Sarah Whitten 2023 Speaker

Regional Manager - Financing & Implementation

USTDA

Biography

“Sarah Whitten is the Regional Manager of Finance and Implementation at the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA). USTDA is the project preparation agency of the United States government, investing in early-stage infrastructure projects in Emerging Markets. In her capacity, Sarah works closely with financiers to secure funding for the projects supported by USTDA across the Clean Energy, Digital, Healthcare and Transport sectors. She was formerly an Executive Director at Standard Chartered Bank, managing a portfolio of African headquartered multinationals and South African regional offices, offering financing and risk management solutions. She also served as the chairwoman for Standard Chartered South Africa’s Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Council, setting and executing the bank’s D&I strategy.

Sarah currently sits on the Steering Committee of 100 Women in Finance South Africa, which launched the South African chapter in 2022, and on the global D&I Council at USTDA. Sarah was previously with Standard Chartered New York in the Debt Capital Markets team, covering bond origination for North American corporates focused on global issuances. Before SCB, Sarah was at Merrill Lynch Chicago in Private Banking. Sarah holds a BSc from Northwestern University in Illinois and is a Certified Director with the Institute of Directors of South Africa.”