Prof. Isabella Okagbue is a distinguished lawyer, academic and corporate governance expert with a remarkable career spanning academia, international development and the private sector. She spent many years at the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, rising from Graduate Assistant to Professor of Law and Director of Research, with a focus on criminal justice, civil liberties, women’s rights and juvenile justice.
She briefly served with the United Nations in Somalia (UNOSOM II), where she managed key justice programs, before transitioning into corporate law. Prof. Okagbue held senior leadership roles at United Bank for Africa Plc, including General Counsel, Company Secretary, and Chief Compliance Officer, and later served as Executive Director at Metis Capital Partners Ltd, advising on major projects across telecoms and real estate.
Her extensive board and advisory experience includes roles with Etisalat Nigeria, the Lagos State Multi-Door Courthouse, and the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER). 
Prof. Okagbue holds law degrees from the University of Nigeria Nsukka, University of Lagos and Harvard Law School, where she was a Fulbright Fellow. She is also a Butterworths Fellow, an Honorary Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, and actively serves on the boards of several NGOs, including the Negotiation and Conflict Management Group and the Centre for Law and Business.