Chinwe Esimai is a leading global expert in law and compliance risk management, with over two decades of experience. She is a highly sought-after expert on the future of finance and on the intersection of banking and innovation. She is a trusted advisor to firms, founders, and regulators at the highest levels around the world.

She most recently served as Managing Director and Chief Compliance Officer for Legacy Franchises at Citigroup, Inc. Prior to that, she was Chief Anti-Bribery Officer at Citigroup. She’s the first person to hold these titles in the bank’s history. 

Chinwe obtained her Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School. She has received numerous professional awards, including: American Banker Most Powerful Women in Banking, Crain's New York Business Notable Diverse Leaders in Banking & Finance, Diversity Woman Magazine Elite 100 Black Women Changing the Face of Corporate America, and Tropics Magazine’s Most Powerful Africans Shaping the Future of Africa. She's spoken or has been featured at the United Nations, Forbes, Black Enterprise, SXSW, Time100, Essence Festival, Harvard Business School, and Knowledge at Wharton.

She began her career as a corporate associate at LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae LLP and was assistant professor of law at the University of St. Thomas School of Law. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts in political science, summa cum laude, from the City College of New York. 

Beginning in 2016, Chinwe provided compliance risk management advisory to startup and mid-stage FinTech companies across the globe as part of Citi’s Tech4Integrity Challenge.

She is the author of Brilliance Beyond Borders: Remarkable Women Leaders Share the Power of Immigrace (Harper Horizon, 2022) and host of the Brilliance Beyond Borders podcast.