Mumbai, April 01, 2026: Standard Chartered Foundation has appointed Nalini Tarakeshwar as its Global Head and Head of Corporate Philanthropy, as the organisation scales its efforts to address youth employability and entrepreneurship globally.
In her new role, Tarakeshwar will lead the Foundation’s global strategy, focusing on expanding access to quality jobs and economic opportunities for young people. The appointment comes at a time when global youth unemployment has reached 12.4% in 2025, with a significant proportion of young people not in education, employment, or training (NEET).
Tarakeshwar brings over two decades of experience in philanthropy and development, most recently serving as Deputy CEO at UBS Optimus Foundation. Her role will involve strengthening partnerships, programme design, and financing models aimed at addressing barriers to employability and entrepreneurship.
The Standard Chartered Foundation has enabled over 100,000 jobs to date, with more than half of these opportunities created for women, impacting over 700,000 lives globally.
Tanuj Kapilashrami, Chief Strategy and Talent Officer, Standard Chartered and Trustee, Standard Chartered 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.”
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.”
The Foundation continues to focus on addressing systemic challenges faced by young people, particularly women, who remain significantly underrepresented in the workforce. Its initiatives aim to equip youth with skills, create sustainable employment opportunities, and support entrepreneurs in building resilient microbusinesses.
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