, and Product Managers; the first cohort won a $10,000 Ecobank Innovation Award (2018). Delivered 92% tech talent retention over 30 months and led culture transformation, job evaluation, and job description standardization across Ghana and Nigeria.

Revised KPIs and job descriptions for finance control, risk management, internal audit, and compliance units. Led post-merger workflow redesign and manpower planning, eliminating N1.7bn customer wallet loss and reducing staffing from 71 to 46, and managed N26.4M training budgets for 11 operations and technology units.

Managed a two-year McKinsey & Co-led Pan-African LEAN Transformation engagement, optimizing branch business models and standardizing work processes across Ecobank affiliates.

Earned a B.Sc. in Agricultural Economics from Obafemi Awolowo University.

Completed an Executive MBA at Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University.