Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles is Vice President and Corporate Secretary. He is responsible for AIIB’s relations with its Members, the Board of Governors, the Board of Directors, and other aspects of governance, including the admission of new Members and the integrity of the Bank’s governance. He also oversees how the Bank communicates with key external stakeholders and has supervision over its awareness-building and brand and reputation management efforts to promote understanding of the Bank’s operations and mission among internal and external audiences. Cowper-Coles has extensive strategic, management, policy development, and commercial experience, and has held leadership roles in both the private sector and in senior diplomatic positions. Before joining AIIB in December 2025, he was Senior Adviser at HSBC Holdings, where he worked on a range of operational, regulatory, and public-policy issues, including global trade and market access, and the implementation of the Group’s global strategy. He also established and led a global government-relations and public-policy function for the HSBC Group. Before this, he was Board Member, Hong Kong Association; and Business Development Director – International, BAE Systems. He has held several senior diplomatic roles within the UK government, including as UK Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan; and Ambassador to Afghanistan (2007-10), Saudi Arabia (2003-07), and Israel (2001-03). He has a degree in classics from Hertford College, Oxford. He was knighted in 2004. Cowper-Coles is from the United Kingdom.