Trafigura Appoints Chipo Mwanawasa as Executive Director

Global commodities trading and logistics powerhouse Trafigura has announced a high-profile executive appointment, naming Chipokota Mwanawasa as its new Executive Director for Zambia. Operating from the capital of Lusaka, Mwanawasa will take charge of steering the multinational corporation's strategic initiatives, business development, and stakeholder engagements across the country's critical mining, energy, and infrastructure landscapes. Mwanawasa steps into her new role with an impressive background spanning both public service and the private sector. Prior to joining Trafigura, she served as a Policy Advisor to the President of Zambia and as Deputy Head of the Presidential Delivery Unit, where she was instrumental in driving national economic reforms and monitoring the implementation of the National Development Plan. Her extensive professional journey also includes vital corporate experience within Zambia’s primary mining ecosystem, notably working with Konkola Copper Mines Plc, giving her a deep-rooted understanding of the operational and regulatory hurdles facing the local extractive industries. In her new capacity, Mwanawasa will coordinate Trafigura’s multifaceted operations encompassing metals, minerals, and energy logistics. Furthermore, she will provide high-level oversight for the group’s key subsidiaries active on Zambian soil, including Puma Energy—which manages an extensive footprint of retail sites and fuel terminals—and Servara, the group's wholly-owned logistics and transport storage platform based in Ndola. These entities collectively anchor hundreds of local jobs and maintain critical supply chain infrastructure that underpins domestic commerce. Trafigura’s decision to tap a prominent local policy expert underscores the increasing importance of robust, transparent relations between multinational extractive giants and host governments in Southern Africa. As Zambia aggressively ramps up its copper and critical mineral production targets to meet su