Carole Wamuyu Wainaina was the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources from October 2014 till April 2017, replacing Catherine Pollard.^[1] Prior to this appointment announced on 25 September 2014 by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Ms. Wainaina was Chief Human Resources Officer and a member of the Executive Committee at Royal Philips in the Netherlands.^[2] She is currently working as the Chief Operating Officer for Africa50 Infrastructure Fund.^[3]

Ms. Wainaina was born in the year 1966 in Kenya.^[1] She has extensive experience in various areas of management including human resources strategy, leadership development, change management and driving organizational transformation.^[2] She started her career as a management consultant at Price Waterhouse Coopers in Kenya.^[1] She has held high-level positions with Royal Philips and Coca-Cola.^[1] In 1998, Ms. Wainaina was offered her job at Coca-Cola and she moved with her two children to London.^[3] During her thirteen years at Coca-Cola, she held various positions such as President of the Coca-Cola Africa Foundation, Chief of Staff of the Chairman and CEO, and Group Human Resources Director Eurasia and Africa.^[4] At Royal Philips, she held her position on the Executive Committee for three years from 2011 to 2014.^[4][2] She also worked at the Kenya Wildlife Service as the Special Assistant to the Director Richard Leakey.^[3]

Ms. Wainaina holds a Bachelor of Business Degree from the University of Southern Queensland in Australia, where she majored in Human Resources Management and Marketing.^[1]