Shamima Akhter

Director of Corporate Affairs, Partnerships and Communications

Shamima joined Unilever Bangladesh Limited in 2019 as the Head of Corporate Affairs, Partnerships and Communications. She joined the UBL Management Committee as the Director of Corporate Affairs, Partnerships and Communications in 2022. As a member of the Management Committee, she leads the sustainability affairs of Unilever Bangladesh and is responsible for guiding the Unilever brand’s social mission in Bangladesh.

Shamima has over 20 years of work experience across Communications, Corporate Affairs, Public Relations, and Marketing. After joining UBL, she successfully launched Unilever Bangladesh’s first Sustainability Report in 2022. She was also instrumental in launching UBL’s first plastic waste management initiative in Bangladesh, partnering with municipalities. Shamima also works as the liaison between Unilever and its different stakeholders and partners from the Public, INGO and NGO sectors.

Prior to joining UBL, Shamima worked for Coca-Cola, Grameenphone, technology start-up QUBEE, USAID, and UNDP. She is an expert in mass communication, project development and implementation, climate action, policy advocacy, and strategic collaboration. She is an active member of the FICCI Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) Sub-committee, FBCCI’s Environment Sub-committee, and the Technical Advisory Committee on Plastic Waste Management under the Department of Environment (DoE). In 2023, she was awarded the ‘Stellar Women’ award as a Female Leader in 2023. Shamima writes op-eds on Gender and Environment related issues in leading national newspapers.

Shamima holds a master’s degree in development studies from North South University and a Master of Arts (Gender Studies) from the University of Dhaka.

Shamima is an adventure enthusiast and has cycled throughout different continents and joined many mountain expeditions in India and Nepal. Shamima's objective is to drive growth for the business through corporate affairs, stakeholder management, and sustainability, which are necessary for today’s business environment.