Inspiring Member of the Month - MRS. SANDRA OPOKU, ESQ, CMILT
Women make the world go round and this month, we share and cerebrate one outstanding achiever and inspiring member of our prestigious Institute in the person of Mrs. Sandra Opoku, Esq, CMILT.
Mrs. Opoku is the first Woman Director of the largest port in Ghana, the Port of Tema since 2019. She is a seasoned Lawyer, Chartered Member of the Institute and a champion of women’s development.
As a woman in Logistics and Transport, Sandra has worked with Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) over the past twenty years. She was employed by GPHA as a Legal Officer in 2003. By dint of hard work, determination, courage and defying many odds has risen through the ranks, occupied various portfolios culminating in her appointment as the First Woman Director of the largest port in Ghana, the Port of Tema.
She has a Bachelor of Law Degree and was called to the Bar in 2001. In 2005, Sandra obtained Master’s in Laws (LLM) in Maritime Law from IMO International Maritime Law Institute in Malta. She also has a Post Graduate Diploma in Advanced Port Management from the Galilee College in Israel, a certificate from UNCTAD in Modern Port Management and Master’s in Human Resource Management.
If we are to teach our young professionals about the trailblazers who paved the way to equal the counterpart in the world, Mrs Opoku will be one of them.
She has swept many awards including Woman of Excellence Award for her outstanding contribution to the Maritime and Transport Industry at the 6th Ghana Women of Excellence Awards in 2021 and Noble International Award for upholding the virtues of Honesty, Integrity and Accountability-April 2012 by the West African Nobles Forum. She serves on many Boards and also has many publications under her belt.
The leadership of Sandra has been one of forward-looking. She has been instrumental in introducing many reforms and innovation. Sandra’s vision is to position the Port of Tema as the leading container hub in the West African Sub-Region through technological innovations, infrastructural development, and synergistic collaboration with all stakeholders within the maritime and transport industry.
Sandra is polite in all her interactions but don’t underestimate her for lack of strength. As the first woman leading Tema Port in Ghana, she will definitely won’t be the last.
Her three (3) career lessons to all professionals especially young women are:
- Set a standard, what you accept, you can’t change.
- Strategise, plus execution. Focus on the plus, who owns what in the strategy.
- Learn to say no.
Mrs. Sandra Opoku is a fantastic example of women in Leadership and a role model worth emulating. She is a family woman and happily married with 3 children. She is fluent in English Twi and a bit of French.
Congratulations Mrs. Sandra Opoku, CMILT. You are our proud inspiring member of the Month. Fly up high!!
