Pre-Dinner Seminar: 5:00-6:00 P.M. How to be a Diversity Leader – Setting the Criteria for the Diversity Leader Award Speaker: Valerie Patton, MA, MSW, Executive Director, St. Louis Business Diversity Initiative
Networking & Dinner: 6:00-7:00 P.M.
Keynote Presentation: 7:00-8:00 P.M. The Case of Diversity: Becoming a Diverse Workplace Speaker: Dr. Benjamin Akande, Webster University
The presentation offers a 'how to' achieve true diversity in the workplace.
Learning Outcomes:
Identify how to achieve true diversity competencies; leadership, initiatives and evaluation
Two case studies that benchmark the results of diversity; Coke, IBM
The four leadership competencies that HR executives should strive for: a. achieving results b. building internal partnerships c. change leadership and d. developing others
Benjamin Ola. Akande is the dean of Webster University’s School of Business and Technology, which recently received a gift of $10 million from former U.S. Ambassador George Walker III. As the chief academic officer of the 13,000-student business school, Dean Akande leads a faculty of 1500 spanning 106 campuses in the U.S., Europe and Asia. During his tenure at Webster, Akande provided leadership that has elevated the business school to new heights in curriculum innovation and dynamic partnerships with corporations. Dean Akande holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Oklahoma and completed post-doctoral studies at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He serves on the boards of civic and private organizations. The dean consults with some of the leading Fortune 500 companies in the areas of strategy and market positioning. Dean Akande is an electrifying speaker who exudes passion and excitement in his delivery. He brings to every presentation and conversation a wealth of experience that spans over two decades as a professor, leader and consultant. His understanding of the issues that define our time is thorough and insightful. Dr. Akande has a sense of constructive impatience and affirms that the future belongs to those who can see it. Benjamin Akande, born in Nigeria and raised in Oklahoma, is married to Bola and they have three daughters.
