Banke Odunaike

Banke A. Odunaike serves as CBRE’s Chief Culture Officer with responsibility for ethics & compliance, diversity, equity & inclusion, senior leadership talent identification and development, and succession planning. She is a member of CBRE’s global Executive Committee.

Prior to assuming this role in July 2023, Banke was Head of EMEA & APAC Legal for CBRE’s Advisory Services business, leading a team of 97 legal professionals across 43 countries.

Banke joined CBRE as Senior Director, EMEA Legal in 2017. She was appointed Head of EMEA Legal in 2020 and her role was further expanded to oversee the APAC region in January 2023.

A champion for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the law, Banke has been recognised as one of the UK’s 21 ‘Women Who Will’ for ‘Driving Innovation in Diversity & Inclusion’ according to the Obelisk Report (in partnership with the Next 100 Years Project).

Banke established CBRE’s UK Legal DE&I Taskforce - a team who saw CBRE become foundation signatory to the UK Model Diversity Survey in 2021. She is Executive Sponsor of CBRE’s REACH network and sits on the Senior Advisory Board of the Apollo Leadership Institute which brings together general counsel and senior in-house lawyers to collaborate on culture, leadership, and talent; as well as on the creation of meritocratic workplaces. She is also a member of The Eagle Club – a global network of women in senior leadership positions who work proactively to promote equality and the progression of talented women in business.

Banke has over 17 years of corporate-commercial law experience. She is recognised in the legal industry as one of the UK’s most daring, innovative and creative lawyers and has been named in The Lawyer Magazine’s prestigious Hot 100 list. Banke started her career in Private Practice as a trainee solicitor at Gosschalks. On qualification, she joined Shoosmiths as a Pensions Lawyer and later joined Addleshaw Goddard where she advised Trustee boards and Corporates on pensions strategy and risk mitigation. She moved in-house to Mercer (a Marsh & McLennan Company) in 2012 where she served as EMEA Corporate Counsel (Principal) providing general corporate and commercial advice to Mercer’s regional business before making the move to CBRE in 2017.

Banke is active in the community and is a proud mum of two children and a Jack-a-Poo.

Education

• Harvard Business School - Leadership for Senior Executives (2023)
• College of Law (York) - Dipl Law, LPC (2003 - 2004)
• University of Hull - BA (Hons), LLB Law (1998 - 2002)