In faraway Malaysia, Uto Ukpanah, FCIS, Vice President and Council member of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria, ICSAN has emerged as the winner of “The Global Corporate Secretary” of the year award.

From left to right: KeyNote Speaker TS Mahadhir Aziz, Uto Ukpanah FCIS, Vice President ICSAN and award recipient, Suseela Menon, CSIA President, Funmi Ekundayo, FCIS, President/Chairman ICSAN and Honorary Treasurer CSIA at the CSIA awards in Malaysia.


The event was the Maiden edition of the Corporate Secretaries International Association (CSIA) Global Governance Awards which held in Malaysia on Tuesday 23rd April, 2024.
Ukpanah’s emergence, recognition, and ultimate award make Nigeria the first recipient of the prestigious award. This development significantly boosts Nigeria on the global corporate governance map.
Uto Ukpanah, a Fellow of ICSAN, is an astute governance professional with a track record of excellence, exceptional leadership, and expertise in Corporate Governance.
CSIA is the global body of all Governance Professionals and Corporate Secretaries with membership cutting across 70 countries on four continents.
With the award, Ukpanah has indeed raised the bar of Nigeria’s global rating in the area of exceptional Corporate Governance and value-adding Company Secretariat practices.
This award is a testament to the synergy between ICSAN and CSIA over the years. ICSAN has contributed to the growth and development of corporate governance and administration in the global space for over a decade with one of the Past Presidents of ICSAN, Bode Ayeku, FCIS being the immediate Past President of CSIA.
In the same vein, the current President/Chairman of Council of ICSAN, Funmi Ekundayo, FCIS currently serves as the Honorary Treasurer of CSIA.
ICSAN is a leading professional body dedicated to the protection and promotion of Corporate Governance and Public Administration through continued professional training, guidance, and policy advocacy in Nigeria.
CSIA, a Global Voice of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals, was established in Geneva in 2010 as an association constituted according to article 60 of the Swiss Civil Code and entered into the commercial register in Switzerland.
The body was officially launched at the World Bank Headquarters in Paris on 23 March 2010 under the auspices of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).