AfDB Appoints New Vice President For People, Talent Management

Posted by Eric Ojo Business News, Latest Headlines Thursday, June 8th, 2023

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group has announced the appointment of Jacques Edjangue as Vice President for People and Talent Management/

Edjangue’s appointment, which takes effect from 16th of June, was contained in a statement made available to the media on Wednesday.

He is a Cameroonian national, who is an accomplished senior executive with more than 28 years of experience in multilateral institutions, including 21 years at the AfDB Group.

Immediately before his appointment, he served as acting Vice President for the People and Talent Management complex. Before that, he was Acting Director of the Corporate Human Resources Department, and Director of the Bank Group’s Language Services Department from June 2020 to June 2022.

In June 2022 he was appointed to help lead the newly created People and Talent Management Complex. The Bank set up this complex to give greater priority and visibility to people and talent management, and to deepen staff engagement and experience.

He joined the AfDB Group in 2002. He became Division Manager in 2011, and from 2017, was the Director of Language Services at the Bank.

Edjangue has helped to initiate, lead, and manage several human resources reforms within the Bank. This includes strategic staffing, people strategy, performance management framework, executive management agreements, remote working, talent councils, total compensation framework, and leadership academies.

Notably, his solid understanding of the people and organizational culture of the Bank has led to a strong positive internal view of the institution, with 87 percent staff engagement. He has also contributed to a significant improvement in performance management, with performance evaluation reaching an unprecedented level of 99% in 2022.

Under his leadership, the Bank attained the Economic Dividend for Gender Equality (EDGE) certification in January 2023. EDGE is the leading global assessment certification for gender and diversity in the workplace. Through this achievement, the Bank is recognized as an institution that demonstrates its commitment to an inclusive approach to people and talent management in its policies and actions.

He was appointed in 2000 as Deputy Director and Deputy Permanent Representative at the International Organization of la Francophonie. In this capacity, he represented the organization at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

There, he spearheaded several programs and initiatives aimed at enhancing cooperation and partnership and promoting multilingualism and cultural diversity in sister organizations.

Edjangue holds a master’s degree in business administration from Colorado State University, USA; a master’s in interpretation, and a master’s in translation, both from the University of Buea, Cameroon, among other educational qualifications.

He thanked the AfDB’s Group President, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina for the trust and confidence bestowed upon him.

“I see this appointment as a huge responsibility and a unique opportunity to pursue the Bank’s vision for people and talent management in accomplishing its development mandate. I look forward to giving a new impetus to the ongoing reforms and stepping up the implementation of institutional strategies and priorities in people management”, he said.

While commenting on the appointment, Dr. Adesina said: “I am very pleased to appoint Mr. Jacques Edjangue as Vice President for People and Talent Management Complex. Jacques is a well-tested leader who has distinguished himself very well in earlier roles as Acting Vice President for People and Talent Management Complex, following being the Acting Director for Corporate Human Resources”.

According to him, Jacques has very deep and extensive institutional knowledge and has also spearheaded and delivered on several major human resources institutional reforms and works effectively with staff and management.

“He will be a great asset as the Bank continues to innovate on improving its working environment to attract and retain top-notch talent and enhance the culture of performance, productivity, and accountability for results”, he stressed.