Cecilia is the Chairperson of the United Nations Sanitation and Hygiene Fund; an Independent Director on the Boards of Parthian Partners, Shell Nigeria Closed Pension Fund Administrator and Tempo Paper Pulp and Packaging Company. She is a member of the: Board of Trustees of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, and the Chartered Institute of Directors, Nigeria.

Previously, Cecilia was Adviser to the Group CEO of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, also known as ETI, an independent director on the board of FBN Holdings Plc., Vice President Secretary General of the African Development Bank (AfDB), a development finance institution established to contribute to the sustainable development of African countries, and Head of Public and Private Sector Operations and Policy, in the General Counsel & Legal Services Department of the AfDB. Prior to the AfDB, Cecilia practiced law in Lagos, Washington D.C., and New York, at the law firms of O. Thomas & Co.; Thompson & Co.; and Weil, Gotshal & Manges.

Cecilia is an ardent champion of Girls and Women’s Economic Empowerment, and is passionate about corporate governance, the accelerated and sustainable development of African countries, as well as innovation and entrepreneurship. She is a life member of WIMBIZ (Women in Management and Business and Public Service). Cecilia has received several awards, including the National Award of the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) from the Federal Republic of Nigeria, in 2014, and in 2019, the African Business Law Icon of the year award.

Cecilia holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Ife (now OAU); Master of Laws from the University of Miami Law School and the University of Pennsylvania Law School; and an Executive MBA from TRIUM (a combined program by LSE, NYU and HEC). She was also admitted to the Nigerian Bar and the New York State Bar.