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“A results oriented leader, consistently demonstrating the ability to establish rapport and connect with diverse constituencies at all level.”
Senior Vice President, Global Human Resource Enterprise, Head of Diversity and Inclusion, Lead Director of Environment, Sustainability and Governance (ESG) at Stifel Financial Corporation NYSE: SF, a 130 year old financial service holding company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri with $4.7 billion in revenue, $8 billion in market capitalization, with over 10,000 employees in over 400 offices worldwide.
Dr. Akande served as the ninth President of Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont. During his tenure as President of Champlain, undergraduate applications doubled, institutional fundraising increased significantly and the college forged partnerships that continue to pay dividends. He ignited the college’s commitment and actions around diversity, inclusion and belonging. He led to fruition of Champlain 2030, a vision and strategic plan, the foundation for future success. Dr. Akande also served as Assistant Vice Chancellor of International Programs-Africa, Director of the African Initiative, and Associate Director of the Global Health Center at Washington University in St. Louis. He also chaired Washington University’s International Travel Oversight Committee (ITOC). Dr. Akande served as the 21st President of Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri from 2015-2017. He was the first person of color to lead the storied 172-year-old institution. As President, he made substantial gains in developing the infrastructure necessary to ensure the college’s long-term sustainability. This included transforming academic offerings, outreach, budgeting, financial modeling, marketing, and rebranding, communication, and institutional advancement. As tenured Professor of Economics and Dean of the George Herbert Walker School of Business and Technology at Webster University in St. Louis from 2000-2015, Dr. Akande is credited with enhancing the school’s reputation, and positioning it as a globally relevant business school. He developed numerous corporate-donor partnerships which helped secure the largest donation in the University’s history. Dr. Akande holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Oklahoma and completed post-doctoral studies at JFK School of Government at Harvard University and Saïd Business School at Oxford University.
“Find meaning in every conversation – it’s not how long the conversation lasts; it’s how good it is.”
Dr. Akande, a Nigerian-born American citizen is a respected economist, scholar, and global consultant to Fortune 500 companies and institutions in higher education; specifically in the areas of strategy, leadership development, corporate responsibility and market positioning.
A results-oriented leader, Dr. Akande is admired for his ability to connect with diverse constituencies at all levels in public, private and non-profit sectors. He possesses a wealth of business skills, honed by decades of experience working for and leading entrepreneurial, mission and purpose-driven organizations. He implements strategic initiatives with confidence and expertise and knows how to balance business goals with mission. He possesses a deep knowledge and practical experience in achieving
organizational effectiveness and results through strategic planning, effective financial management and nurturing high performing teams.
An engaging and compelling communicator, Dr. Akande is regularly sought out as a commentator by national media. He has appeared on Anderson Cooper 360, CBS Evening News and St. Louis affiliates of FOX, ABC and NBC. His commentaries have appeared in USA TODAY, Financial Times and on National public radio’s Marketplace.
Dr. Akande served on the Board of Argent Capital, a $4 billion asset management company, and on the Board of Enterprise Bank & Trust ($5 billion assets), serving on the Regulatory and Compliance Committee. He served as a director of Ralcorp Holdings, Inc., a $5 billion publicly traded manufacturer of high-quality private food labels, including Post Holdings, and has consulted for corporations such as Anheuser- Busch, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Voith and other global corporations.
He currently serves on the non-profit boards of The MUNY, and Forest Park Forever - one of the nation's largest public parks. In addition, Dr. Akande is a member of the Danforth Plant Science Center Leadership Council. He is on the Advisory Board of FDC Fundação Dom Cabral, the top-ranked business school in Brazil. Dr. Akande is a director on the board of Vi-Jon, a St. Louis headquartered health and beauty care company.
For more than thirty years as a President, professor and global consultant, Dr. Akande has worked to transform public and private organizations positioning them to stay relevant. He is passionately committed to the success of people in organizations and takes pride in nurturing, mentoring and inspiring colleagues. With the experience to recognize when to take calculated risks and the confidence to make tough decisions, Dr. Akande believes the future belongs to those who can see it.
Dr. Akande and his wife, Bola, a pharmacist and entrepreneur, have three daughters, ages 29, 27 and 21. He can be contacted at Benjamin@BenjaminAkande.com.
A dynamic, engaging, and inspirational speaker with a knack for audience connection, Benjamin Akande speaks frequently nationally and internationally on a variety of critically important matters relevant today and tomorrow. Example Topics:
