Career
Belief in Hard Work
BDB Past Managing Directors Meet During 40th Year Activities - Photo: ZNS Bahamas
Besides being a corporate lawyer by profession, Mrs. Komolafe is a member of the Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners in the UK and has participated in a number of working groups of the Bahamas Financial Services Board. She has worked for institutions such as Lloyds Bank, MeesPierson Fund Services, Credit Suisse, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) and Lombard Odier both in The Bahamas and Switzerland.
Previously, Mrs. Komolafe served initially as consultant to and the Managing Director of the Bahamas Development Bank; a post she held for almost 4 years. Prior to returning to the private sector and engaging in frontline politics, she spearheaded the restructuring of the bank and cleaning up of its loan portfolio. She also participated in high level meetings involving the United Nations, Inter-American Development Bank, Caribbean Development Bank, Caribbean Export Development Agency and Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture among others.
Belief in Her Country
Mrs. Komolafe currently served as a Board member, Human Resource Committee Chair, member of the Audit committee and member of the Review Panel of the Securities Commission of The Bahamas. She served as an active advocate for the rights of Bahamians via membership of the National Women’s Advisory Council and the Bureau of Women’s Affairs. She made an annual commitment to attend the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women meetings held in New York, USA. Always thinking of ways to give back to the country she loves, Mrs. Komolafe founded the “Komolafe Foundation”, a non-profit family organization geared toward the education and scholarship of Bahamian youth.
In 2014, Mrs. Komolafe was nominated for the US State Department’s Global Leadership Mentoring Program for being a strong example of leadership that has made a difference in building The Bahamas.
Belief in a Better Way
Mrs. Komolafe has served in multiple senior positions at the Party level in Bahamian politics and was instrumental in modernizing the governing structure and processes in every organization she has been a part of. In January 2017, Komolafe was ratified as a candidate for the Democratic National Alliance in the Killarney constituency and served as the Spokesperson for Financial Services, Trade and Industry and National Insurance in the DNA's shadow cabinet. She was one of thirteen women on the Party's ticket, and secured the highest total of votes (422) after only four months on the campaign trail. This was also the third highest vote tally of the 35 candidates fielded by the DNA in 2017.
At a Special Meeting held on 24 October 2017, Arinthia Komolafe was elected as the Deputy Leader of the Democratic National Alliance. She succeeded Christopher Mortimer who was appointed as the Interim Leader on the 24th October 2017. For months, she committed to doing the hard work required to keep the party relevant and alive in the minds of The Bahamian people, consistently appearing on radio, TV and in the press. On Friday, February 22nd 2019, Komolafe emerged from the National Convention of the DNA as the duly elected leader of the party, making her the first woman to lead a major political party in the history of The Bahamas.
After her second defeat in challenging as a candidate for a third party, Mrs. Komolafe retired from third party politics and resigned her position as Leader of the Democratic National Alliance on the 19th November 2021. During her resignation speech, Mrs. Komolafe indicated that she would align herself with one of the major parties, either the Free National Movement (FNM) or the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP). During her resignation speech, she was advised by members of her team that the Leader of the Official Opposition, Mr. Michael C. Pintard had contacted her with a view to her working in collaboration with the FNM to bring about a better Bahamas.
In 2023, Mrs. Komolafe made the her decision to join the FNM official. On the 24th June 2025, Mrs. Komolafe was ratified as the FNM Candidate for the constituency for Carmichael.
