Monica Geingos is a qualified lawyer with over 20 years of experience in the financial sector, with senior roles in capital markets, corporate finance, and private equity. She was awarded National Honours (Most Distinguished Order of Namibia), by Former President Pohamba, for her “outstanding contribution to the socio-economic development of Namibia.” She was inducted into the Namibian Business Hall of Fame and received numerous awards, such as the “Namibian Business Personality of the Year’ and “Most Innovative Entrepreneur”. During her time in the private sector, Monica was regularly rated by local and continental media publications as one of the most influential Namibians and recognised by international media as one of “Africa’s Top 100 Economic Leaders.” Before assuming the First Lady role in 2015, she was a co-shareholder and Managing Director of Namibia’s largest private equity fund for over a decade. During this time, she served on the Boards of large public and private sector companies as either Chairperson or Deputy Chairperson. Due to her extensive corporate experience, she was a long-standing member of high-level policy advisory Boards - such as the President’s Economic Advisory Council, the governing Party’s Think Tank, and the National Council of the Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry - with the mandate to advise on national policy formulation and implementation. She also made time to serve on Boards such as the Association of Unlisted Investment Managers (Chairperson), the Steering Committee for the Namibian Financial Sector Charter (Secretary), the Listings Advisory Board of the Namibian Stock Exchange, and the Public Office Bearers Commission (Vice-Chairperson).