Stella Atela (Chartered FCIPD, MBA, BSc) in

Stella Atela (Chartered FCIPD, MBA, BSc)

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People and Culture Director at International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
📍 Rome, Latium, Italy

Stella Atela is a seasoned People and Culture Director at IFAD with over 19 years of global HR experience at organizations like the UN World Food Programme, Unilever, and Shell. She specializes in leadership development, talent management, and organizational design, backed by an executive leadership program from the University of Oxfords Saïd Business School.

Outside of work, Stella is deeply connected to her Kenyan heritage and expresses great pride in her motherland. Her reflections show a focus on gratitude, faith, and building personal resilience to navigate challenges. She is also a proponent of strategic rest for leaders to prevent burnout and maintain high performance.

She has extensive cross-cultural experience, having managed HR responsibilities across 14 African countries and worked in the Philippines.

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Experience
24 Years
Current Role
People and Culture Director
Job Level
Mid-senior
Location
Rome, Latium, Italy
Personality Overview

How Stella shows up

Communication Style
Decision Approach
Work Preference

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Priorities

Topics Stella cares about

Leadership Wellbeing
Advocates for reframing rest not as a reward for exhaustion but as a crucial strategy for leaders to operate at a sustained high intensity.
Rural Development
Expresses pride in her organization's mission to invest in rural people, particularly farmers, women, and youth, to enhance livelihoods and eradicate poverty.
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Career

Work history

7-2024
People and Culture Director
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
7-2024
People & Culture Director
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
1-2022
Global Head Leadership Development, Learning, Performance & Engagement
World Food Programme
11-2016 - 1-2022
Human Resources Director (Snr HRBP) - East & Central Africa at the World Food Program
World Food Programme
9-2013 - 10-2016
Human Resources Director, Supply Chain- East & West Africa
Unilever
In the press

Media appearances

Stella Atela - IFAD. Featured in International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) website
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Education
11-2022 - 2-2023
Oxford Executive Leadership Program
Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
1-2017 - 9-2019
DELF B2
Alliance Française de Nairobi
Social presence
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Behavioral profile

DISC profile (public)

DISC behavioral profile

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