US: Stifel Financial appoints Nigerian-American, Benjamin Akande, Director Human Resources

STIFEL Financial Corp, a financial services holding company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, has appointed a Nigerian-American academic and professor, Benjamin Ola Akande, as its Senior Vice President, Director of Human Resources, Diversity and Inclusion.

Akande will head Stifel’s Human Resources department, which has responsibility for more than 8,500 employees in 400 global offices, according to an announcement by the firm.

“The hiring of Benjamin is another important step in the growth of Stifel as our ability to recruit individuals like Dr. Akande illustrates just how attractive our platform has become,” said Ronald J. Kruszewski, Chairman & CEO of Stifel Financial.

“A priority of ours has been to identify and hire exceptionally talented leaders.  Throughout his impressive career, Benjamin has consistently demonstrated the ability to connect with diverse constituencies throughout the public, private, and non-profit sectors and I can’t think of a better individual to oversee Stifel’s human resources initiatives, including by championing initiatives on diversity and inclusion.”

Akande, a Nigerian American, holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Oklahoma and completed post-doctoral studies at JFK School of Government, Harvard University, and Business School at Oxford University.

He has an extensive career that spans both academia and the private sector.  Dr. Akande most recently served as the President of Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont.  He was 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 2018-2020.  Prior to that, he was President of Westminster College from 2015 – 2017. 

Akande was a professor of economics and dean of the George Herbert Walker School of Business & Technology at Webster University from 2000-2015. He also served as Chief of University Corporate Partnerships and established relationships with organizations and industries across the globe. 

The Nigeria-born is a respected economist and global consultant for Fortune 500 companies in areas of strategy, leadership development, corporate responsibility, and market positioning. He has served as a director of Ralcorp Holdings, Inc. and consulted for corporations such as Anheuser-Busch, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Voith, and SeaWorld. Dr. Akande also served on the Board of Argent Capital.
 

In his response to the appointment, Akande said, “As a long-time St. Louis resident, I have admired Stifel’s 130-year history of steadfast, responsible, financial leadership and growth.  I am humbled to join a strong organization and look forward to further empowering our human resource core in a manner that will inspire the many globally diverse communities we serve to reach their financial goals.” 

“It will be an honour to work with and support my new colleagues across our global offices, as we build a workforce for the future to further establish Stifel’s customer and shareholder successes.”