Press release
Standard Chartered appoints Nalini Tarakeshwar as Global Head of Standard Chartered Foundation
- The Foundation has enabled over 100,000 jobs with more than half of these for women, impacting over 700,000 lives.
- Tarakeshwar will lead the Foundation’s global strategy, driving forward its scaled ambition to create opportunities for young people as an anchor of growth and stability.
London – Standard Chartered Foundation (the Foundation) announces Nalini Tarakeshwar as Global Head, Standard Chartered Foundation and Corporate Philanthropy. The appointment was made as the Foundation scales its ambition to facilitate access to quality jobs and opportunities for young people in response to the growing youth employability gap, which increased to 12.4 per cent in 2025 and hits disadvantaged young people hardest.[1]
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 programmes, partnerships and financing solutions that unlock opportunities for young people. Drawing on over 20 years of experience including most recently as Deputy CEO, UBS Optimus Foundation, Tarakeshwar brings a wealth of experience to the role and will help expand the impact of the Foundation’s capital and resources globally.
Tanuj Kapilashrami, Chief Strategy and Talent Officer, Standard Chartered and Trustee, Standard Charted 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 over 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.”
Commenting on her appointment, Nalini Tarakeshwar, said: “Standard Chartered is a powerful global bank and purpose-led brand. The Standard Chartered Foundation has already had a significant impact, enabling jobs for under-served young people, especially young women. We now have an opportunity to build on this success to achieve impact at scale, working with our networks across the business and others who are committed to this goal. I’m proud to join the Foundation at this unique juncture to unlock opportunities that will help young people shape their own futures and generate an outsized impact on communities and markets globally.”
Global youth unemployment increased to 12.4 per cent in 2025 (up from 12.3 per cent in 2024), with around 260 million young people not in education, employment or training (NEET). Women also continue to face systemic barriers largely driven by social norms and stereotypes, with data outlining that they are 24 per cent less likely than men to participate in the labour force. The Foundation aims to help address this by supporting young people to gain skills and sustainable employment, and entrepreneurs to build thriving microbusinesses.
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[1] International Labour Organization, “Employment and Social Trends 2026”, 2026, www.ilo.org/publications/flagship-reports/employment-and-social-trends-2026 [accessed 23/3/26]