Valuing Excellence in Leadership, Benjamin Ola Akande, Ph.D., shows that the future belongs to those who can see it.
Photos by Rebecca Barr, TuSquare Studio
Dr. Benjamin Ola. Akande was named the 9 th President of Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont on April 21, 2020. For more information visit www.champlain.edu. From April 2018 to April 2020 he served as Assistant Vice Chancellor of International Programs-Africa, Director of the Africa Initiative, and Associate Director of the Global Health Center at Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Akande also chaired Washington University’s International Travel Oversight Committee (ITOC).
Dr. Akande, a Nigerian-American citizen is a respected economist, scholar and global consultant to Fortune 500 companies and institutions in the higher education space in the areas of strategy, leadership development, corporate responsibility and market positioning. He served as a director of Ralcorp Holdings, Inc., a $5 billion publicly traded manufacturer of high-quality private food labels, including Post, and has consulted for corporations such as Anheuser-Busch, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Voith, SeaWorld, and many others.
A results-oriented leader, he consistently demonstrates the ability to establish rapport and connect with diverse constituencies at all levels in public, private and non-profit sectors. He possesses refined business skills honed by working in entrepreneurial, mission-driven environments, brings confidence to implementing strategy and knows how to balance business goals with mission.
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 public radio’s Marketplace.
“We were all born originals, but most of us spend the rest of our lives trying to be copies. It is originality that will set you apart.”
Dr. Akande served as the 21st President of Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri from 2015-2017, its first person of color in the storied history of the 168-year-old institution. As President, he made substantial gains in developing the infrastructure necessary for the college’s long-term sustainability. This included transformational changes in academic offerings, outreach, budget, financial modeling, marketing (re-branding), communication and institutional advancement.
As tenured full 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 building the school’s reputation, and positioning it as a globally relevant business school. He developed numerous corporate/donor partnerships which played a leading effort in securing 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, Harvard University and Saïd Business School at Oxford University.
In more than thirty years as a professor and leader, he has invested significant personal involvement and tireless efforts to contribute to the transformation of public and private institutions and organizations. He is passionately committed to the success of people in organizations and has nurtured and mentored many executives.
Dr. Akande currently serves on the Board of Argent Capital, a $4 billion asset management company. He is a member of the Board of Enterprise Bank & Trust ($5 billion assets), serving on the Regulatory and Compliance Committee. He currently serves on the non-profit boards of the Saint Louis Club, The MUNY, Missouri Charter Public School Association, and Forest Park Forever - one of the nation's largest public parks where he chairs the Development Committee and serves on the Executive Committee. 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.
With the experience to recognize when to take calculated risks and the confidence to make tough business decisions, Dr. Akande believes that the future belongs to those who can see it. He and his wife, Bola, a pharmacist and entrepreneur, have three adult daughters.